Sam Fender Rocks Irving Plaza On His North American Tour

Posted On August 11, 2022

Samantha Colleran, August 2022

When Sam Fender first announced his North American tour, I knew immediately I’d have to go. I never expected to buy the presale tickets on my way back to school from my Olivia Rodrigo concert in the middle of the mountains. Luck was on my side, and I managed to get two tickets with one bar of service. On Tuesday, August 9, my incredible mom and I woke up early to get to the city and queue in over 90º weather for hours, and I’d do it all over again if I knew I’d get to have one of the best concert experiences I’ve ever had. 

To start, everyone was beyond kind while queueing. Saving spots when people needed to get water or food, sharing portable chargers and snacks, it was a fantastic start to a day I already knew would be amazing. 

Before getting into Sam’s set, I of course need to give some love to our opening act Willy Mason! A folk singer with inspirations from bands such as Nirvana and Rage Against the Machine, Willy took the stage for a few songs and kept the crowd entertained for a half hour. When he stepped out on stage, he appeared slightly timid, and I wasn’t sure what to expect since this was my first time hearing his music. Halfway through his first song the crowd immediately began cheering him on and continued to do so through the remainder of his set. My only complaint is that he didn’t sing a few more songs. 

There’s a lot I feel I can say about what an absolutely talented and genuine performer Sam Fender is. His set combined a perfect balance between tracks from Hypersonic Missiles and Seventeen Going Under, and in between songs he shared some background on the lyrics and expressed gratitude for the support his more well known tracks have received. The show kicked off with “Will We Talk?” and “Getting Started”, high energy tunes that had the crowd moving instantly. “Dead Boys” followed, keeping the energy up, and it was during that song it truly hit me that I was finally seeing Sam Fender, an artist I’ve loved for about three years now, and as the instruments swelled and the crowd grew louder for the final few seconds of the song, I knew the night would only get better from there. 

Things slowed down a bit with “Mantra”, a slow jam about not giving into the sociopaths in the music business and Hollywood. “The Borders” is a personal favorite of Fender’s, which lit up the entire room and nearly brought me to tears hearing the crowd sing the line “I can’t stand me, too/ I can’t stand me, too”. With the energy back up, Sam introduced his two most heavy songs, which had the crowd going crazy, and I have never felt more alive being pushed against a metal barricade head banging as if my life depended on it. “Spice” documents the story of a bright kid who leaves school, hates the jobs he has, and “spices up his life” by getting involved in selling drugs. Things take a turn when he finds himself getting addicted to the drugs he sells, and he ends up on a downward spiral. “Howdon Aldi Death Queue” was written during the pandemic, its fast paced sound reflects the chaotic times and the lyrics are very clearly pandemic centered. “Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa keep your distance/ Whoa whoa whoa whoa whoa that’s less than two meters”!

“Get You Down” highlights the insecurities that you carry with you from the time you’re a kid to an adult, and learning to deal with them in a healthier way. It was a powerful moment where Sam truly came alive, and you could tell it was a highlight of the night. “Spit Of You”, which is a song about Sam’s dad, but can be applied to any parent-child relationship was a tear jerker, I don’t think there was a dry eye in the crowd. The second verse hits especially hard, it truly humanizes Sam’s father for the listener and it’ll send you into a spiral of emotions. 

As a little surprise, Sam included his most recent single, a track that was cut from Seventeen Going Under titled “Alright”. It’s a song about recognizing your own struggles and learning to deal with them. It also highlights how other people deal with their emotions and learning to accept that. The first portion of the set closed out with “The Dying Light”, which truly moved me to tears. Described as a sequel to “Dead Boys”, it was a solid way to round out the set prior to the encore. Sam started at the piano for this one, the band stepping back and allowing him to get lost in the music and shine for a solo. Coming to terms with dark thoughts and trying to find a way to survive is a challenge, but this song ends triumphantly, “But I’m damned if I give up tonight/ I must repel the dying light/ For Mam and Dad and all my pals/ For all the ones who didn’t make the night”. 

When Sam came out for the encore he saw a sign at the front that asked to play a game of rock, paper, scissors; if he lost he had to play “Angel In Lothian”. Thankfully, he lost. For “Angel” it was only Sam and his saxophone player, Johnny. It was an indescribable experience seeing such an intimate moment. “Seventeen Going Under” highlights the struggles Sam went through at the age of seventeen. It gained popularity on TikTok, people made videos using the lines “I was far too scared to hit him/ But I would hit him in a heartbeat now” to talk about abuse they experienced at a younger age. Sam acknowledged the level of attention the song received and thanked the crowd for getting the track trending. The show closed with “Hypersonic Missiles”, the song that started Sam’s rise to fame. It was the first song I had ever heard by Sam, so getting to experience it live was a full circle moment for me. The show ended on a high note, but it’s not done yet. 

After the show, I actually ended up meeting Sam for a brief moment. In a blur of running back to the front of Irving Plaza from the side entrance and joining the crowd of people who surrounded Sam, I managed to get my setlist signed and I even told him I was writing about the show. He was so genuine and kind, he made sure he signed as many posters as possible and got a few pictures with fans in before his car came to pick him up. 

My ears are still ringing, my voice is completely gone, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Sam, if you happen to read this, I hope it was a good review! Thank you for one of the most wonderful concert experiences of my lifetime.