“It feels like this evening could be great,” said the Briton. For his 65,000 fans, he became that: the 31-year-old ignited a firework of hits full of catchy pop songs and ballads; Visually, there was a stylish mega stage, columns of fire and hip visuals to admire. There was a fair mood – the night was probably “amazing” for Sheeran too.
The expectations of the visitors (probably the majority) were high: Laola rolled through the Prateroval for a few minutes before the first tone, with the impressive red stage glowing in the background, hundreds of selfies were shot, the last seconds of a countdown on the main -Video wall, which also served as a kind of stage curtain, the audience loudly counted down. Then it rocks hard: Sheeran (in a t-shirt with Vienna imprint) sweeps through “Tides” and “Blow” with the band, the guitars are fat and loud, columns of fire flicker, rockets take off.
It’s amazing the path the singer-songwriter from Halifax has taken. In 2012, Sheeran performed in the afternoon sun at the Frequency Festival in St. Pölten in front of around 200 curious onlookers and was quickly able to attract a large crowd with his loops and songs. The musician himself doesn’t seem to grasp that he’s now filling stadiums. He played these songs in pubs, in front of five people, in front of no people, Sheeran said yesterday, and then brought “The A-Team” – accompanied by 50,000 cell phone lights.
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“Everything live”
Apart from the technical effort – a revolving stage in the middle of the stadium, the construction of a new attraction in the Prater, flanked by six video walls in the form of guitar picks – and two parts of the show with a band (ultimately used discreetly), little has changed with the artist. He still exudes a mischievous air, the friendliness of his job shows, and he continues to do most of the program solo. “Everything live,” he emphasizes, explaining his loop station to those who might be “here for the first time”.
“Shivers”, “Love Yourself” (composed for Justin Bieber), “Perfect”, “Afterglow” – the songs work just as well in a wide circle as in a pub, the ballads are intimate, the mainstream pop songs to dance to. “My job is to entertain,” Sheeran said. He did nothing more and nothing less over 23 songs. If someone got a bit tired because of the somewhat overused call-and-response interludes, Sheeran (in the encore part in Austria dress) took care of it with a furious, around nine-minute “You Need Me, I Don’t Need You” including an ecstatic rap part for a bright finale.
Incidentally, Sheeran took two talented young women on a tour of Europe’s stadiums. Cat Burns from London, who took off this year with “Go”, opened the program and convinced with a great voice, charisma and an appealing mixture of soulful ballads and pop songs.
Maisie Peters, supported by a band in contrast to her predecessor, dished up cheeky girl power. The 22-year-old, signed to Sheeran’s label, writes songs about her sister, about “don’t mess with blondes” and “Cate’s Brother,” her most successful song to date. This stood out clearly from the rest during the performance. Peters has the potential to follow in the musical footsteps of Avril Lavigne, for example, but her songs are not yet big enough for the stadium.
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Source: Nachrichten
