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It's been a grey summer and the evening was very rainy as we sloped down to Luna Park to see DPR Regime. Most of the audience was queuing in heavy drizzle. Miserable! But the rain did die off a bit and once we got inside things improved.
There's four artists in the Dream Perfect Regime collective but DPR Live and DPR Ian get the lion's share of the spotlight, both on tour and in general. DPR Cream and DPR REM were on the tour too but tbh I don't think they got more than a couple of songs each.
Live was up first - I was so impressed by the staging. There was an almost theatrical air to the performance with dramatic lighting that drew the eye to particular spots on the stage, use of voiceover and props, using the back of the stage to bring and reduce depth.
Some of the props were quite simple - an inflatable astronaut figure, a waving flag, dancers running around in the dark with only glimpses visible in the lights - but it was all deployed so effectively. Nothing looked super expensive, all of it would be achievable by most artists, but few put that much thought into it!
As for Live himself, I do like his songs but I think honestly he would've been better served at some outdoor festival getting the crowd hyped in the sunshine. Here, in this dark space, he was at times too obviously just a guy yelling over the top of a backing track. I can't quite get how to describe it but there was something about his performance which made me feel like, "aside from the stage effects, I could just be listening to this at home."
Live ended his set and gave way to Ian (aka Christian Yu), and here's where the show really kicked into gear for me. Everything about this stage and show seemed suited to Ian's vibes. He too used the stage to simple but fantastic effect, from the opening scene where he appeared to have giant dark wings, then later being haunted by hands and arms appearing from the back 'wall' of the stage, and also some fantastic smoke and rain effects. All of this framed his moody atmospheric brand of stardom so well and he was so magnetic as a performer - there is just that star quality about him that made the stage electric. I don't remember the setlist in any detail but I feel like he played a ton from Ballroom Extravaganza, plus tracks like No Blueberries.
ETA: Oh yeah and at one point he played electric guitar. Yeah. Yeah. It was good.
This was the first of two sold out shows for Ian in his hometown, ending their months-long worldwide tour. He told the crowd that he'd said goodbye to his mother thinking he'd just be in Korea for three months - but it ended up being ten years! "Every time I come back, I think why did I leave such a beautiful place," he said. (I think I know at least one reason why, and it's the same reason why other idols go to Korea - because as an Asian person in Australia the odds of getting ahead in a pop career here are slim to none.)
Ian seemed genuinely pleased and touched to be here, and at times he got personal - though there was an element of showmanship here too. For example he spoke about being bipolar (adding as an aside, "yeah for my high school friends who are here, I'm bipolar! I didn't find out until later") and that was quite honest and moving. But then he used it to segue into saying something cheesy and fanservicey to the crowd which I didn't mind, honestly, the man has an idol background, but it did break the illusion a bit of this being a spontaneous moment.
Towards the end of the show there were a few genuinely serious moments. Ian saw some kids in distress in the crowd and asked security to come and help them out, including once when he stopped mid-song; I think about four people at least got helped out of the crowd. He also asked security to pass out more water to the fans. From where I was in the seats the crowd looked pretty calm so I think it was probably a overheat/exhaustion/hydration thing as much as crowding? Anyway he was really calm and reassuring about it and it seemed it was handled well.
But also a couple of funny moments. At one point the crowd kept yelling "Shoey! Shoey! Shoey!" In Australian parlance this means to partake of an alcoholic beverage which has been poured into a shoe, as an act of laddish bravado. Ian just shook his head and said, "I can't hear what you're saying." Thank god lol.
Secondly he picked up an Australian flag from the crowd, and after keeping it on his person for a song or so he draped it over a mic stand for the finale when all the DPRs came out together. But Live had no idea, so he came over to the mic stand and just took the flag off and dropped it on the ground. Live turned away, Ian saw the flag had fallen, put it back on again. IAN TURNED AWAY, LIVE SAW THE FLAG, DROPPED IT AGAIN LOL oh my god.
