T-shirts Work, Too: Ed Sheeran’s Divide Concert

I’ve seen Ed Sheeran twice in concert and neither time was he wearing a plaid flannel shirt. What’s going on, universe?! Two years ago, at his Multiply concert in St. Louis, he wore a red t-shirt sporting the logo of his opening act, Hanson. Read about that experience here. On June 29, at his Divide concert at Sprint Center in Kansas City, he wore a black t-shirt sporting the logo of Hoax, a British surf and skateboard maker. (Ed, you’re such a marketer.) The black was definitely a better choice, since it didn’t clash with his ginger coif like the Hanson shirt did, but I’m still a little annoyed that I haven’t seen Ed in his quintessential attire. Oh well, I’m being shallow, and Ed, the king of acoustic sounds, and lovely romantic ballads, would not be pleased with that.

But maybe he’s just branching out with his clothing choices. Kind of like he’s done musically with his Divide album released last March. When compared with his two previous albums, Divide contains a bewilderingly diverse array of musical styles, and exhibits a long leap from when he quietly made his mark with Plus and then followed that with Multiply, where he solidified his status on the world stage as arguably today’s most popular male solo artist.

Divide was such a diversion from his normal fare that I was confused at first. I mean, don’t tell anyone, especially Ed, but I didn’t really care for his song, “Castle on the Hill,” until I saw it performed in concert. The song sounded like something by U2. And even though I’m a big U2 fan, I like my Ed Sheeran to sound like Ed Sheeran.

However, seeing him stride purposefully onstage while strumming the introductory frenetic chords, approaching his loop pedal, then layering the various instrumental parts, sealed the deal for me and I thought to myself: Enjoy this moment. Take it all in. You’re at another Ed Sheeran concert and this is gonna be so great.

And it was. The opening number began after show-opener James Blunt left the stage at 8:30 p.m. It was an enthusiastic audience that contained more men and couples in attendance than I remember two years ago on Mother’s Day when it was clearly a girls-night-out crowd. As he began his second number, Ed even mentioned that he could tell he was now in the States because “everyone smiles here.”

That made Sprint Center erupt in an ear-splitting roar as it settled in for the concert it had waited two long years for. Two long years, people, including one when Ed disappeared from social media and high-publicity events. One long, cold year that would be marked on world history timelines as the dark age devoid of life’s most basic need: cute pictures of Ed’s cats. Sheerios (and mom-fans like me) were ready for this show.

Photo: Ed Sheeran Updates on Twitter

The set list then included the following in this order:

1. Castle on the Hill (perfect show-starter, love it now)
2. Eraser (lots of rap, sweeping chorus)
3. The A Team (the song, crumbling pastries and other sadness)
4. Don’t (keep hands and feet in the car at all times)
5. New Man (those lyrics!)
6. Dive (soulful, bluesy, awesome)
7. Bloodstream (drug reference, dang it)
8. Happier (how-can-I-go-on-living reference),
9. Galway Girl (Ireland reference)
10. Feeling Good (yes, we are)
11. I See Fire (from The Hobbit— I can play this on my guitar, kind of)
12. Supermarket Flowers (ode to his grandmother, beautiful)
13. Photograph (again, and of course)
14. Perfect (someone proposed– Ed advised “Say yes!”)
15. Thinking Out Loud (required on setlist for duration of career)
16. Nancy Mulligan (Sheeran genealogy lesson)
17. Sing! (okay, if we must)

Around 9:50, he said something along the lines of “Kansas City, you’ve been great!”  My daughter and I looked at each other, and then at our phones to catch the time. What?! It’s over already??

We couldn’t take him too seriously, of course, because we knew he still hadn’t performed one certain song. So, toying with our emotions, he strode off the stage, and the whole place yelled in a panic. And then in true Ed style, he sheepishly returned and finished the show with:

18. Shape of You (something like a billion streams and counting) and

19. You Need Me, I Don’t Need You (a reference to “the industry,” not his fans)

As usual, the stage contained one person: Ed. He performed below a mammoth video projection apparatus that resembled the shape of a carousel. It combined giant, crystal-clear live images of Ed interwoven with colorful animations and photography for each song in the concert. So even though our seats were in the upper reaches of the venue, we watched Ed perform in close-up. Totally cool.

It was even cooler when he noticed a child about ten rows back crying apparently over the noise level. He then located a set of headphones for the boy or girl and even ventured down into the audience and adjusted them for the child. The five-minute act of kindness earned a lot of “Awwws!” and Ed likely did it because he knew what was coming: an especially raucous, loud, and long version of “Bloodstream.” That Ed. What a guy.  As thoughtful as ever… even if he’s moved on from his flannel-wearing days. It’s okay, I’m over it. T-shirts work, too.

Photo: Impose Magazine

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