Sam Fender has struck a chord with his lamentable tales of colloquial reflection. They are pieces of his youth. Influences and interests put to song with a fiery style to elevate them to that next level. Live at Finsbury Park notes Fender in his element, as his live recordings often do (Glastonbury and BBC Big Weekend are available as proof of that). Live recordings are a dying art, a shame too since some of the greatest recordings are of a live variety. Fender joins the likes of Johnny Cash, Talking Heads and Thin Lizzy with a prominence like no other. Live at Finsbury Park excels exactly where it should, in showing that Fender’s studio polish is not makeup, it is the real deal.
Opening track Will We Talk, and the setlist as a whole, has a refined quality that showcases Fender continually perfecting the tracks he offers live audiences. It is more or less the same here as it was for his homecoming Newcastle show last year. Bits and pieces are added, but they are the minor changes the majority of fans will not need for a record release. A cover of Dancing in the Dark was a staple of earlier shows but is replaced here by confident outings of Alright and Saturday. For those that rode the wave of live shows, Live at Finsbury Park will reignite the fiery adrenaline Fender and company are capable of creating. Getting Started sets that feeling up quite nicely.
Those intimate conversations shared between fields of thousands remain not just to kill time between tracks but to offer insight into how much it means to Fender at that gig. Finsbury Park is big time, and the scope of such a show is cemented well by the likes of Mantra and The Borders. It is mixed with an incredible consistency, moving the live show momentum and feel to a record with an ease that Peter Frampton would struggle to achieve. Obvious highlights leave their delicate mark, too. Spit of You is just as delicate a track as ever, a sincere delight to hear it make the transition to the live shows as the articulate lookback on family life it is. Alright follows it up, one of a handful of cut tracks that are now receiving their live outings. Wild Grey Ocean appears to be following suit, but is not performed here.
The likes of Play God and Seventeen Going Under are always going to be well-weathered servants of any of Fender’s live sets. It is a testament to their qualities that they sound so invigorated and fresh here. Knocking against the need for an “encore” and rattling through his whole set, dedicating tracks like The Dying Light to friends of old, there is a sense of community and inclusion and value to Live at Finsbury Park. Fender and company have successfully captured the sophistication and intimacy of a live set, even in a place as large as Finsbury Park, and put that to record. A live performance is only as good as the crowd, and the “fucking legends” in the crowd for this Live at Finsbury Park piece certainly make it a unique, fulfilling experience.
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