Ed Sheeran is a one-man band… literally. Sheeran brought the Divide Tour to Chicago on Friday and Saturday night at Allstate Arena.
Opening that night was British singer James Blunt, a close friend of Sheeran’s. He performed his hit songs “You’re Beautiful” and “Bonfire Heart.” Blunt also performed “Make Me Better,” a song that had a little help from Sheeran.
Being that this was my first Ed Sheeran concert, I was expecting a traditional setup: a band backing up the singer. Sheeran performs completely alone, just him and a guitar, much to my surprise. He would record the chords and beats on his guitar and put them on a loop. This made the songs sound similar to the album without a full band. Sheeran used a similar method for the vocals, recording them in one microphone and singing the melody in another. He used a machine to loop the vocals, chords and rhythms he had already built when needed. This allowed him to play the main guitar part of the song and sing, all while having himself as backup.
Ed Sheeran performs solo at Allstate Arena. | Photo by Halle Olson
The one exception to Sheeran’s one-man show was the ballad “How Would You Feel (Paean)” off of his album “Divide.” For this number, he brought out a crew member that played the piano. “I wouldn’t let people pay to listen to me play piano,” he said to the audience.
But he did let people pay to hear other songs off of his latest album. “New Man,” “Happier,” “Galway Girl” and, of course, “Shape of You” were all crowd favorites. He also pulled songs from his sophomore and debut albums.
Sheeran filled the arena with his music and energy from start to finish despite the fact that he was a one-man band. And he finished it in true Chicago style, wearing a Bears jersey while performing “You Need Me, I Don’t Need You.”