Had a good time. Good show. When we got outside again the rain had stopped. The harbour was gorgeous. Good night.
( couple of MVs )
There's four artists in the Dream Perfect Regime collective but DPR Live and DPR Ian get the lion's share of the spotlight, both on tour and in general. DPR Cream and DPR REM were on the tour too but tbh I don't think they got more than a couple of songs each.
Live was up first - I was so impressed by the staging. There was an almost theatrical air to the performance with dramatic lighting that drew the eye to particular spots on the stage, use of voiceover and props, using the back of the stage to bring and reduce depth.
Some of the props were quite simple - an inflatable astronaut figure, a waving flag, dancers running around in the dark with only glimpses visible in the lights - but it was all deployed so effectively. Nothing looked super expensive, all of it would be achievable by most artists, but few put that much thought into it!
As for Live himself, I do like his songs but I think honestly he would've been better served at some outdoor festival getting the crowd hyped in the sunshine. Here, in this dark space, he was at times too obviously just a guy yelling over the top of a backing track. I can't quite get how to describe it but there was something about his performance which made me feel like, "aside from the stage effects, I could just be listening to this at home."
Live ended his set and gave way to Ian (aka Christian Yu), and here's where the show really kicked into gear for me. Everything about this stage and show seemed suited to Ian's vibes. He too used the stage to simple but fantastic effect, from the opening scene where he appeared to have giant dark wings, then later being haunted by hands and arms appearing from the back 'wall' of the stage, and also some fantastic smoke and rain effects. All of this framed his moody atmospheric brand of stardom so well and he was so magnetic as a performer - there is just that star quality about him that made the stage electric. I don't remember the setlist in any detail but I feel like he played a ton from Ballroom Extravaganza, plus tracks like No Blueberries.
ETA: Oh yeah and at one point he played electric guitar. Yeah. Yeah. It was good.
This was the first of two sold out shows for Ian in his hometown, ending their months-long worldwide tour. He told the crowd that he'd said goodbye to his mother thinking he'd just be in Korea for three months - but it ended up being ten years! "Every time I come back, I think why did I leave such a beautiful place," he said. (I think I know at least one reason why, and it's the same reason why other idols go to Korea - because as an Asian person in Australia the odds of getting ahead in a pop career here are slim to none.)
Ian seemed genuinely pleased and touched to be here, and at times he got personal - though there was an element of showmanship here too. For example he spoke about being bipolar (adding as an aside, "yeah for my high school friends who are here, I'm bipolar! I didn't find out until later") and that was quite honest and moving. But then he used it to segue into saying something cheesy and fanservicey to the crowd which I didn't mind, honestly, the man has an idol background, but it did break the illusion a bit of this being a spontaneous moment.
Towards the end of the show there were a few genuinely serious moments. Ian saw some kids in distress in the crowd and asked security to come and help them out, including once when he stopped mid-song; I think about four people at least got helped out of the crowd. He also asked security to pass out more water to the fans. From where I was in the seats the crowd looked pretty calm so I think it was probably a overheat/exhaustion/hydration thing as much as crowding? Anyway he was really calm and reassuring about it and it seemed it was handled well.
But also a couple of funny moments. At one point the crowd kept yelling "Shoey! Shoey! Shoey!" In Australian parlance this means to partake of an alcoholic beverage which has been poured into a shoe, as an act of laddish bravado. Ian just shook his head and said, "I can't hear what you're saying." Thank god lol.
Secondly he picked up an Australian flag from the crowd, and after keeping it on his person for a song or so he draped it over a mic stand for the finale when all the DPRs came out together. But Live had no idea, so he came over to the mic stand and just took the flag off and dropped it on the ground. Live turned away, Ian saw the flag had fallen, put it back on again. IAN TURNED AWAY, LIVE SAW THE FLAG, DROPPED IT AGAIN LOL oh my god.
Had a good time. Good show. When we got outside again the rain had stopped. The harbour was gorgeous. Good night.
( couple of MVs )
