Sheer Love, Sheerios. :)

All my senses come to life

When I'm stumbling home as drunk as I have ever been

And I'll never leave again

'Cause you are the only one

And that pretty much sums up the first experience of my first concert. 

A choice I'll never regret. Ed Sheeran.

Sheer magic.

So I'll apologize in advance if I'm not entirely coherent throughout this post as I foresee bouts of fangirling in between paragraphs.

*squeals*

***

Right. From the very start. Here we go. 

I wasn't really excited about the concert at first. After all, I'd bought the ticket on a spontaneous decision on a very unusual, very brave urge. I was simply walking down St Stephen's shopping center past the small Ticketmaster booth and thought, why not?

After all, Ed's a pretty good singer, unlikely to go all yucky in live performances. And his songs are pretty great. Look at Give Me Love. All Of the Stars. Kiss Me. 

So I bought it. Alone.

My First Concert Ticket!

And then started to hit myself over the head for it. Nobody was going, from what I know. Like, I would be going alone. 

Something I'd never done, nor had plan on doing. 

Not a really exciting prospect now.

I guess the experience would be a bit more terrifying -- going to my first concert alone-- had the day been nicer to me. Don't get me wrong; it was still pretty daunting finding out how to get to the arena in a mass of strangers. But I was already so bummed out by the lousy day I was having that the fear and trepidation wasn't really so intense.

See how the rain totally destroys EVERYTHING?!

It was so rainy that day, and nothing went right. I was angry, frustrated, slightly depressed; I was everything but happy or excited. I thought I was gonna go watch the concert like one would go to the movies. The rain trailed me like a crazy stalker would, splashing me with every step, getting into my hair, my shoes, my socks. I was like squishy Spongebob, minus the happy smile.

I got to the O2, otherwise known as the 3Arena now. No idea why they changed the name, but not a very important point. 

I guess it was typical of me to identify the Malaysian accent amidst a throng of Irish. Excited to have met at least someone, I turned to the two girls behind me and did a bit of the 'that accent' dance. ( *Infostall : the Accent Dance : You Malaysian? Yeah, how you know?! Aiya, I Malaysian too leh! Your accent too Malaysian d!)

Le Me in front of the O2

Properly introduced now, we entered the arena and promptly found ourselves in front of the souvenir stall.

This is the part where I patted myself on the back when I got home. Things were horrifically priced at the stall. 10euros for a rubber wrist band. 15 for a mug. Naturally, I deliberated for the longest time before settling on buying a tee with Ed on it. After all, I was convincing myself, it was my first concert, and it'd be a bit stupid not to have something to commemorate it, right?

I was such a genius. I'd be banging my head on the nearest wall if I hadn't bought that tee with his face on it. XD

                    

I shall now skip ahead to the opening act now instead on harping about all the tiny details about how bored I was waiting for stuff to start and wondering why I'm not more excited or roused by this. 

...
This is going to be a leeeeetttlllleeee cheesy, but bear with me there, okay? Fangirl moments should never be restrained.

And I swear I really did felt like that.

Right. Onwards!

...

After hours (well, more like minutes, but I was so bored), the lights finally dimmed. 

The music started. Softly at first, and then it started to swell, with the basses and the gradual pounding of the drums beating out a rhythm my heartbeat can't help but follow. And just like magic, all my previous frustration, anger, rainy mood dissipated, leaving me with a slow swell of mixed emotions, building and building until it feels like I was gonna burst from the intensity of it. 

And when you think it'd reached its peak, it brings you further, higher. 

It was amazing. 

And it was only the opening act.

Plenty of time for selfies with the stage

It's funny how music heals. Not that I didn't know it before, but previously it was more subtle than this. Like, more lyrics than just music. 

But this is just... Magic.

*infostall : This happens almost every time I hear a live band. Not at this intensity though, but it happens. And I gush every single time. MUSIC IS MY BESTEST FRIEND!

The opening was by a band called Saint Raymond. Though I had one of the best seats (in the middle of the arena, thus a clear perpendicular view of it folks. GAH. My luck is awesome) I couldn't really make out their faces, so I can't really say they are more hotties than cuties, or if they had cool hair-whips or really weird ones. 

But their songs are ... not bad.

