Leah asked me to share my amazing concert experience with you all, so here is the first of three posts about the entire Block B Showcase tour! Posts about the other two stops and photos will be posted to my website and its Facebook page. -HallyuTanya
I am back from my Block B shenanigans and I can honestly say that the experience was nothing short of amazing! Originally, I had only planned on attending the New York show in Westbury and the Washington DC stop of the tour, but I also ended up in Miami at the very last minute. All I can say is: Totally. Worth. It.
Block B is a very talented and energetic group. During the press conference, you could tell that they were a bit tired, but none of that was conveyed once the show started. There were obvious nerves at the beginning, but once they heard the crowd singing along to “Very Good”, the anxiousness melted from their faces to reveal smiles that continued through the whole show. I loved that Block B never seems to forget where they have come from and how hard they have worked. The fact that they are totally willing to perform early songs, like their mash up of “그대로 멈춰라! (Freeze!)” and “Wanna B”, is awesome because it gives you chance to see their evolution live.
There were minor issues, as can happen with any production, but the most glaring of them all was the fact that the MC clearly didn’t know who Block B was. Don’t get me wrong, she had amazing presence and was clearly comfortable on stage, but calling the group by the wrong name more than once and not knowing their names when trying to direct questions to them during the Q&A definitely detracted from the show. Once the Q&A moved into the fan interactions though, all bets were off.
The thing I love most about showcases in the fact that fan interactions happen. Who wouldn’t want to be serenaded by their favorite idol, which the boys did when they sang “로맨틱하게 (Romantically)”? It is great that the idols themselves pick the seats, but you could tell the boys were genuinely frustrated when seat numbers that didn’t even exist ended up being pulled and there was obviously no one there.
Once the fans chosen for the serenade we ushered off the stage, Block B kept the show going with “싱크로율 100% (Synchronization 100%)”. As one of my favorites, hearing the harmonies of the song in person further secured my admiration of the group. Every part just works perfectly!
It turned out there were still more surprises in store for fans though! A second round of the boys choosing fans to come up on stage to play a game of charades. There is nothing boring about charades when it’s Block B style. They were split into two teams, with one acting as referee, by kung fu style kwai bwai bo. Hilarious impressions ensued as the group pretended to be Spiderman and a weightlifter. The fans on the winning team were given autographed t-shirts as a prize for their efforts.
Returning to the slightly slowed down feel that began earlier, the group continued the show with “빛이 되어줘 (Be the Light)” and “했어 안했어 (Did You Or Did You Not)”, to which fans sang along with enthusiastically. Once again, the group came together of a slightly more personal interview. The boys were asked a variety of questions. Taeil revealed that he would want to be a veterinarian if he wasn’t a singer, Zico stated the best words to describe himself and the boys of Block B were “passion, fashion, and action”, and B-Bomb became the target of teasing as it was revealed he now makes the most mistakes of all of the group members. All of the boys, particularly Kyung, have stated that they want to tour in Canada!
Once again the energy of the group turned up for “Mental Breaker” without missing a beat. The song perfectly showcased the vocals of each member, sounding better than its recorded version in my personal opinion. The group thanked their fans once again for coming to see them, including a special treat – Taeil sang a segment from his solo “넌 어디에 (Where You At)”.
The show was drawn to a close with “난리나 (NalinA)” meaning BBCs were able to see the famous “gorilla dance” in person! Although it was obviously preplanned, after the excited chants of “Block B!” from fans, the boys returned to the stage for an encore of “Nice Day” and “Very Good (Rough Version)”.
Fans have been very critical of the show and its organizers, however I must point out that there is no concert that is without its problems. There was dissatisfaction over the fact that the show noticably lacked “닐리리맘보 (Nillili Mambo)” and their most current single “Jackpot”. Yes, it would have been nice to have those songs, Nillili Mambo itself having over 500 plays on my iTunes, but we would have lost time for the on-stage fan interactions. There have also been comments that the show wasn’t long enough, but it was a showcase, not a concert, meaning you were paying for the interactions that a concert would not normally have.
There were also the occasional sound problems, such as a track they were playing during the pre-show skipping for about two solid minutes before someone realized it and switched the song and the occasional feedback in the monitors, but as much as you try to prepare for these things, they can happen. Westbury’s stage is especially challenging since it was a circle stage and it rotated. There also needed to be a pre-set place for these fans to meet up and have someone check tickets before they went on stage to prevent the embarrassing moments from happening, such as going up when your seat hadn’t actually been called. I know everyone is excited and mistakes can happen with so much going on but you could see that the boys felt bad when these situations happened.
Overall, it was a great show. Block B was fantastic and hundreds of BBCs finally got the chance to see their boys without having to travel to Korea to do so. I am happy Block B was able to come to the United States for the first time and witness how many supporters they have here.
Let me know your thoughts on the Block B and the show in the comments below! You can also send me a tweet @Hallyu_Tanya. I will also be writing about my experiences at the Washington D.C. and Miami stops of Block B’s showcase tour, so stay tuned for parts 2 and 3. I will also be post some of my thousands on photos on HallyuKnow’s Facebook page.