It was more than a year ago we purchased tickets for last night’s Ed Sheeran gig. We felt very lucky to get them – they were sold out within 6 minutes, or so I’ve been told. My daughter, now 11, had been a big fan of his since 2015, way back when all her Swiss friends hadn’t even heard of him (can you imagine?) But of course, in the lives of young children, planning a gig a year in advance is a risky business, they’ve usually moved on to some new band or fad in the music world. And yes, these days my daughter does listen to a lot less Ed Sheeran and her music appreciation has spread wider to include Alanis Morissette, the Kinks and Metronomy, among many other great bands and singers.
But as we got ready for our big night out I could tell she was excited as she carefully drew her big heart-shaped poster which simply said ‘Ed Sheeran’ in Schnellschrift and donned her favourite red ‘going out’ top. Her little 9-year-old sister less so. She loves her Ed Sheeran playlist on Spotify but she had never been to a concert and wasn’t too thrilled at the prospect.
I, on the other hand, think Ed Sheeran is amazing. It’s not the kind of music I usually listen to but he is a sing-a-long to, boogie-a-long to, all-round great guy. I genuinely think he is the nicest man in pop. Since Paul Weller anyway.
We set out at 4pm in melting temperatures and an hour later (by bus, train, bus) we were walking up to the Letzigrund amongst a horde of other concertgoers, who had also arrived by public transport, a steady stream alighting from trains, trams and buses. My youngest was starting to get interested by now – ‘How many people do you think will be at the concert mummy – 3 million?’
We found a place at the side of the standing area about a third of the way back (very frustrating – I would have loved to edge myself through to the front as I used to but now unfortunately mummy-dom calls) and sat down to wait for Ed. I grabbed a pint from a passing Beer Ghostbuster, with keg strapped to his back connected to a nozzle with which he zapped your glass full, and the girls grabbed Ben and Jerry’s ice creams from another vendor patrolling the crowd. When it comes to refreshment provision, the Letzigrund have it nailed.
The two support acts were good, beginning with a very ‘Sheeran like’ singer Jamie Lawson and ending with Anne Marie, although I was a little disappointed how niche she was – her target audience was pretty much girls between 9 and 15. My husband, who likes Ed but feels ‘he’s gone a little too commercial these days’ and was at the concert under duress, suggested that is pretty much Ed’s target audience. I wholeheartedly dis-agreed and looking around, it was not just teenage girls – there was a whole host of men and women of all ages standing around us.
Ed came on at 8.45pm prompt, and took us with him on a fantastically boppy, joyful 90 minute journey of songs, dancing and a fantastic stage set. Commanding the stage with nothing more than his guitar and a loop pedal, Ed captivated the audience from the off, opening the show with Castle on the Hill much to the delight of our eldest (one of her very favourite songs, along with Bloodstream) As he seamlessly flew into another of his most famous hits A-Team. I was happy, I knew the words to these songs and could sing along to my heart’s content, much to the consternation of my pre-teen, who is very embarrassed about her mum showing any kind of emotion in public. But then, lo and behold, I got the nod from Ned – he gave me permission to sing – and dance, during one of his very chatty preludes between songs and so I did - and it was great. I especially loved his Cèilidh inspired version of Galway Girl which got the whole stadium jumping and a-jigging.
Ed loves to talk and in the end it felt like an audience with Ed, instead of a regular concert. He talked to the boys who had been dragged along by their girlfriends and he talked to the dads, or ‘superdads’ who had gone along in support of their children, pondering about the bad traffic, etc, etc He told us about how he once had one of those dads, who took him along to many concerts (and look where he is now, we thought) And he talked to mums like me who were itching to sing and dance, despite their teenage daughters standing alongside, sneering.
As the night drew in, the volume increased, and the mood dripped with atmosphere as Ed produced a brooding rendition of Bloodstream and even his own version of Nina Simone’s Feelin Good. We launched into the slow numbers with the lovely Perfect sparking a chain reaction of twinkling phones held aloft (in my day it was lighters) a manmade tribute to the starry sky twinkling above our heads. My daughter and I love Thinking Out Loud – it may be schmaltzy, but surely those beautiful lyrics resonate with each and every one of us?
The pace picked up again and we all sung Sing with its catchy groove to end the show with a fanfare. But we all knew it wasn’t over. Ed left the stage after encouraging the crowd on a wave of ‘Wo wo wo wooohhh wo wo wo woh, wo wo wo wooohhh wo wo wo who…’ which we all enthusiastically kept up until he reappeared in a Swiss football kit, much to the delight of the crowd. He continued the adoration of the home crowd as he launched into Shape of You, which must be the most played tune in the history of Switzerland (for a while I could not put on a radio station or walk into a clothes store here without hearing it) The crowd roared with appreciation for this especially well-known number of theirs which they could confidently sing along to and wave their arms to wildly.
And then he played a blinder with his final song You Need Me, I Don’t Need You. Superb performance, fantastic stage set. And BOOM – we were left in no doubt it was over. I haven’t experienced the end of a set like that since I saw The Coral at Liverpool’s Royal Court.
I thought Ed’s concert would be good but it was spectacularly so. It was exciting, it had oodles of energy, Ed has talent, oodles of talent, and it went ultra-smoothly. It takes incredible balls to conduct a concert to a stadium of people all by your onesie, with nothing but your beloved guitar and a loop pedal. Any journalist criticising Ed Sheeran’s performance for being a bland everybloke (Guardian) and having ordinary material (Telegraph) completely misses the point (or maybe they’re just jealous that this ‘ordinary guy’ commands the adulation of millions of teenage girls)
Ed Sheeran cares. His songs are great, especially his earlier stuff, much of which he sung last night. He sings about stuff that matters, he talks to us, he’s a regular guy, who his dad dutifully took to concerts, who made it. Just like any other of us could make it. We all loved it, my eldest (of course) my youngest (dead on her feet by the end but completely spellbound by the whole experience - and she saw a shooting star!) Even my husband was super impressed, saying that was the best concert he’s seen in a long time. The best even since Paul Weller. And that’s saying something.
