pop lies

NMIXX - Dash
CIX - Lovers or Enemies
ICHILLIN - Demigod
Wendy - Wish You Hell
IVE - Accendio
Ateez - Work
H1-Key - Let It Burn
Red Velvet - Cosmic
NMIXX - Love is Lonely
The Boyz - Bite Back
The Boyz - Trigger
Kep1er - sync-love
Zerobaseone - Good So Bad
Purple Kiss - On My Bike
Meovv - Toxic
&Team - Deer Hunter



Honourable mentions:
Yena - Good Girls in the Dark
SF9 - Domino
Illit - Magnetic
CSR - Pretty Mob
Xodiac - Heyday
I-Land2 - IWALY
BEWAVE - Sing!
Rescene - Pinball
fromis_9 - Supersonic
Le Sserafim - Pierott
VIVIZ - Cliche

DPR Arctic was up first with a big light show and a real club atmosphere. Sitting down was probably not the ideal way to experience this but I did find his 20-25 minute set quite entertaining.

This was especially in contrast to DPR Cream, who had a similar length set, which I just could not get into. His songs are just too repetitive to really land for me.

Finally, the main event - DPR Ian, hometown boy. It's really his show. He had not just the backdrop and lights but also a full band and back-up dancers, and the audience was undoubtedly there for him.

He came on stage with such flair and drama, and with newly dyed blonde hair, and as with his show in 2022 it was such a great set. His vibe for much of this show was somewhat sleazy 80s pop star, in the most positive sense, he seemed to be having such a good time. He just has charisma in buckets, and that's so evident when he performed a couple of songs in the middle of the set stripped back with no dancing, no visuals, just him - but he's equally a showman, theatrical in his approach to the concert experience. He really works hard to put on a show and it pays off. Some songs had fantastic dance solos, others dazzled with lights, the band were amazing. His dancers were cat people for Scaredy Cat! At one point he was wearing wings!

Some fun and interesting bits of crowd banter and ments:

• His family and friends were present including his mum and some people who knew him from school. He said it was a "bit cringe" performing in front of them but also "I know you love me."
  
• In the lead-in to Peanut Butter and Tears, he told a story about bringing his grandmother's kimchi fried rice to school and sometimes swapping it for sandwiches - segueway to the song - but he also said "I can finally call it a canteen here" after not being able to say this in the USA and elsewhere. For the uninitiated the canteen is the kind of cultural equivalent to the school cafeteria. Also known as a tuckshop.
  
• While in Sydney he took his mum to see Jesus Christ Superstar and was so impressed at the production and the vocalists.
  
• He asked the audience if they knew where he went to school. The superfan next to me (incredibly vocal and engaged the entire time lol if I didn't find it cute I would have been annoyed) yelled "WOLLONGONG" and was shook when he said he went to primary school in Lidcombe! Wollongong was later!
  
• He said it was good to be back after 2 years and referenced that he'd been going through a hard time then. He said Australia gave him energy and that he was thinking of moving back here - "but what would I even do here?" I am going to take this as mere concert banter, I doubt he is moving back lol.
  
• He played an excerpt from a new song called "I am Nobody" and said this song was about ego death, wanting to be nobody to himself, without ego, so he could be someone to someone else (like us, the audience). He said the next album will be centered on the identity of Ian, rather than Mito or The Hybrid.
  
• Someone in the audience was holding up some kind of C-Clown reference. He said, "For those who don't know, I used to be… in the circus."
  
• He did the "Aussie Aussie Aussie" chant, saying he hadn't been planning to do it as it's too cliche!
  
• He talked about having meat pies and sausage rolls and how the best place to get them was the servo. Also bantered a bit about the Australian way of shortening everything and how people found it weird when he was in the USA.
  
• At one point he got some fanart from the crowd and showed it up on stage, very sweet.

( setlist )

Younha - Sunfish (태양물고기)
This, Event Horizon, Winter Flower - I don't know what she puts into these songs but they hit me!

Rescene - Pinball
Another catchy song. The aesthetic visually in this one is that grainy film style, with a little surreal edge.

Kang Daniel - Electric Shock
Enjoyable mv and song, with Kang Daniel as both star and accident prone stage hand.

Whib - Rush of Joy
Really fun song with good energy.

Yena - Nemonemo
Very cute and cartoony. I love the point choreo.

Idk not a lot of stand outs this month for me.

This show was sold out, pretty impressive for a group that debuted just two and a half years ago. But IVE did have a head start, building the group around former IZ*ONE members Yujin and Wonyoung.

