WARNING! THIS POST CONTAINS THE RAMBLINGS OF A FANGIRL..... My Ed Sheeran Experience

Welcome! As I said, this post is going to be filled with fangirling. This post is basically just rambling on about how good he is but hey, I'm a fangirl. So watch out ;)
I wrote this for English class about my Ed experience:

The whole place exploded into a piercing chorus of screams. Ed Sheeran was walking over from the dugout to the moderate sized stage located on second base.

The crowd burst into a powerful chant, “ED! ED! ED! ED! ED!” and, of course, my voice joined in because this was the moment I had been awaiting for weeks and my heart was nearly bursting open with happiness.

It all started one day when I was listening to the radio in the car with my mom and heard the announcement about a concert that was going to happen featuring “The Action Figures”, “Classified”, “Drop City Yacht Club”, “Ed Sheeran”, and “Jason Derulo”. Right then and there I told my mom I wanted to be there, but I wasn’t expecting it to really happen. When I got home, I googled details and found out that general admission tickets (basically that means not floor seats) were only $10.45 (or 7.746 Euros for all my European friends out there), which is an outstanding price for concert tickets.

“Can I go?” I begged my mom.

Three out of five of the bands were foreign to me, but I idolized the talented, British singer and songwriter Ed Sheeran, who was also recently on tour with Taylor Swift, and I had heard Jason DeRulo on the radio a few times before.

When it was all settled that my dad would take my friend Christine and me (I asked Seana too but she had tennis and couldn't go), I called the venue where the event was going to be held and inquired about when their box office was open for my dad to go buy tickets. I was told the correct times and my dad was planning on picking up the precious merchandise on Friday, the end of the sluggishly slow week. I was also told that after a couple weeks the prices would change and double, but Friday was way less than two weeks away, so we’d be fine.

The week snailed by, and just to make sure of everything, I called again on Friday and was advised not to come that day because Lou Whitaker was coming to speak and it would be challenging to come in because of all the insane fans.

“I’m not exactly sure when we’ll be able to make it in next,” I said. “I was told that the prices were going to change in a couple weeks, do you know when we have to come by to get the cheaper prices?”

“Hmm,” the lady on the phone said. “The prices actually don’t change until the night of the event, I don’t know where whoever you talked to before got their information!”

“Thank you so much,” I said, pressure taken off my shoulders.

That weekend, I was my ears were tuned to the radio again and the broadcaster started talking about the concert so I piped down and listened. My heart dropped in my chest when I heard that ticket prices were going up on Monday, meaning that I was too late to get the cheaper prices and the chance had slipped out of my fingertips because of one lady’s negligence. I knew my parents wouldn’t be so keen about the concert knowing that it was more expensive, and I didn’t want to let that money out of my hands either. My hopes were smashed into a thousand pieces. If I had just told my dad to brave the insane Lou Whitaker fans on Friday, we would be going to the concert of my dreams.

My disappointment turned into sadness, then the sadness morphed into anger. I couldn’t believe that all this was happening to me after my hopes had blown through the roof.

That Monday as soon as the box office was open again, with a knot in my stomach, I called and explained my situation, what happened, and why I believed I should get tickets for the original price. The guy on the phone was very helpful to me and asked his manager what they could do about it.

His manager was very sympathetic to our circumstances I nearly screamed into the phone with delight as he told me that they could grant my wish. I was going to the concert! We got everything figured out on the phone and my dad picked up the tickets later that day when I didn’t know he had gone. I was super surprised when he came home with them and of course I couldn’t resist tweeting, instagramming, and telling everybody that I had them in my hands.

On July 17, 2013, Christine, my dad, and I piled into the car and drove to my happiness. That day happened to be the hottest day of the summer at one hundred degrees, but with a humidity that made it feel seven degrees hotter. We stood, our skin being scorched by the hot sun, for over an hour. People starting roaring when Jason DeRulo came up on the hill by the line and conversed with a few people, but he never came around our area.

Finally they removed the barriers and let us into the park. The stampede for good seats plowed forward but we were one step ahead which allowed us to get second row seats on the bleachers, which is amazingly good for how many people were there.

To be honest, the concert was a bit of a letdown at first because the first three acts to come out were rap or hiphop. Plus, they used a ton of very colorful language and many of the girls were wearing clothes that revealed a ton more than necessary. The people a few rows in front of us kept guzzling beers pretty much nonstop all night and they needed a room. Let's just say it wasn't a family friendly concert. We all agreed that there were way to many kids in attendance who should not have been there and they were swearing. It really gave me an insight to how messed up some young people are these days and how parents just aren't doing enough to correct their behaviors. Or maybe they just don't care.

