PCD (Post-Concert Dehydration)

From the being front row at Ed Sheeran’s biggest North American concert to the excruciating heat and dehydration known as the general admission section, Ed Sheeran had its ups and downs. Throughout the night  “we made these memories for ourselves” and made friendships in the most unsuspecting ways.

As I arrived at 3:02 p.m. on Saturday, I had 2 hours and 28 minutes before the gates would open, 2 hours and 28 minutes to wait in the heat and 2 hours and 28 minutes until I (and thousands of other people) would be sprinting on the field to get the closest to the stage they could.

At 5:30 when the gates opened the pushing and shoving began. No water bottles, umbrellas, selfie sticks and any other potential “weapons” were allowed in. So, thousands of teenagers sprinting down the FC Dallas field towards the stage and standing in the sweltering 95 degree heat (though what felt like 3000 when being packed as close are sardines) for the next 6 hours with no water, sounds like the equation for dehydration to me. And the truth be told. As everyone was eager to be close to the stage, no one would dare leave their precious spot to go get something as silly as a glass of water or a powerade. So what happened? Security hosed us down. The general admission section was sprayed with water and eventually cups with water were passed around and everyone took a sip out of the community cup. Though it wasn’t the cleanest or safest thing to do it was necessary to stay hydrated and prevent health concerns later in the concert.I made friends with a group of six friends that drove in from Oklahoma. The eight of us, the six of them and my friend and I, banded together and shared water, protected each other and helped each other move to the front of the crowd toward the stage.

Around seven o’clock Jamie Lawson entered at center stage and started the concert off. He created an enthusiastic vibe that the audience carried throughout the night. He sang a few of his songs that had not been released yet and got everyone excited about the rest of the concert ahead. After Lawson finished his set the crew shuffled things around the stage and the sun began to set. As the sun was falling, Christina Perri made her entrance.
During her energetic performance, not only was the crowd stoked, Perri was ecstatic, she was jumping around on the stage and her overall attitude reflected how grateful she was to perform. Perri connected with the audience through her music as well as just talking to us. As she closed her set, she got the crowd pumped for the headliner, Ed Sheeran.

There was an hour gap between when Christina Perri ended and when Ed Sheeran began. Within that time the general admission section was once again hosed down and the community cup was passed around. Trying to pass the time, the GA section came together and sang songs such as “Drag Me Down” by One Direction and “Photograph” by Ed Sheeran.

Everyone was anxious for the headliner to make his grand entrance. When Sheeran finally entered, he opened with “I’m a Mess” followed by “Lego House”. It’s surprising that Sheeran can do so much with so little, he played the entire concert with just his guitar and mic. It was astounding. As the concert progressed the effects of not drinking water and standing in the heat for 6 hours began to set in. Girls were passing out left and right and were being hoisted over the barrier and carried off to another section where they would be treated. People were dropping like flies, the amount of people passing out was scary. Towards the end of the concert, as I was pressed up against the barricade in the front row, Sheeran threw his water bottles out to the crowd so we could pass them around and get a little to drink. It was obvious that Sheeran was light hearted guy who just wanted to have fun while performing and that was evident throughout his entire performance. As the night came to a close Sheeran ended with an encore consisting of a “You Need Me, I Don’t Need You/ In Da Club/ Know Yourself” mashup and “Sing” that hit it out of the park. 

Not only did Sheeran put on a breathtaking show, the graphics behind him were a show themselves. They depicted different images of Sheeran as he grew up, music videos, drawings and animated pictures that morphed to tell the story of the song being sang.

Besides the dehydration and unruly heat. Ed Sheeran was an experience that will not be forgotten. The music was even better live than recorded, friendships that will last a lifetime were made and overall being front row to Ed Sheeran made memories that will stick around forever.