Their songs are so catchy, their styling so fun, and they seem really charming, so I was looking forward to this show, even with our nosebleed tickets. And they were very entertaining and charming! They played a good long set, with some interesting unit stages, and cute banter.

They have quite a grown-up image but all the members are quite young, and I think the concert actually does reflect that quite well in the sense that it felt like a very youth-friendly show - a bit of a tween show at times!

At the start of the show they had some technical issues, with the backing track cutting out early, so for a moment they were just singing with no track. The technical problem also meant they had to move one of their ments up and kill some time while it was fixed - they handled it well!

With the staging, I do think it was a slight disadvantage that the screens were vertical view, like fancams. Although this allowed for good close-ups of each member, I really missed being able to see their choreo and formations on the big screen.

Yujin was my bias going in and that didn't change, I think she's such a star and so charming. Rei was my unexpected concert fave, she has such a cool energy and is really cute in ments.

They mentioned they went to the zoo and chose some representative animals:
- Liz quokka
- Leeseo baby kangaroo
- Yujin wombat
- Wonyoung koala
- Gaeul puppy
- Rei capybara

Other notes:
- Wonyoung tried meat pies, she said she liked it but sorry Wonyoung I am sorry you had to do that lol
- Rei tried Timtams
- Wonyoung asked us if we preferred Coles or Woolies! HAHAHAHA. Rei: "I love Target."
- Liz thought the koala was the cutest at the zoo and Yujin says wombats were bigger than she expected.
- They also asked us to pick between summer vs winter.
- The encore had audience cam dance alongs and the fans were really cute.
- Gaeul in her ment wanted to try the "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie, oi oi oi" call and repeat chant - but on her first try she said "oi oi oi" rather than "Aussie, Aussie, Aussie"! Honestly so silly and cute.

( setlist )

The day after The Boyz show in NYC, I took a morning flight to Los Angeles and saw Ateez that night.

Back when I was buying tickets and planning my trip, I wasn't sure I would make it to the Saturday show - but then I thought why not, I'll just buy one of the cheapest tickets up the back so if there's plane delays and I miss it I won't be mad and if I'm there and I see it, it's all good.

This turned out to be, by the way, the day after Crowdstrike, so I spent much of the day before and the morning of expecting my flight to get cancelled like many of my friends' did. But somehow my luck held and I got to LA on time and as planned.

For the first night my seat was all the way at the back and actually partially obstructed by the light/sound rig. However, it was still fine, the screens were really effective and they put on a great show. The section at the back wasn't fully sold (most of the stadium was full though) so I could also move around a bit for a slightly better view. On the second night I was on the first tier on the side, with a much better view.

First up were Japanese group BE:FIRST, the rare time there's a support act at a kpop show. BE:FIRST collaborated with Ateez on recent track Hush Hush, which is all I know of them, but was enough to give me an idea of what to expect - a very 4th gen boygroup sound. In their brief ment they said it was the first time they have performed outside Japan! I wish them well. Their set was over in about 15-20 minutes, and then it was time for Ateez.

The Ateez show this tour is really impressive. It really felt big enough and epic enough for this 22,000 person stadium, so even at the very back at the venue I felt like I saw it all. This was the 4th and 5th time I've seen them, and it's been such a journey from seeing them on their first and only Australian tour in 2019 playing to around 2-3k people, to Seoul Olympic Hall in 2020 for around 4k people, to this!

The show follows a loose narrative, with images and themes familiar to anyone who's seen their work - rebelling against the state, fighting against oppressive powers, championing art and creativity, moving away from darkness towards the light, and of course defeating a giant kraken.

They actually did talk quite a lot about the concept but tbh I just let most of it all wash over me. I prefer to take in Ateez's lore as a mood and a vibe rather than a firm narrative.

The way the show incorporated bits of acting and solo dance breaks from the members to cover some moments that might usually use ments or vcrs instead kept the pace going. It's just over two and a half hours of really good, brisk show with a ton of songs, amazing performances, and some great utilisation of props and stage design. And my god they knew what the audience was after - so many moments designed to make the fans scream LOL.

At the end of the night, fireworks went up over the stadium. It was a really epic ending to an epic feeling show. And then we all filed out into the hot Cali night, past all the hotdog stands and pirate merch sellers… Classic.

Night 1 notes:

• Close up on Wooyoung's butt in Crazy Form.... Nice
  
• So glad Say My Name is still in the set, I love this song so much.
  
