the mommy avenger

This past weekend, I went back to my hometown of Denver to see a much anticipated concert. We got tickets to see Ed Sheeran perform his Mathematics tour in the Mile High City!

Unfortunately, his tour didn’t make a stop where we live, but it was well worth the effort to travel to Denver to get to see him perform live at Empower Field at Mile High

Getting to the stadium wasn’t the easiest, the parking was rough, and when we finally made it into the stadium, the weather took a turn for the worse and the concert was delayed for quite some time due to lightning. The rain and lightning could not kill the excitement buzzing through the concourses of the stadium. Everyone was so excited for Ed to perform. We just had no idea we would have to wait until 10pm to get to see him!

When the countdown started on the high tech video screens in the elaborate stage configuration that travels with Sheeran, the audience erupted with cheers and applause. Ed Sheeran was on stage at last and we immediately knew we were in for a great show.

He began the show with Tides, his voice and guitar strong and powerful. Then wowed us all with Blow and incredible special effects to coincide with the song. You could tell we were in for an incredible night. Song after song delivered flawlessly and anecdotes shared to connect the audience to him.

We were told that Ed had just broken the all time attendance record at Empower Field at Mile High, with 85,233 patrons in attendance! (Taylor Swift had 70,000 there at her concert this summer.)He shared that when he was just beginning his career, he performed The A Team to an empty pub, but knew he had something special and persevered and continue performing for inattentive audiences and never dreamed he would be performing it at a stadium with over 85,000 in the audience. He then performed it for us and the entire stadium lit up their phones and it was a truly awesome sight.

A lot of times, concerts can drag on in sections. This was not the case with Ed Sheeran. Hit after hit, songs written by him, but made hits by other artists, collaborations with other artists, ballads and songs spanning over his career with five different albums were performed with talent I have never seen before. Most certainly, he is the most talented artist I have ever had the opportunity to watch perform. Just a few songs were played with him accompanied by a band, the rest singularly by him. He showed us how he builds his own music using a pedal and demonstrated how each performance is unique. It was absolutely incredible.

When asked what my favorite song was to hear live, I start to answer with one song, then another, followed by yet another, only to realize, I can’t really name a favorite. Each one was a gift to every audience member. I thoroughly enjoyed Eyes Closed and seeing him get emotional. He is such a great guy. If you haven’t had a chance to see the documentary Ed Sheeran: The Sum of it All, put it on your list of things to watch. You will get an insight to meanings behind his music, his devotion to friends and family, and have a greater understanding and appreciation of his music. Having watched it myself, Eyes Closed was particularly meaningful to me. Another favorite of mine was Bloodstream. This has always been one of my favorite songs of his, but the rendition he performed that night was absolutely electric.

We were thoroughly entertained for almost two and a half hours and it went by in a flash. I was sad to realize it was over, but that time had flown by so quickly was an indication of just how great the show was. We were completely immersed in his world and we all left better for it.

The set list for the evening was:

Tides

BLOW

I’m a Mess

Shivers

The A Team

Castle on the Hill

Don’t/No Diggity/In da Club/The Next Episode

Eyes Closed

Give Me Love

Boat

Peru/South of the Border/I Don’t Care/Beautiful People

Overpass Graffiti

Galway Girl

Thinking Out Loud

Love Yourself

Sing

Photograph

Perfect

Bloodstream

Afterglow

Encore:

You Need Me, I Don’t Need You

Shape of You

Bad Habits

I am so thrilled I was able to experience such an amazing concert and would highly recommend to you to try to see him, if you are able during the remainder of his tour. I’m really tempted to find a way to make another concert work, I’d see him over and over again, if I could. I’ve seen a lot of concerts over the years and his has catapulted to the very top of my list for best concert ever!

To learn more about the Mathematics tour, visit EdSheeran.com.