There’s always been a strong link between music and football, having historically being the two main routes to fame and fortune for working class lads to aspire to – whether it was George Best being referred to as the fifth Beatle, Oasis making Man City sexy long before they became the dominant force in English football or Hoddle and Waddle signing Diamond Lights on Top of the Pops (actually, scratch the last of them). But despite that well established connection it still felt slightly surreal to be stood in a concert venue in Munich surrounded by music fans wearing the black and white of Newcastle United, even though Sam Fender‘s growing success has seen him established as the club’s current number one celebrity supporter.
With the concert four days ahead of Newcastle’s appearance in the league cup final there was a heightened sense of excitement amongst the large Geordie contingent (and honorary Geordies) in the crowd and as was common across all the shows I caught during my mini tour of Germany, the audiences seemed intent on filling the venues as early as humanly possibly (the other main difference being the annoying in venue system of having to put a deposit down for drinks glasses, but that’s a gripe for another time). Whilst many of the Brits in attendance simply needed an excuse for a trip abroad, for others getting tickets to a show in Germany presented far less of a challenge than acquiring them for Sam’s upcoming stadium tour in the UK.
Before the headliner took to the stage support act CMAT charmed the audience as much with her between song banter (has an artist ever had to explain to a German crowd before what Coronation Street is?) as for her Irish infused acoustic country. But it was only with finale Stay for Something that she truly cut through to the audience, excitedly introducing the song as one that Sam had told her he wish he’d written.
Then after a half hour with anticipation continuing to build Sam strode confidently onto the stage flanked by his seven strong backing band, opening up with Dead Boys from debut album Hypersonic Missiles. Whilst all concerts have some element of bringing people together there was additional magic in the air, with the audience not just enthusiastically hollering back each word of the set but living and breathing every syllable.
It may be damning with faint praise, but it was a concert where the artist knew what the crowd wanted and that’s what was delivered: Communal sing alongs with a heavily influenced by Bruce Springsteen and educated by Oasis, although with the loutishness replaced by social commentary. There’s an occasional stretch away from the formula – particularly on the punkish Howdon Aldi Death Queue, but with the likes of Will We Talk? and People Watching sending the audience into delirium. And throughout the evening there was the constant reminder that there simply isn’t enough saxophone in modern music.
After an encore of Something Heavy and Hypersonic Missiles the crowd dispersed joyously from the venue, the final refrains of the evening still reverberating through the streets of Munich. Four days later Newcastle emerged victorious from the league cup final, picking up the club’s first silverware in seventy years. One can only imagine what the atmosphere would have been at Sam’s show that evening.
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Youtube Highlight of the Evening: Courtesy of Mr. BorntoRun, here’s the performance of the title track from his recent album People Watching.
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Sam Fender Performed:
Dead Boys
Getting Started
Arm’s Length
People Watching
Crumbling Empire
Will We Talk?
Tyrants
Howdon Aldi Death Queue
TV Dinner
Spit of You
The Borders
Little Bit Closer
Seventeen Going Under
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Something Heavy
Hypersonic Missiles
Alex Reviews Gigs 
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