• San in chains... They know what ppl want
  
• So many blindfolds? They really do know what the ppl want
  
• Hongjoong on guitar is so cool
  
• It's You is soooo horny. Multiple San crotch zooms omg
  
• YOUTH - Yungi in love!!!
  
• Yunho covering his eyes at San's body roll... HE'S CATHOLIC
  
• Yunho doing heart arms over Matz... He ships it
  
• Wonderland really brings the house down and the kraken down
  
• Overheard: "Yunho is a HOT MAN, he is a REAL MAN"

Night 2 notes:

• The screams for San in chains and Seonghwa in a tiny top that only covers his nips... Incredible
  
• They made Jongho do San's crotch grab move and he did it in the most chaste unwilling possible way lol!!!
  
• San smacking Seonghwa's butt... What else is new. Yunho looked on appreciatively.
  
• Yunho is wearing a Michigan jacket and a NYC hat.. In LA…
  
• Overheard: "Mingi is a FINE. MAN. A FINE! MAN!"
  
• For the finale Mingi and Hongjoong poured water all over each other, and Jongho poured a whole bottle on San.

( setlist )

So I've been away for a bit lol. I went on a holiday and though it wasn't intended to be a kpop trip, tour dates starting dropping and I realised I could catch quite a few shows, including these two.

A.C.E. - 13 July, The Fillmore, Detroit

I went to this A.C.E. show as did, oh, about 15 other friends from stan twt? LOL. I wouldn't call myself a huge fan, but I do like A.C.E. and I was really glad to be able to see this show with friends.

It's a simple and straightforward show, a tight 90-odd minutes with very minimal costume changes and no backgrounds or VCRs. I was quite close but at an angle where I couldn't see any floorwork, and this was also one of the shows that Yuchan unfortunately had to skip because of health issues, but for all that it was still a really fun show. They are all charming and great performers and they had good rapport with each other and the crowd.

Sometimes it's as simple as that - let performers perform.

I don't know if I have an A.C.E. bias yet. Sometimes you walk out of a show going "ok that one" but I didn't have such a strong feeling after this show, and I feel any opinion needs to be asterisked since I didn't get to see Yuchan. However - preliminary and tentative bias finding is Sehyoon. I found his classic 90s boyband vibes charming.

Goblin
Savage
Changer
My Girl (eng ver.)
Facetime
Down
Higher
Baby tonight
Clover
Supernatural
Effortless
Beautiful things (cover)
Cruel summer (cover)
Slow dive
If you heard
Talk you down
Angel
Take me higher
Story


Viviz - 17 July, Temple Performing Arts Center, Philadelphia

This venue was quite small but there was a good turnout. The seating was free range and the early entrance fans were down the front, but even showing up just half an hour before the show I got a good aisle seat with a good view. Some sweet fans came around to give out stickers and I get a kitty SinB!

The show was very fun! Like A.C.E. this too was a very simple show with no VCRs or video backgrounds. The show works because they are so charming and they have such confidence - they're all idol veterans really and it shows in their easy command of the stage. The crowd went wild for Maniac of course, but I really enjoyed every song.

They had a break in the middle for a game ment, drawing random question and challenges from a gumball machine. SinB did the cat on a frozen river challenge and Eunha called her a kitty! Eunha made up a fan hand sign so that Viviz fans could find each other in public lol. Umji covered several point dances. They did a few other things, all cute, very charming.

I bought a ticket to this show rather impulsively - had to shuffle my travel plans around a little - but I'm really glad I went.

Untie
Blue Clue
PULL UP
#.Flashback
Red Sun
Wildflower
Love Love Love
Overflow
Love or Die
MANIAC
BOP BOP!
Fiesta
Overdrive

IVE - Heya
I don't know what Starship puts into every IVE song that makes them so addictive and catchy but they did it again! I love it! They are also catgirls! I love the aesthetic, it's both very modern and very traditional in imagery.

Kiss of Life - Midas Touch
They called it Midas Touch but all the imagery is Medusa LOL (ok there is also Arachne, Hera...) Anyway this is fun! It's very ott and gives me 2nd gen vibes.

ONF - Bye My Monster
Really pretty and cinematic! Felt much more fantasy than their previous mvs, this reminds me of some of their RTK concepts. Lots of strings give it an epic feel and OST vibe.

Rolling Quartz - Stand Up
This is so cool! They just seem like a really cool band.

1CHU - Punk Hot
Nothhing will beat Siren but this is very fun.

QWER - T.B.H (고민중독)
So cute. They are a girl pop rock group with a very j-pop sound and this mv is all about sapphic high school crushes. Adorable.