Then again, they had a British accent, so they win. Hands Down.

BOOYAH.

There's the saints. can't really see anything though. better if you were there. BOOYAH!

I shall now skip ahead to when my *squeals* darling came out. There were drastic increases in the decibels of the cheers, but not really that much in my own head (not yet). Like, oh hey, there he is with his guitar. I was still wondering about his backup singers and musicians to be honest. Like, they had rearranged the stage so that the previous band instruments were all lugged and kept away, leaving four very weird rock like objects on the floor with two mics. 

Scratching my head at that point. 

Is he not going to have drums? What kind of concert doesn't have a drumset? This is not an acoustic session is it?! Are there no lead guitars? Keys? Drums!! I mean, I don't expect awesome visuals for 42euros, but at least have a band...?!

The stage with the four weird rocks and two mics. 

Then he started singing. 

OH.

That was the moment I discovered he didn't need all those. Just his voice alone can pull my heart around like no man's business. And don't even get me started on the guitar. Flying. Fingers. 'Nuff said.

If someone serenades me like that there'd be no question who I'd marry.

I never did expected this. It was as if he was playing back his albums. There were absolutely no differences between his live performances and his studio recorded albums. His control over his voice was so damn spectacular I wanted to die. His falsettos went all thin and thready and sodelicateineedtobreatheicantbreathcauseitssopretty and when the songs went up and up and cried about how broken-hearted he was his voice went up together and wrenched my soul out. 

Missed notes, trembling voices, shaky guitar playing? 

NADA. 

It was a one-man show; just his voice, and his guitar. 

GAH HE IS WITH HIS GUITAR AND SINGING MY HEART OUT OF MY MEDIASTINUM

He started by playing I'm A Mess (very appropriate considering my state at the time), Lego House (yesyesyesyesyes) and One (blubbering mess). By the time he finished One and Thinking Out Loud, I was so deeply in love that I didn't know how it felt not to be in love. 

I did notice that he did have drum beats, and like, background music. I was a bit meh; Don't play music from the speakers -- make it in front of me. Give BIRTH to it. 

And then I saw it.

*knocks myself over the head for thinking bad of Eddie* 

*increase fangirl level*

The man was a freaking genius. 

I hadn't noticed the weird keyboard thingy at his feet. I though he had this weird thing for stomping erratically when he's in the flow; I have weird movements when I sing too, okay? Music don't judge.

But I guess I was a bit of an idiot for not realising he was actually controlling something with his foot, and it turned out to be this weird keyboard thing which can record stuff he plays or sing. 

Thus, the need for a second mic.

I was impressed beyond logic. There he was, singing, and playing the guitar, and arranging layers and layers of music to all of his songs on the spot. With just one guitar. 

There were drumbeats he banged out on the body of the guitar (which he recorded), and riffs he played (which he recorded as well) and harmonies (recorded) and backup vocals (ditto) and so many many many more that he did with that keyboard. And while he was singing he was controlling all of these -- which one to playback, which ones to combine; all that jazz.

Even when he was singing rap.

Like, I lose my head when I need to play and sing at the same time. He was freaking doing four or five things at the same time.

#mindblown

Mild rapping state - me like the symmetry of this shoot. Blurry thanks to the awesome zoom on iPhones cam. Still awesome, iPhones. <3

Thus came the swooning.

He had that cute accent, which on normal days is enough to make me swoon. He smiles bashfully into the mic every single time when he sings something awfully romantic, like he's remembering what made him wrote that. He had a very cute boyish charm around him when he sings and speaks and the way he runs around the stage when he's rapping makes him all the more cuter. Like an overexcited boy (though he's older than  me by two years -- gah just two years and he's achieved international stardom while I'm still here living off leftovers and rotting in basically nothing.)

He did confessed too, that he'd developed a cough or something though, which made all his control over his voice all the more amazing. 

Singing like that with a cough. Man's got talent, man. 

His many expressions when singing. *swoons*

And during the concert he involved all of us. He divided us into different groups and had us sing different vocals and made us do harmonies and it sounded simply brilliant to have so many people singing together and waving lights around and about and he roused the crowd up so much and  ohgodiwanthimrightnowsomuchithinkimgonnaspontaneouslyburstintoflamesandjustdie

I really can't form coherent sentences right now; his brilliance is overshadowing (or rather, blinding) conscious thought. 

