If he was suffering any after-effects of a long night celebrating his success at the Brit awards, Ed Sheeran certainly didn’t show it, putting on a barn-storming set at the Shangri-La Barr Al Jissah in Oman last night.
Live gigs are a rarity in the Sultanate sadly (due to bizarre restrictions on live music in the country), so it was a real treat for the few thousand fans who flocked to the small/intimate ampitheatre (Ooredoo Arena) at the five-star resort.
Frankly one could be forgiven for suffering from Sheeran-fatigue after non-stop Ed on the radio in the weeks preceding the event, but the energy this one man and his guitar generated lifted proceedings from a ‘going-through-the-motions’ karaoke of hits to a genuine performance.
All his recent hits got an outing, Sing, Thinking Out Loud etc, plus old favourites such as Lego House, all delivered with gusto by an artist who seemed genuinely pleased to be in Oman.
A surprise treat was his own stamp on Iggy Azalea’s I’m Fancy plus 50 Cent’s In Da Club and I See Fire (from The Hobbit soundtrack) had real drama.
In action Sheeran looks like a man who is happiest on stage wherever he is in the world. Fans in Mumbai or Dubai waiting for his arrival can rest assured that this unassuming young man can, and will, put on a powerhouse performance.
Hopefully the success of last night’s show will inspire promoters to bring more big names to Oman, especially to the Shangri-La’s ampitheatre which proved to be the perfect venue.
If it does music fans here will have more to be grateful to Ed Sheeran for than simply an excellent night.
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Want more music? The Times of Oman has a competition on its facebook page to see Drake in Dubai. Also MuscatMutterings.com is also running competitions to see Drake and Michael Buble (though not sure if winner announced yet)
Scottiehack 