I’ve been a pretty big fan of Ed Sheeran ever since I heard the ‘A Team’ when it was released, and not going to lie, I’m also a bit in love with him. I’m fascinated by the lyrics he writes, I don’t think I dislike any of his songs, and he also looks pretty nice too! My boyfriend looks like him though, so I guess it’s allowed…
This gig was even more special for me, because I’m also a massive fan of Jamie Lawson who was one of the ‘support acts’, along with Anne Marie. Both of them were incredible! I’ve seen Jamie Lawson before and so I knew what to expect, and although it was obvious not everyone was a fan/knew any songs other than ‘Wasn’t Expecting That’, I loved it anyway.
His stage presence was excellent and his energy infectious from the moment he stepped on stage to perform songs from his latest two albums. For me, the best songs were ‘Fall into Me’ and ‘Can’t See Straight’ – I’ll never get over the lyric ‘And I’m head over heels and heels over head, You’re the only explanation for my discombobulation, baby’.
Next up was Anne Marie who I also think is brilliant! She was perfect for warming up the crowd, and she actually set the bar pretty high for Ed’s performances.
Obviously, the best part of the evening was Ed Sheeran’s set. He has so many songs and somehow manages to keep thousands of people entertained with just a his voice, guitar and loop pedals which just amazes me! For me, the best bits were ‘Dive’, ‘Thinking Out Loud’ and ‘Shape of You’. They were all incredible, but the encore was somehow even better. Ed came onto the stage in an ‘I heart MCR’ t-shirt which was sweet just after the one year anniversary of the Manchester terrorist attack, and the arrangement of ‘You Need Me, I Don’t Ned You’ blew me away.
In general, I really like gigs at the Etihad – the atmosphere is always amazing and I just much prefer being able to see the sky! The staff always tend to be lovely and the security even nicer (I saw a number of them dancing with the audience throughout the night!) I’ve been to a few gigs there – Take That, Robbie Williams, Coldplay – but I’ve wanted to see Ed Sheeran for a very long time, so this one was extra special. Even if you’re only a little bit of a fan, I’d recommend going to see him, because his sheer love for music is simply contagious, and his crowd interaction made even the grumpiest of audience members smile, I’m sure of it.
I did a ‘proper’ review of the gig for the local newspaper I write for that you can see here, if you’re interested!
Amelia Faye 