Ed Sheeran Live in Manila 2018 #DivideTourMNL - BlogPh.net

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Ed Sheeran Live in Manila 2018 #DivideTourMNL

Ed Sheeran Live in Manila 2018
#DivideTourMNL
April 8, 2018
Mall of Asia Concert Grounds, Pasay City, Philippines

And yet another late post... but the experience itself will always be timely, even if I barely had any photos or good videos to reminisce with.

Ed Sheeran Live in Manila 2018 #DivideTourMNL


Issues and Concerns


But before anything else, I can't help but lay down issues and concerns first...

While my ticket is for the first section, there's only one more row left before the next level. Everyone else from the same section paid the same yet I can hardly see Ed Sheeran from this part (Row 24). I thought of that during the show but whenever I wave my phone's camera to capture the audience all the way at the back --- Patron B, C, Gold, Silver and Gen Ad, I saw nothing but people's faces in bliss. Right, I am as happy as they were.

When the ticket sale date was announced, I set my phone alarm for it. I thought it starts at 12 midnight but it looks like it follows SM mall hours (10AM) if I remember it correctly. I was probably one of those who have been waiting on the dot but all the best seats were taken within seconds after sale was opened so I ended up with the 24th row; only to find out that someone else did not complete their transaction about 15 minutes after, since reserved seats that are unpaid are released after the allotted payment timeframe. Seats closer to the stage then became available but because I already purchased mine, I can't spare additional cash to pay for another seat so **** whoever those joy reservers were! 🙄🤣

Although the original date was moved (from November 7, 2017), it's all for Ed Sheeran's recovery so that's all good. Come April 8 though, I noticed that more seats were still sold, even at the Patron area. I'm not sure if those were free or paid because they were standing; most of them eventually moved towards the isle sometime later though.

Another concern is the arrangement of seat sections. If Ed Sheeran seemed too far from where I was seated, how much more for the people at the back? Okay, okay, they were happy like I was, that's true; but I think MoA Arena is a far better venue than the open grounds for an event like this. More fans can be able to watch the show at the open grounds indeed but the ascending seats at the arena will allow viewers to have a better view of the stage below without towering heads in front.

Ed Sheeran Live in Manila 2018


Ed Sheeran Live in Manila 2018

Anyway, enough of that and more on the music. :)

To sum it all up, despite some issues and concerns, it was an amazing experience. The one-man band totally delivered even if he had no backup band or vocalists, no dancers, no props or gimmicks. Him and his guitars alone were more than enough.

I don't know if I heard him right but I think he mentioned that the backup vocals were pre-recorded. He didn't say if those were other backup singers' voices but it sure sounded like him. I believe some guitar solos were also prepared beforehand since I noticed him stopping the strumming at some point. I couldn't tell if those were hand-sync (something like lip sync but for instruments). 

Issues on Ed Sheeran

I still wonder why he doesn't have anyone else with him though. 🤔 It's very Ilocano-like, a regional group in the Philippines, known for being thrifty. Or does it have anything to do with court settlements (possibly huge sums paid) for Photograph? This post from The Guardian explains it better than I could ever do. But just for a quick note, there are only a limited number of musical notes; it's very probable for some songs to sound a bit like another; it's possibly just coincidental or unintentional. Plus, Sheeran had written quite a number of songs for him and other artists (like Taylor Swift, One Direction, Justin Bieber, Tori Kelly and more) for anyone to doubt his lyrical skill. 

As for performing alone, he had always been playing like a one-man band before these cases came up though (all the way back 2014 or even earlier); it's just his style. Ed Sheeran sings, plays guitars and even raps well. 

Anyway, none of the controversial songs (Photograph and Thinking Out Loud) brought me to his music. It was Give Me Love and then I See Fire (used for the movie, The Hobbit: The Desolation of Smaug). Perfect isn't my beat these days too (from the most recent album, Dive), despite it's immense popularity; it's Castle on a Hill for me.

Setlist


Here's the list of songs he performed (in order) for the show:

Castle on the Hill
Eraser
The A Team
Don't / New Man
Dive
Bloodstream
Happier
I'm a Mess
Tenerife Sea
Galway Girl
I See Fire
Photograph
Perfect
Nancy Mulligan
Thinking Out Loud
Sing

Encore:
Shape of You
You Need Me, I Don't Need You

Nancy Mulligan is a standout for me. I can imagine people dancing the way they do during an old Irish dance. 

Castle on the Hill, one of my favorites, is a very personal song. There's someone I know who gets bored with narrative tracks but I love such types. 

You Need Me, I Don't Need You is a joy. He's like a British Eminem with a more romantic accent and less angry lyrics. It's still personal but very enjoyably upbeat. 

Videos


Here's one of the videos from the concert:



And the rest of the videos in a playlist:

Ed Sheeran Live in Manila 2018 Videos Playlist

This is Ed Sheeran's 2nd time in the Philippines and I hope he comes back again in the future. 

Find Ed Sheeran Online


Website: www.edsheeran.com
Facebook: www.facebook.com/EdSheeranMusic
Instagram: www.instagram.com/teddysphotos
YouTube: www.youtube.com/channel/UC0C-w0YjGpqDXGB8IHb662A

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