HIGHLIGHTS & REVIEWS: BTS SPEAK YOURSELF TOUR IN CHICAGO

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HIGHLIGHTS & REVIEWS: BTS SPEAK YOURSELF TOUR IN CHICAGO

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ANNYEONG YEOREOBUN!

Today, I am bringing with you three concert reviews of the BTS Speak Yourself tour stops in Soldier Field, Chicago. The reviews are from Variety, Chicago Sun Times and Chicago Tribune. These are major outlets whose reviews could make or break an act. I'm happy to see that BTS got positive reviews from all three outlets. Some of the lines celebrate BTS, and some celebrate heartwarming stories of ARMYs. These stories will really make you feel so proud of BTS and ARMY stories will tickle your heart and just wanna be part of it all.

Bonus: I included videos and photos in between paragraphs to make it more interesting. The videos and some of the photos are from ARMYs.

Warning: Some videos and photos might give you a heart attack. :grin:

Happy reading!

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From the pop-up shop on State Street to show time at Soldier Field, Chicago’s bright-eyed and super diverse BTS Army took over a freezing downtown on Saturday evening as the Billboard chart-topping K-Pop sensation BTS (Beyond the Scene or Bangtan Sonyeondan, meaning Bulletproof Boy Scouts) arrived with its Love Yourself: Speak Yourself world tour. Despite the frigid temps, the sold-out tour stop (the first of two nights) was a show that easily warmed the hearts of the outdoor stadium.

While the chilled, rainy weather could have spelled disaster for the K-Pop superstars and fans, it stopped neither BTS from delivering an elaborate, explosive and dazzling show, nor the filled-to-capacity crowd from enthusiastically rocking out. The seven-member outfit — Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jungkook, V and Jimin — each expressed their most humble gratitude to fans, adorably hoping that they didn’t “catch a cold” as the show concluded. It’s all part of the bandmates’ charm and ability to draw a diverse crowd, and their music’s themes of overcoming critical hardships.

But was (and is) the lengthy show worth enduring the cold weather? Dear God, yes!

If you survived the extremely long lines at the security checkpoint, then chances are you made it to see BTS, draped in all white, open up the night amid a gaudy backdrop of Roman pillars, bursting flames and two giant, silver jaguars, complemented by a long runway, which the band certainly took advantage of. The musicians’ charisma, paired with the flawless precision of their choreography and vocals, were a winning combo as they opened with “Dionysus” (from the just-released “Persona”) followed by “MIC Drop” and “Anpanman.” And speaking of the hits, they certainly didn’t leave out “Boy With Luv,” which struck a powerful chord with fans despite collaborator Halsey not being there.

(V gave his hat to a little boy. Lucky fella!)

BTS’ English-speaking , Suga, Jungkook, Jin, J-Hope and especially the proverbial “Beyonce” of the group, RM, lead the group’s “intermissions” between songs as each of the septet introduced himself. From there, fans were treated to a show with colorful special effects, compelling video segments and dynamic performances that powerfully captured the fun escapism of K-Pop and the all-inclusive nature of BTS.

What makes BTS stand out within the pantheon of New Edition, ‘N Sync and the Backstreet Boys is its hybrid fusion of bubblegum pop, R&B and hip-hop delivered at an impressive level simultaneously. Throughout the show, the group not only performed mega hits like “Fake Love” (which you’ll hear till butterflies come out your ears), but also offered solo performances (V, RM and Jin), hardcore rap sets (Suga, J-Hope and RM), and powerful vocal sets (Jin, Jungkook, V and Jimin) that showcased their boundless talent.

(Jungkook took a fan's phone and filmed himself. Girl, you must've save a country in your past life! How to be you???)

RM and Suga (who rapped alongside Wale and Nicki Minaj on BTS songs), for example, are not just oozing insane star power and stage presence but have some seriously high-octane flows that should someday lead to a play for America’s mainstream rap scene. Meanwhile, V, Jungkook, Jimin and Jin each had the ladies screaming with their magnetic charm and fluid, sultry movements, like Jimin’s seductive performance of “Serendipity” and the four vocalists’ soul-stirring “The Truth Untold. ” And while the execution of their choreography deserves praise, at times it was way too fast for their more sultry tunes.

If you have never seen a K-Pop show live or have never heard of the genre, then the Love Yourself: Speak Yourself tour is a worthy introduction. The songs of BTS are easy to follow for the uninitiated, but it is their high-quality rap and singing ability, colorful and unique effects and video packages, their chemistry as a band and the sincere love for their fans that will make you feel right at home.

Fair warning for those Soldier Field-bound on Sunday night: Come as early as possible and break out the winter jacket you mistakenly retired for the season.

