A young tiger in a sold-out solo show
Don’t be misled by Ed Sheeran’s poignant love songs, sweet voice and strummy acoustic guitar. The British singer-songwriter was a tiger who tore up the stage during a solo show at Canadian Tire Centre on Wednesday, to the delight of a sold-out crowd estimated at more than 12,000 fans.
Yes, it was a solo arena show, a rare event more commonly associated with legends like Neil Young or Bruce Springsteen. How would the 24-year-old genreblending phenomenon handle himself without a band or backing singers or even props on such a big stage?
Well, he’s been doing it every night for almost a year as he tours the world to promote his best-selling album, X. With that many shows under his belt, it’s no wonder he made it look easy.
For starters, there was ample volume coming from the big stage, which was adorned with a multi-screen video backdrop and illuminated by a nice, clean lighting design. Sheeran also made use of on-the-spot looping to add extra rhythms, riffs and vocals, pumping the sound way beyond what you’d expect from a solitary figure with an acoustic guitar.
Plus, he came out rocking on the show-opening I’m a Mess, creating a propulsive energy that ebbed and flowed but never waned, even on the slow songs. Of course, he also had an enthusiastic audience to help him out with the vocals, turning most songs into a mass singalong.
“The name of the game is to care as little as possible,” he said, referring to the judgment of others. “If you want to dance like an idiot, dance like an idiot. Sing out of tune if you want. Don’t worry about what people think.”
Nimble playing and a surprisingly powerful voice characterized Sheeran’s performance as he moved through a set list that featured a string of hits, including the tender Lego House, the rhythmic Don’t, the carefree Drunk, the sentimental Photograph and a clever mash-up of his tune Take It Back, with Stevie Wonder’s Superstition and Bill Withers’ Ain’t No Sunshine. Despite the size of the crowd, Sheeran was able to single-handedly create a sense of intimacy and togetherness.
Sheeran has been performing solo throughout his career, and has no plans to change, he told a clutch of media types during a question-and-answer session before the concert.
“There’s no point now,” said the boyish star. “I think the band will come when I’m not able to be as energetic on stage. When I bust my hip or something, I don’t know.”
The idea of forming a band has come up before, he explained, partly because stepping up to bigger venues always terrifies him. The next challenge will be this summer’s three-night run at Wembley Stadium that has him performing in front of 80,000 people.
“There was a conversation to get a band about four years ago and then we never got around to it,” he said. “Every time the venue steps up, there’s a conversation about getting a band and then we don’t.
“When we do Wembley, there’s not another venue that would scare me more than that playing solo. So once we do that, I’ll probably just stay solo for a while. “
During the interview, Sheeran answered questions about his favourite song (Eric Clapton’s Layla), a musical hero who caused him to be star-struck (Van Morrison) and what he did on his day off. Although Sheeran was in Ottawa for a couple of days, he didn’t see much of the city because he was working on new music in a mobile studio.
“When you’re not touring, you’re itching to get touring again and when you’re touring, you’re itching to make music again,” he said.
“We were meant to go out (on the town) tonight but I’m on a roll. I haven’t been in the studio for a while so I just want to get songs out.”
How does he stay so grounded? Not letting it go to his head boils down to good parenting, he said.