Drippin - Beautiful Maze
Fun song and fun mv! However a bit weird seeing them as only 5 members (1 has left and 1 is on health hiatus).

woo!ah! - Blush
This chorus is SO catchy.

BEWAVE - Sing!
Refreshing and fun girl group. They are from a company I've never heard of but this is a nice debut.

The ICC Sydney Theatre isn't the most atmospheric of venues, the incline is very steep (the top rows can give you a little vertigo!) and it can have an almost lecture hall feel. But Itzy was a sold out show and the atmosphere was great. It's a mid-sized venue of about 9000 so it was a good crowd.

Itzy are a group I like but don't love, and after seeing the show, I feel much the same way. Some of their songs are fun and some of them are not for me. But that's on me not them - I bought the ticket anyway even knowing I only liked some of their songs! As a concert I think it was good and I had a fun time.

Performing as four members, with Lia on hiatus, they gave great performances, and they were very sweet and energetic, so charming in ments ("g'day mate!" "cheers mate!") mostly done in English. They also said the Australian accent was attractive LOL.

First up in solo stages was Chaeryeong with Mine, performed with four mirrors, a stage that played so well to her strengths as a dancer. I found her really, really cute at this show - the contrast between her confident performance and her very cute ments was adorable.

Ryujin did a rock-themed Run Away in a leather jacket and singlet top, very classic Ryujin looks. Her ments were so funny, at one point she was like "and then you have to cheer" (when we go off stage for the encore) and the whole audience cheered and she was like, "no, not now, do it later!"

Yuna's Yet But was very bubblegum pop and bright pink. Is Yuna my bias? I do NOT know but she was very sweet and earnest (a LONG ment about how the members had all grown since their first tour) and funny, and I think she is a star.

Yeji's Crown on My Head was a really confident stage too and I think that's what struck me most about her - she had really good stage presence.

It was great to see them perform with a live band - I love this for them! More of this in kpop! This seems to be a recent theme for JYP groups and long may it continue. (JYP is also the only big 3 company which is consistently sending groups to Australia, and long may that THAT continue too.) Their dancers also got an extended dance break at one point and they were great.

I found the VCRs somewhat mystifying? Just these rather confusing melanges of images and concepts, neither thematically nor narratively linked. Now they are superheroes… now they are Godzilla-sized… Now they are in a desert… But sure, okay, fine…

After the main set, they went off stage and there was random dance play with the audience. The videos were kind enough to show the choreo before selecting an audience member to do the dance, and I have to say I was really impressed by the fans who danced because the choreo was HARD.

Not a top tier show for me, because not a top tier group for me, but I think they did all they needed to do.

( setlist )

NMIXX
This was my favourite album of the month, this feels like they have really hit their stride and it was so good to see their run of music show wins.
Run for Roses
Dash

IU - Love Wins All
My pick for MV of the month - a dystopic science fiction romance, gorgeous and tragic, an entire short film in just a few minutes. Co-starring Taehyung from BTS.

CIX - Lovers or Enemies
Not quite what I expected from the teasers but androids programmed to love you is THE idol metaphor and they are so handsome. Both songs on this single are great, they are such a no skips group for me.

B1A4 - Rewind
An unexpectedly quirky and witty MV! Good to see these guys again.

SF9 - Bibora
Not exactly sure what is going on but they all look very handsome.

Limelight (Miu) - Twenty Twenty
I also enjoyed their title Ta-Da! but Twenty Twenty by Miu was the stand out. I don't really understand and am wary of this group's "infinite members" concept but I've enjoyed ALL their releases so far.

Ryu Sujeong - Fallen Angel
This whole mini, a collab with XYLO, is pretty interesting. This MV is quite gay in a way that Ninamonday described as having the energy of "toxic 90s girl-on-girl queerbaiting" (positive). I liked it! She has had such an interesting post-Lovelyz career, and Grabby Girl and Love or Hate ended up being sleeper faves for me in 2023.

Choi Yena - Good Morning
Delightful, playful, many movie genres referenced.

Seola - Without U
Double Seola? Riches beyond measure!!

Vanner - Jackpot
Really fun crime-themed MV. Suitcases of CASH! And DANCING!

Seori - Broken
She's gorgeous, the song is lovely.

DXMON
There were many notable debuts this month but this is a smaller one which I found interesting.
Burn Up
Spark

And two of my favourite groups had subunit MVs:

The Boyz
Honey - sexy and sweet
Rat in the Trap - noir vibes!

Ateez - Youth
They are running away from their gangster pasts! And they are in love!