My favourite part though, was when he sang his older songs, the ones that brought him to me. The ones that initially tugged on my chordae tendinae.

Give Me Love.

The A Team.

Little Bird. (He even told a little story about how this song was when someone convinced him to rescue a little chicken but it died. It was so cute.) 

And it was when he sang The A Team that I felt that initial swell of emotions inside me peak. He'd had us whip out anything we can find that emits light - lighters, flashlighs, phones; anything. And we waved it all around while the stage went crazy with white lights as he crooned out The A Team. It made me feel as if we were doing a small version of our wish-you-well to some of those poor souls the song was talkin about.  It was spectacular, and it hit really close to heart.

You get how awesome it was now? See all the people there. See what he made us into. HEAVEN. 

The sheer brilliance of the lights does not show up on film right. 

I didn't really want to go when he finally finished his encore. We were all still singing and high on music when we made our way out. But what else could we do? And it was still freaking raining outside. 

I went home that day a newly converted Sheerio.

He invoked in me the same feeling TSwift used to invoke in me; his and her lyrics were similarly awesome, except that he's a guy, and his lyrics are amazingly unguyishly (yes, that's a word I made up, and no, I'm not saying he's weird or anything; just that those lyrics are so sensitively romantic and hits all the right spots) romantic, though not in a totally dramatic way like most of Taylor's lyrics are.

*infostall : Yes I do love how Taylor's lyrics are - all those drama and extravagant gestures of love and all the crashing and burning and spontaneous combustion. But Taylor's lyrics did slowly develop a more everyday-life feel to it, and made me even more in love.

Dramatic Red and Black And White. Yippee kay yay!

BUT.

Ed's were more simple; there's a certain softness to his declaration of love through his lyrics. Like love was something that requires delicate handling, but still could withstand some of the chaotic music that goes along with it.  It was simple, light, delicate, but it evokes the same strong emotions that comes with being in and out of love. Like the Chinese poems I love so much. 

And it's not just the lyrics.

I don't know why, but his voice had always been soothing to me, especially when it's crooned through headphones. Every time I have a test, or exams, or just generally feeling down or angry, his crooning voice calms me like a lullaby calms a baby. Like the calm of the ocean weighting down the turbulent sand beneath it, making it settle. And his old songs were my go-to songs every single time when I need to calm down, or when I'm walking home after a particularly hard day.

Damn you, romantic Ed. 

yesithinkimgonnagositdownandcryandlistentomoreofhissongsthroughmyearphonesbecauseicanthavehimsingtomefacetofaceineedtonsoficecreamrightnowimsolateforschoolbutidontreallycare

Gah. I don't think I can form anymore coherent thoughts as my fangirl side is desperately shoving her way out. I just wanna go back to listening to him crooning into my ear, and really really listen to the lyrics. :) 

I shall share with you my favourites for now though. 

* One (this is a total heart-breaker)

All my friends have gone to find

Another place to let their hearts collide. 

I listen to sad songs, singing about love

And where it goes wrong?

* Photograph (this one tells long distance like nobody's business)

Loving can hurt, loving can hurt sometimes.

When it gets hard, you know it can get hard sometimes

It is the only thing that makes us feel alive

We keep this love in a photograph, 

We make these memories for ourselves

Where our eyes are never closing, and hearts are never broken

And time is frozen still

So you can keep me inside the pocket of  your ripped jeans
Holding me close until our eyes meet
You won't ever be alone

While i'm away

I will remember how you kiss me

Under the lamppost back on sixth street

Hearing you whisper through your phone

Wait for me to come home

*  Tenerife Sea

We are surrounded by all of these lies and people who talk too much

you got the kind of look in your eyes as if no one knows anything but us 

* Thinking Out Loud

* Wake Me Up 

Basically all the lyrics of the above two songs 'cause typing these lyrics has fully awakened the fangirl beast who's trying to fit everything in here. 

So. I shall sign off now. And wait calmly for the music video of Thinking Out Loud (which is releasing TODAY at 3pm).

Toodles.

:)

As long as you whisper you love me. :) Sorry, can't resist a final Ed.