Review: Sam Fender at HBF Stadium

Sam Fender at HBF Stadium
w/ Gretta Ray
Thursday, July 20, 2023

Before heading to the east coast for Splendour in the Grass, Sam Fender stopped by HBF Stadium for his one and only Australian sideshow on Thursday night.

Fender's highly-anticipated Perth visit came following a big couple of years for the 29-year-old. While Fender has been releasing music since 2017, his excellent 2021 album Seventeen Going Under brought him to the attention of a new legion of fans across the world. With WA also missing out on an Australian tour date last year, the stadium was almost packed to the brim with fans excited to see Fender live for the first time.

Opening the night was Melbourne singer-songwriter Gretta Ray, who also arrived on the back of a brilliant 2021 album, Begin to Look Around. The former triple j unearthed winner got the crowd singing along from the beginning with popular songs Cherish and breakout hit Radio Silence. 

Gretta Ray was joined onstage only by drummer Leigh Fisher, with the rest of the music provided by backing tracks, except for a couple of tunes in which she strummed along with an acoustic guitar. While a full live band would have added some more dynamics to the set, Gretta Ray still owned the occasion, demanding everyone's attention with her dazzling green dress and dance moves.

With her second album Positive Spin due out next month, Gretta Ray was as excited as her fans to be performing new material. This included recent single America Forever, which she wrote in Los Angeles, and Heartbreak Baby which Gretta Ray performed live for the first time. She shared how excited she was to be coming back to Perth soon for her own headline show at Astor Theatre, before finishing with the compelling closer Love Me Right. 

Judging by her newer tracks, Gretta Ray's pop credentials, and ambitions, seem sky high – so don't be surprised to hear more of her on commercial stations in years to come.

After a short break the lights went out and one by one Sam Fender and his band made their way onto the stage, silhouetted in a smoky haze shimmering with flashing lights. He then dived straight into the set with the energetic opener Will We Talk? After the song finished the crowd kept humming the chorus over and over until Fender had no choice but to join in and sing along with them. “That's never happened with that song before,” he said. “It's gonna be a good night innit?”

A 'Geordie' from Newcastle in the north east of the UK, you could feel the love for Fender's hometown in the venue. Countless fans arrived wearing the famous black and white Newcastle United strip and would break out into singing the team song at any opportunity. Sam Fender seemed thrilled by the reception, asking “any Geordies in the house tonight?” to rousing cheers. He then played the moving track Dead Boys, dedicated to the city. That was followed by his latest album's standout tracks Get You Down and the more downtempo Spit of You, a song about Fender's father that was accompanied by childhood photos on the backing LED screens.

Lightening the mood significantly, he asked if there were “any Irish here?” before launching into a rollicking cover of Dublin rockers Thin Lizzy’s hit The Boys are Back in Town. After getting cheers from his shout outs to the English and the Irish, Fender then asked “are there any Aussies here tonight?” In probably the most amusing moment of the night, the cheering Aussies were drowned out by boos and jeers of the mostly English fans, leaving Fender looking completely perplexed (guess he wasn’t following the cricket).

While Fender is well known for his soaring Springsteen-esque voice, not nearly enough credit is paid to his skills on the guitar. Fortunately he kept that front and centre throughout the night, switching axes almost every song (and yes there was at least one ‘Fender’ amongst them), traversing every corner of every fretboard with precision and flair. To witness someone singing, or playing guitar as well as Fender does, would alone be worth the ticket price, but to see him doing both at the same time, as pristinely as the recordings themselves, was utterly spellbinding.

Sam Fender’s band were also exceptional throughout. Unlike some ‘solo artists’ where their touring band seems to be a revolving door of session musicians, Fender’s band truly felt like a bunch of best mates. You could tell the combination of guitars used on each song was well considered, and you could hear the unique tone of each slotting in with the buoyant bass lines and sparkling piano chords.

Up on the risers, the saxophone and trumpet player complemented each other, and the songs perfectly. They never stole the spotlight with sassy solos, instead amplifying the songs at their crescendo, blending nodes that made the songs sound bigger and more majestic. 

It all came together in spectacular fashion when Fender led the band, and the audience, through an incredible (if not unexpected) cover of Springsteen’s classic Dancing in the Dark, before closing out the night with two of his biggest and best tunes yet, Seventeen Going Under and Hypersonic Missiles.

You truly couldn’t have asked for more. Sam Fender and his songs were born for the stadium, and seeing it all come together live was nothing short of spectacular. As an artist that still seems to be getting better, it will be just exciting to see him when he makes his way to Perth again.

BRAYDEN EDWARDS

Photos by Damien Crocker