In many ways, Ed Sheeran is the anti-pop star. With an unassuming act that seems better suited to dingy taverns than massive arenas, Sheeran’s charm exists in how awkward and uncomfortable he seems in the spotlight.
In front of 14,000 vocal – and predominantly female – adulators on Saturday night at the ACC, the British singer-songwriter eschewed a big production-laden spectacle in favour of an hour and 45 minutes that featured him and his guitar and some undeniably quirky fun.
To open the show, Sheeran walked out from behind the curtain with no dramatic music or pyro-heavy pronouncement of his arrival, letting the screams of those in attendance set the tone. From there, the 24-year-old unlikely heartthrob seemed alternately shy and amused by the attention being lavished on him, offering signs of thanks and uncomfortable chuckles instead of posing and preening. He was sure to keep the focus on the music, keeping his banter to a minimum and trusting his own talent to keep the young crowd engaged throughout the 16-song set.
Despite not exactly being a force of outward ego, crowd engagement didn’t prove much of a challenge for Sheeran, whose fans sang along to every lyric that he served up. At one point, in thanking fans for their vocal support, he urged them to “sing along – or sing whatever comes to you. I just want to hear you all singing.” While he looks the part of a guy who still doesn’t grasp the extent of his own fame, Sheeran displays a clear joy in performing, taking particular delight in an extended guitar riff late in the set and treating the crowd to some skillful rap.
It wasn’t a perfect showing by Sheeran, who flubbed a line on his hit single “The A Team”. But even in a large arena setting, the Brit’s likable mix of musical talent and genuine humility shone through. Authentic is the primary selling point for Sheeran, which is why fans can find amusement in seeing the ginger-haired singer cover tracks like 50 Cent’s “In Da Club” and Chris Brown’s “Loyal” with tongue-in-cheek self awareness. He even served up a little love letter to local fans in the form of a cover of Drake’s “Know Yourself”, which offered the surreal sight of Sheeran repeatedly singing “I was runnin’ through the six with my woes”.
Speaking of Drizzy, it was hard not to watch Saturday’s no-frills show and think back to Drake’s show at the same venue just days earlier. With just a guitar in hand, Sheeran was able to draw the same reaction that Drake got through a bevy of pyrotechnics and even dropping (fake) bills on the crowd. In the age of short attention spans, it’s nice to know that good music can still hold a crowd captive.