Despite all that, finally it was time. The DJ made a huge show and played on the suspense before Ed emerged and we got our first glance. The whole place exploded into a piercing chorus of screams. Ed Sheeran was walking over from the dugout, dressed in a blue plaid shirt to compliment his flaming ginger hair, to the moderate sized stage located on second base.

The crowd burst into a powerful chant, “ED! ED! ED! ED! ED!” and, of course, my voice joined in because this was the moment I had been awaiting for weeks and my heart nearly busting open with happiness.

He reached his destination, grabbed his guitar from backstage, and began making beautiful music, so diverse from the earlier, where he was the only person on stage, creating all his own music, including guitar, percussion, singing, as well as guitar and singing harmonies with a loop pedal, whereas everyone else had an obnoxious DJ to press a button and start the track.
He really has an insane amount of God-given talent.

“Give a little time to me,” Ed’s voice cracked as he sang, “or burn this out. We’ll play hide and seek to turn it around, all I want is the taste that your lips allow….”

The song was done and yet again the whole place went berserk. Ed’s accent floated around the stadium and everyone was captured with the warmth of his British voice. Cracking jokes about his ginger hair, he seemed completely comfortable with who he is on that stage.

“This is Lego House,” Ed announced.

Everyone screamed and held up their “Lego” themed signs.

“Sing along, loves,” Ed’s voice smoothly and sweetly came through the microphone like French vanilla.

“I’m gonna pick up the pieces and build a Lego house, if things go wrong we can knock it down. And three words have two meanings but there’s one thing on my mind, and it’s all for you, mmmhhh. And it’s dark in a cold December, but I’ve got you to keep me warm, and if you’re broken I will mend ya, and I’ll keep you sheltered from the storm that’s raging on now….”

Ed’s voice resonated in my head as he finished his last notes.

Jason DeRulo came out and performed but no one was too impressed until he stripped off his shirt, revealing abs soaked with shiny sweat. Also for him it was the very first time every he ever live streamed a performance.

As we drove home I wondered how a concert I’d been waiting for for weeks could be over with in a heartbeat? I always want to go back but I know that it was probably a once in a lifetime opportunity and the best way to satisfy my hunger is to lose myself in the warmth of his voice on iTunes.

On this video (below) if you don't wanna watch the whole thing, go to 4:30 and that is an example of how he made his own music. There is no track being played in the background, he is creating everything with a loop pedal. Oh and this is not my video and I have no idea who filmed it. All I know is I WAS AT THAT CONCERT AND JUST WATCHING THIS MAKES ME WANT TO SOB! Watch the whole thing.... If you're a fan, you'll get goosebumps like I always do. 

Actually you can stop at 7:26 because at that point he said a bad word and had everyone else chanting it, plus there isn't really much else to the video. I was super mad at him for that but other than that, his performance was clean. I'm really sorry that I have to share this video with the swear word, but it's my favorite performance of the night and I couldn't find any other videos of it :(

This was a great performance too :) The video (below) is uploaded by the same person I think but as I said before it wasn't my filming. Wish it was cause she had an insanely good spot..... I didn't have floor seats because they costed $40 (or 29.652 Euros) and I didn't wanna pay that much when I could have seats that were just fine for a ton cheaper. And as I said, I was a little jealous, but they had to stand in the sun braving over 100 degree weather for over four hours. But AHHHH THAT FALSETTO! And I tell you: I had no voice. Ed achieved his goal. CRYING right now.

These videos are of the very first and last performance of the night..... the memories! *sniff, sniff* *grabs a Kleenex to dab away the stray tears that managed to escape out of the eyes while watching these videos*

If you like what you see, look up Small Bump on iTunes and buy it. Makes me sob every stinkin' time. Just wait till the end of that song. Also watch his music video for "Lego House" because the actor for Ron Weasley is the main person in it :) But watch for Ed at the end!

I couldn't find the one where there is a Lego animation right next to it which is super cool, but oh well.

Alright, well sorry that you had to go through reading my fangirling.... When I fall, I fall hard haha. 

My final thought to leave you with is that I felt so honored and surprised that such an amazing British musician who doesn't come to the USA often chose to come to a small concert in a somewhat small (small as in not as big as Detroit) city when he could have spent his night somewhere else doing the things he loved on such a bigger sized stage. Like literally there weren't that many people there, 1500- 2000 when Soldier Field's capacity is 61,500 and it was sold out. 

Ed, if you ever google yourself and land on this blog post written with love from a teenage girl, I just want to say thank you. Thank you for an amazing night that I will never forget. 

Mischeif Managed!

Love, July