Sam Fender: The Bodega Social Club, Nottingham — Review
After just 9 months together, Sam Fender and his backing band are on their first UK headline tour, stopping at 9 cities, including Nottingham, where I had the privilege of seeing him on the 24th February.
As I walked into the Bodega, there was a buzz in the small venue as the initially sparse audience waited for the support act, Brooke Bentham. The singer’s fiery, impassioned vocals spread over the crowd as she performed a calming acoustic set for half an hour. The sole usage of an acoustic guitar allowed the 21 year old’s beautiful, powerful voice to take its full effect and emphasised the meaningful lyrics of her songs. Brooke’s set created a perfect atmosphere for the growing crowd waiting for the main act to take to the stage.
Sam opened up with one of the singles he’s released in the past 9 months, ‘Millennial’, as the Newcastle songwriter started to prove to the audience why he deserved his place on the ‘BBC Sound of 2018’ longlist. The strength of Sam’s vocals was established as soon as he started to sing, a feature of his set that would not waver. This first song also allowed the talent of the backing band to be recognised, especially the drummer, Drew Michael.
Throughout the set, the crowd of mixed ages sang along and nodded their head in time with the music, appreciating the sounds that were flowing around the room. Sam and the backing band worked their way through some unreleased songs, teasing the audience with music that could potentially be released in the future. After a little hiccup, as Sam had left his capo in the band’s van, they performed songs that the audience could sing along to, including ‘Friday Fighting’ (their newest single, released the week before) and ‘Greasy Spoon’. My personal favourite was ‘Start Again’, where the guitar drums and singing all work perfectly together and create an impeccable tempo throughout the song, with peaks and lows keeping the audience in a state of constant anticipation. To finish off the short 40-minute set, the band performed Sam’s debut single ‘Play God’. This created a very climatic ending to the gig, that left the audience satisfied, but hungry for more from the Newcastle lad.
Overall, the night was as good as I expected. An up-and-coming artist performing in a small venue after only releasing 5 singles, leaving everyone desperate for more music and looking forward to the next time they will be able to see Sam Fender live.
Article: Isobel Richardson
URY Music Editor: Alex West
Next Tour dates:
2nd March — The Old Bakery — Truro
3rd March — The Cavern — Exeter
5th March — Sunflower Lounge — Birmingham
6th March — The Louisiana — Bristol
17th April — 19th April — European Tour
