That’s right. I saw the one-and-only ED SHEERAN, again. This time live in Charlotte, North Carolina; which happened to be the first time Sheeran had been.
First, we had to drive TWO HOURS from campus to see Ed. But, hello? It’s Ed. Worth it.
The first song was “I’m a Mess,” which I was pleasantly surprised he played! But, I loved it nonetheless.
After the song ended, he spoke in his British accent, “Sing along. And if you don’t know the words, make some up.” How great is that? He’s humble and just wants to put on a good show.
He goes into “Lego House” next, which I didn’t record because I saw him perform two years ago at a meet and greet back home. But, anyway, I haven’t heard him play in this big a venue, definitely louder. It was interesting to compare the venues with his setlist and performance vibe.
Next comes “Don’t,” mixed with “Girls Ain’t Loyal” and “No Diggity.” Loved his energy, per usual.
Next is “Drunk,” where he kept playing though the issues with his loop pedal, the only thing on stage with him and his guitar. This was followed up by “Take it Back,” a more rap song that I still enjoyed.
He discusses the distance travelled for all of us to get here. Two hour drive for me! He goes into “One!!”
He thanks his support act, UK’s own Rudimental, who I had never heard of before. And in between EACH song, he kept having to switch guitars because of how hard he plays it. Talk about dedication. Then he sings “Bloodstream,” followed by “Tenerife Sea,” nonetheless lovely. It was beautiful.
He sang “Runaway” next and included a super surprise cover that I won’t spoil, so just watch it! Hashtag, 90’s throwback!
Then, he told us the story of his girlfriend from high school and how they had a little chicken, who accidentally died under their watch. He added, “In memory of the little chicken,” and played “Little Bird.” Another old hit that I still adored.
He then explained how most people relate to “Afire Love” and told us to “resist the urge to yelp” during the song. Awww. Next, was my personal favorite: “Thinking Out Loud!!” (This was where my phone ran out of storage, ugh!)
He then went into “Give Me Love” and the crowd was silent, and that’s just how I like an Ed concert, where I can hear his talented vocals.
At 9:45, he said, “We’ve come to the end.” Sad face from me. He then played “I See Fire.” I loved it when the crowd was silent, so we could hear how AH-MAZING his vocal range truly is. Also, he had said his goal for the night was to have everyone lose their voice. Laughing out loud. Even though, at an Ed concert, it is pretty much inevitable.
Ed literally set his guitar down, waved to the crowd and exited the stage. But, then he was back a minute later for his three-song encore of “You Need Me, I Don’t Need You,” “A Team,” and, of course, “Sing.”
- “You Need Me, I Don’t Need You.” Loved it. And I literally could rap his entire song with him. And he beatboxed a little too. He even ad-libbed “since I went mainstream with A Team.” Ahh. Love it. He then took his usual Insta photo of the crowd. Sad face I wasn’t in the photo, again. But, oh well, because I was there, AGAIN. đŸ™‚
- “A Team” was a beautiful ballad as per usual. And everyone lit up their iPhone flashlight apps. He finishes the song and it was so pretty.
- Finally, it was time for “Sing.” He’s just so energetic and ended the song with just the crowd singing the ah ohs section.
As everyone was leaving, people were singing “Sing” still, per Ed’s request, of course.
Overall, it was a perfect night and perfect example of what a concert should be.