Ed Sheeran is arguably the hardest working and most talented singer-songwriter on the current global music scene. Everything I’ve read and seen about him suggests that he is also very grounded and a genuinely nice guy. He plays a variety of genres, blending acoustic ballads, well-crafted pop songs, and rapid-fire rap flow, all using a simple guitar and some well-worn loop pedals.
He headlined a double-bill with Rudimental at Toronto’s Air Canada Centre on Thursday, September 18th, giving a sold out show to 20 000 eager fans. I fully expected to be surrounded by throngs of teenage girls and young women in their twenties, but knew he would draw a diverse audience that would include my generation and men, primarily because I have friends who fit both profiles. Indeed, there were hipsters, college kids, and middle-aged types like me who weren’t there to chaperone their children, and everyone was there to let loose.
Rudimental were great fun as they warmed up the half-filled arena, and I enjoyed listening to their set; beyond the stairwell, the lines to the merchandise tables snaked around the entire floor of the venue, and I can honestly say I have never seen so many people rushing to buy accessories in more than 35 years of concert-going. It was an impressive sight.
Ed Sheeran took to the stage at 8:30, presenting himself to the cheering crowd with his guitar and a simple video display behind him. He balanced songs from both his debut and second album in his two-hour set, alternating between ballads and songs with a rap flow.
There was much to impress a music lover with: he is a naturally confident performer who can move back and forth between poignant love songs, older acoustic hits, and intense numbers with crescendoes without losing momentum or pace; his use of a single guitar and loop pedals to build layers astounds the ears with a depth and breadth of overlapping sound, and he reaches out across genres by blending songs from other artists to remind you that he too is a not only a musician, but a fan as well.
Visually, I was impressed by the simplicity of the stage design. Video panels were mainly used to project his image to those farther away, and to perhaps add a few flashes of colour behind the open stage. It is clear that he believes doesn’t need bells and whistles to entertain a large audience, and his instincts are right: his call and response techniques, so spontaneous and unforced, took me back in time 35 years, when a certain Freddie Mercury used to provoke the same response in my much younger self. The audience complied readily, providing him with the back-up choir he requested for a stirring rendition of “Give Me Love”, and sang every word of every song they knew as the evening unfolded The overall effect was quite remarkable, and I can say that I lost my teaching voice for the next day because of his ability to engage the whole crowd. A very Freddie thing, for those of us old and fortunate enough to have seen Queen live back in the day of the dinosaurs.
There is always a moment that stands out during any concert, and for me it was when Ed Sheeran slowed things down and implored us to sit back, rest our voices, and just give him a listen. He hushes thousands with such ease, and it is endearing to watch. He then began to play what he considers the most personal song in his catalogue, the beautiful “Afire Love.” When I first heard the song, I not only loved the melody but was very moved by the subject matter of the lyrics; hearing it performed live was a deeply touching experience that will stay with me forever.
I loved watching the glow of cellphone lights swaying as he delivered “A-team” near the end of the show, and will also remember chuckling as he told the Toronto audience that we are apparently just a “little more mental” than anywhere else he plays.
There is something of an “old soul” quality to Ed Sheeran that I believe partly explains his multi-generational appeal, and his growing success can quite rightly be attributed to his unwavering determination and strong work ethic. He has also made himself readily accessible to the media, and there is the likability factor of this quietly unassuming, nice ginger kid who is polite to interviewers and kind to fans. You can sense that he loves what he does, and that he brings his best game out on stage every night. His final number, the recent hit “Sing”, evoked a memory of seeing U2 finish their set with “40” in the mid-eighties: having corralled the entire arena into singing the chorus repeatedly, he quietly left the stage as the chants continued long after he was gone. I have no doubt he will have a long and successful career to rival that of his Irish cousins.