Review: Ed Sheeran's one-man symphony conquers Glendale

There aren't a lot of acoustic guitarists whose one-man show could translate as well in a venue as massive as Jobing.com Arena as Ed Sheeran managed Sunday.

It's a long way from the coffee shop to the home of the Arizona Coyotes. But Sheeran has the voice, the songs, a sense of showmanship that makes him seem more seasoned than his years, a youthful charm that couldn't be more 23 and a certain technological advantage over the school of singer-songwriters that grew out of the '60s folk revival, using pedals to create a one-man symphony of interweaving loops.

He was already building his loops by the second verse of the opening song, "I'm a Mess," its thumping beat created on the spot by pounding his guitar and sampling it, then looping the sound. Before the song was through, he'd added a guitar loop and was harmonizing with a loop of his own singing.

Does the novelty wear off? Of course. And when it does? The songs still sound amazing.

"My name is Ed," he said, after the opening song. "And my job for the next two hours is to entertain you. Your job is to be entertained." Then, he invited them to sing along as he launched into "Lego House," his lyrical cadences closer in spirit to hip-hop than you tend to get with red-haired singer-songwriters.

That hip-hop seasoning was even more pronounced on "Don't," his latest single, which featured Sheeran semi-rapping over a loop of a guitar riff and a beat and tossing in a snippet of "No Diggity" by Blackstreet. He built another thumping loop for "Drunk," with its memorable opening line, "I wanna be drunk when I wake up on the right side of the wrong bed" and got even more ambitious with his loops on "Take It Back," rapping with total conviction and impressive speed after setting the tone with "I'm not a rapper; I'm a singer with the flow / I've got a habit for spitting quicker lyrics, you know."

After "Take It Back," Sheeran explained that the concert would feature "different points" -- "loud points and quiet points."

That was a loud point. And the song that followed was one of the evening's most effective quiet points. The opening track on "X," Sheeran's second album, "One" was breathtaking, making the most of a vulnerable falsetto as fans waved cell phones in the air like lighters. It was an emotional highlight the likes of which wouldn't be matched until he played "The A Team" as part of the encore.

"Bloodstream," a song he announced he'd co-written with Rudimental, the well-received opening act, made brilliant use of the dynamic range his loops provide, pulling it back to just his live guitar and vocal to haunting effect on "This is how it ends / I feel the chemicals burn in my bloodstream."

An equally haunting performance of "Tenerife Sea" was followed by "Runaway," which ended with a smile-inducing snippet of the Backstreet Boys song "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)."

Sheeran told the crowd, "So this next song's a rather personal one for me" and asked if they could be quiet while he played it, setting up an emotional, shockingly intimate reading of "Afire Love," a heartbreaking ballad inspired by the death of Sheeran's grandfather, who suffered from Alzheimer's disease.

A soulful rendition of "Thinking Out Loud," which highlighted the power of his voice, was followed by another awe-inspiring display of Sheeran's mastery of that looping technology, stacking some really nice harmonies and building to a thumping climax on "Give Me Love," which ended with him standing on the monitors, assigning vocal harmonies to each side of the venue.

After ending the proper set with "I See Fire," Sheeran started the encore with an impassioned performance of "You Need Me, I Don't Need You," speed-rapping over a loop built on the riff to "Layla."

A sea of glowing cellphones greeted a transcendent version of "The A Team" and he ended with "Sing," which did not seem to need that guest appearance from Pharrell at all, strolling off stage as the audience sang the hook and clapped as though he'd run them through one of his loop pedals.

Setlist

I'm a Mess

Lego House

Don't (with a snippet of "No Diggity" by Blackstreet)

Drunk

Take It Back

One

Bloodstream

Tenerife Sea

Runaway (with a snippet of "Everybody (Backstreet's Back)" by the Backstreet Boys)

Afire Love

Thinking Out Loud

Give Me Love

I See Fire

Encore

You Need Me, I Don't Need You (including a loop of "Layla" by Derek and the Dominos)

The A Team

Sing