Check out the photo gallery from the lens of Hot Press snapper Kathrin Baumbach right here.
Outside 3Arena, the rain and wind are doing their worst. On stage, though, there’s a flame-haired hero to warm even the coldest of souls. Your intrepid reporter thought it sensible to brave the elements alone. Ed Sheeran had a similar idea.
With just a guitar and a set of pedals for company, the chart-topper ambled on stage, eschewing the support of a live band. Opening with ‘I’m A Mess’ and ‘Lego House’ - and clad in an old-school USA '94 Ireland shirt - it’s clear he could also have discarded lights, and perhaps even microphones. A sea of cameras illuminated the scene, with every word screamed by an overwhelmingly female audience.
Sheeran is an unlikely pin-up; a Casanova in Converse. He’s one-part singer-songwriter, and one-part walking/talking cuddle. Whenever his face gives way to his impish grin, a wave of screams rolls from roof to floor. The capacity crowd – one of four on this visit to Dublin – are with him every step of the way, but it could’ve been a rocky road.
While technically adept – vocally dextrous and obviously schooled on looping tracks – his back-catalogue is occasionally tangled. The Timberlake-esque hip-hop vibes of ‘Don’t’ and ‘You Need Me, I Don’t Need You’ jar with the delicate construct of ‘One’ or the smash-hit ‘The A-Team’.
It matters little, though. Even if his solo effort occasionally struggles to fill the vast expanse of the arena, it still fills the hearts of the adoring crowd. During ‘Tenerife Sea’, he sings, “should this be the last thing I see/I want you to know it's enough for me.” His smile suggests he might well mean it.