I’m afraid I wasn’t very good company last night at the Ed Sheeran concert.  I think I’m turning into an old geezer when it comes to appreciating good music  My wife was really looking forward to this concert, but I just couldn’t get into it.  He put on a great show as a solo artist.  It was fascinating to watch him lay down a rhythm track with his guitar, and then layer-over additional vocal and guitar tracks.  He apparently utilizes his own custom-built looping device, and is masterful in creating the effect of having a back-up band on stage with him.  This is a serious skill, especially when done live.  He has taken some unwarranted criticism for performing to a backing track, but everything he does is live through this loop station. I thought he must have had a hidden sound technician to help create the seamless flow he delivers, but apparently this unique sound is achieved on his own.

The people around me were very distracting.  (Post #121).  I wanted to sit down and relax, but it gives the impression that I’m not interested.  Everyone else is on their feet dancing, singing, and waving their arms.  Ed obviously encourages this, but I just looked like an old fart.  I’m surprised he didn’t have me thrown out.  I was mesmerized by his hourglass-shaped video screen that dominated the stage.  It displayed images of him, his guitars, lyrics, bright colors, emoji, and squiggly lines to add variety to songs that sound so similar.  It was perhaps all the lovey-dovey surrounding me that was overwhelming.  A marriage proposal, “get a room” embraces, spastic dancing, and a whole-lot-of-groping prevailed while he performed. It was like I had taken a sedative, and they were chugging vials of 5-Hour Energy.  The crowd was primarily young women and their partners shrieking and swooning to his love songs.  I’ve experienced similar performances by Michael Buble’, and Harry Connick Jr. to be specific.  Although, Ed Sheeran has much more of an awe-shucks type of presence when compared to these other handsome devils of the croon.  His red hair, un-kept appearance, Irish brogue, and tattoos make him an artist of modern times, while I’m just a gray-haired geezer drowning in a pool of estrogen.

I’m also undoubtedly jealous.  He doesn’t need the good looks to get the girls.  He’s sensitive and talented and has worked his way up from the bottom.  Ed doesn’t need to pay a band to fill the Moda Center, and his voice has range and power.  He can strum on a guitar like no one else can, and his lyrics and songs are popular and filled with energy.  Maybe it was his opening act, James Blunt, that set me on edge.  Not everyone was standing for him, but then there were “those two concert chicks” that clearly made their presence known by blocking everyone else’s view of the stage.  By the time Ed Sheeran hit the stage, everyone in the crowd fit that annoying description, in my opinion.  It reminded me of all those concerts I’d been to in life where everyone seemed to be enjoying it more than I was.  I liked the company of my wife and the fact that she loved the show, but I didn’t handle the distractions like I might have years ago.