Ed and his guitar hit spot
Ed Sheeran knows exactly what Kiwis want to hear. And last night at Eden Park, he delivered it — despite technical issues that forced him to pause the show.
It marked the first time the pop star has played in the City of Sails since 2018. After Auckland’s disastrous flooding of a couple of weeks ago, doubt was cast over whether he’d actually make it here.
But the skies stayed clear and Aucklanders finally got to enjoy an outdoor show — and forget for a couple of hours that a cyclone is heading our way.
Having already seen the stage and set at Sky Stadium in Wellington didn’t lessen the wow factor at Eden Park, complete with fireworks, huge light displays and a rotating stage.
Appearing in an Auckland T-shirt, Sheeran proved once again that he knows how to wow a crowd.
Opening with Tides from his newest album, Equals, he moved on to nostalgic hits we all know from the 2010s like I’m A Mess and Don’t.
“I’m sad that I’m leaving in a couple of days,” Sheeran told the crowd before reminiscing about how New Zealand fans helped The A Team
become his first big hit.
“But every time I come back here I feel like one of your own.”
And the crowd clearly felt the same. However you feel about his music, there’s no denying his appeal to all generations — from kids on their parents’ shoulders to middleaged couples to 20-somethings moshing as close to the stage as they could get.
And the unassuming gingerhaired 31-year-old knows how to tug on the heartstrings, with countless couples slow dancing along to Thinking Out Loud and Perfect.
And the question on all of our lips was, of course, had he practised Galway Girl since the moment he needed 10-year-old Palmerston North schoolgirl Pippa Guerin to help him finish it in Wellington?
Sounded like he had. Sheeran didn’t miss a beat of the song this time round, to the crowd’s delight.
But it didn’t all go smoothly. Halfway through Bloodstream, the sound started crackling and he was forced to stop playing not once, not twice, but three times in a row.
Waiting for him to return, the crowd did what they do best at Eden Park — entertained themselves with a Mexican wave, with one or two “boos” from disappointed concertgoers.
Returning to the stage, Sheeran admitted he’d have to play acoustic songs until the issue was fixed.
But the crowd certainly weren’t complaining. They were happy with just Ed and his guitar. That’s how we came to know and love him and his music all those years ago, after all.