Do you ever go to a concert and think: there’s no way they could sound as good as they do their album. Their voices are too euphonious, too unique, and that can’t possibly be something that will be heard on a live stage. For the most part, concerts expose an artist’s real vocals behind the veil of production, but it’s the true artists whose vocals are so good you can’t tell the difference. I’m looking at you Epik High.
The Epik High is Here tour kicked off on March 1st in Seattle at The Showbox SoDo and in typical Epik High fashion, ends later this month at Coachella. So without further ado, let’s recap the night.
When Woosung stepped out onto the stage to open the night, I was taken aback by his visuals and overall vibe. As a huge K-Pop fan, I am used to flashy outfits, not a total rockstar. Woosung naturally oozes that cool, rocker sexy appeal, which makes sense, considering he is in the K-Band The Rose. Between his sexy lyrics and dance moves it didn’t take long for the crowd, myself included, to get lost in the music. Unfortunately, like any opening act time seemed to fly by, but not before Woosung treated us to a song he recorded in Korea only a day earlier called “Phase Me.” It was the perfect way to end his set.
Exploding into screams and applause upon the entrance of Tablo, Tukutz, and Mithra Jin, the group set the stage for an amazing night with the song “Here.” Throughout the entire show, the energy in Showbox Sodo was palpable and addicting. As for Epik High’s vocal talent, the impressive breadth of their almost twenty-year musical expertise was on full display. The show was not exclusively limited to songs off their latest album series “Epik High is Here,” but was a setlist of twenty songs including some of their earlier hits including “1min 1 sec,” “Fly,” and “No Thanxxx.”
Tablo’s trademark humor was most effectively conveyed when speaking to the crowd about how awkward it was to throw water since they hadn’t done it in almost three years. Moments later, Epik High completely shifted gears, discussing how thankful they were to be back in front of fans, hearing our screams, and reading our signs, albeit one was inappropriate which Tablo couldn’t help but play up repeatedly.
All this good energy reached its peak during the concert’s encore when Epik High acted like they were just going to leave and never return, but as K-Pop fans we know better. The night then concluded with a show-stopping performance of “Born Hater,” which had Tablo, Tukutz, and Mirtha Jin strutting along the stage. This final track, arguably one of my favorite Epik High songs (aside from Rosario), sounded absolutely phenomenal and felt like a culmination of emotions I wasn’t prepared for.
Did you catch Epik High while they were on tour?
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