But I would hit him in a heartbeat now

Xmas party!

I thought I'd done my last gig of the year, but the boss managed to swing a suite at the mothership for a team get-together to watch Sam Fender - he's not really my sort of thing but his Glastonbury set from earlier in the year was impressively energetic so I was interested to experience the vibe live.

But first, an apology to Wunderhorse - I've had quite a few people recommend them to me and so was quite looking forward to seeing them support him. However, whilst they were on, we had the opportunity to explore The Ninety Third, which the premium members club area, so it's more the case that they were more "on in the background" - let's just assume they were great (and the arena did seem to be pleasingly full for their set, which is always a good sign).

However, from the audience reaction to Sam arriving on stage, it's very clear who they were there to see - it's fair to say it was a rapturous reception! And he was straight into it - and barely stopped all night! It was a full throttle performance with impressive levels of energy on display - I can imagine there was a similar feel at early Springsteen performances (not that Bruce is exactly lacking in energy even these days). However, as a neutral observer, I have to say there wasn't enough variety between the songs for me to fully engage - yes, this is my fault and I should have made more effort to listen to his albums again, but I've been rather busy on the listening front recently. So, I only recognised "Seventeen Going Under" and a (well done) cover of The Clash's "London Calling" - the other songs all seemed perfectly fine but they just didn't stand out for me. 

It was an impressive show though (finishing with fireworks, which I don't think I've seen there before) with an excellent atmosphere and he certainly shows loads of skill - I just need to do my homework next time! And yes, I do feel a bit guilty that I was taking up space which he could have sold plenty of times over to his adoring fans, even more so now he's had to cancel the rest of the tour due to a vocal injury - so, rest up, Sam and get well soon.