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When BTS took the stage Saturday night, it was easy to think that there should be a way to harness that much concentrated, palpable human fervor to power things, like in the Pixar film “Monsters Inc.” — solve the energy crisis and save the planet. It was that loud.

After months of preparation, the day had finally arrived — never mind a damp morning and windy, chilly evening. No army has ever been deterred by a cloudy day and light drizzle. The BTS ARMY was no exception.

The record-breaking K-pop group is in Chicago for two sold-out concerts at Soldier Field over the Mother’s Day weekend as part of its “Love Yourself: Speak Yourself” world tour. The first set to begin at — we were told — 7:30 p.m., sharp.

ARMY (Adorable Representative MC for Youth — a moniker for the group’s dedicated fan base) have been preparing for weeks. By Friday, some were already in line to purchase official BTS tour merchandise outside of the stadium. Others were driving from Kentucky and Ohio; arriving on trains and planes from New York, Kentucky and Texas, even Canada and Mexico. A pop-up store on State Street (launched on May 7, closes Monday) saw 3,700 fans come through the door on Friday alone, according to staffers.

On Saturday morning, the Twitter hashtag #BTSXChicago was trending before 8 a.m. as fans coordinated various meet-ups, photo ops and other tailgate-like activities ahead of their idols’ arrival. The line at the pop-up shop stretched from State Street to Dearborn Street, with over 1,100 folks having visited before 1 p.m. to nab Chicago-specific merchandise, and peek at the BTS doll collection.

The staff at the Hyatt Regency at McCormick Place got in on the festivities — dressing in BTS gear and welcoming out-of-town concert attendees with a backdrop, featuring all seven group ’ faces, to pose in front of for photos. The hotel even held a raffle that offered the chance to win a highly coveted “ARMY Boxe.”

Korean restaurant Kimchi Pop in Noble Square boasted a weekend “BTS (or Best Taste of Street) Special” in honor of the group’s visit.

At Buckingham Fountain a morning “family photo shoot” – organized by photographer Madalyn Rain, 19, of Zion — turned into much more. Over 250 fans showed up, holding down a dance circle for hours, hugging fellow “ARMY family” — who previously only existed online — in real life. They practiced group chants ahead of the night’s main event, and gave each other gifts and other handmade accessories to sport at the concert.

Rain was shocked.

“I was up until 3 in the morning like 'Oh my God, is anybody gonna show up?'” she says, smiling. “I was not expecting this many people here, I was expecting myself and maybe two people. I'm about to cry, this hasn't even really sank in yet. I want to call my mom.”

The shoot included four group photos: BTS Chicago ARMY, out-of-town ARMY, ARMY moms (in honor of Mother’s Day on Sunday) and ARMY parents (with plenty of proud and equally excited dads jumping into frame).

“People (on Facebook) kept saying 'You know, I'm bringing my kids.' 'I want to do this because it's a great opportunity for my kids,' 'My kids are shy, they're not really comfortable, this has made them so comfortable.' So I was like, how about the moms, though?” Rain said of recognizing the concert’s holiday overlap and realizing the role that moms especially play in fostering such strong fandoms.

“I want the moms to not get overlooked. I've seen people come from New York, Texas, and they drove here. They drove their kids to make sure they were here and I wanted them to stand out. They deserve that.

“BTS fans are way more united than people think we are,” Rain adds. “People, they think K-pop and they're like 'Why?' BTS has a message, they're all about loving themselves and every person here just showed they care about that message. That's really what I wanted to do, make sure that message gets through. I don't know what anybody's going through and I wanted this to be something that everybody just re.”

18 year-old Princess Berry made the trip from Oklahoma alone by train, figuring (like many fans) she’d meet up with her online ARMY family once she arrived.

At the fountain, Berry had laid out an American flag for fellow fans to sign with well wishes and other congratulatory messages for BTS. With a seat on the main floor for Saturday’s gig, she was convinced she had a shot to get the flag to them.

“I’m right by the side stage, so I’ll find a way,” she says. “We’ve done this at other K-pop shows. I’ll get it to them.”

And yet, those displays of deeply immersed, ionate commitment weren’t enough to fully prepare the casual fan or intrigued observer for what happened as soon as the lights went down.

ed by nearly two dozen dancers on-and-off throughout the roughly two hour set, which featured 24 songs from its catalog – BTS stuck primarily to its later work on albums “Youth,” the compilation “Love Yourself: Answer” and “Persona,” dazzled with fashion-forward costume changes, performed on an inflatable obstacle course complete with slides and used hyper-stylized videos (we’re talking luxury perfume ad-adjacent aesthetics) showcasing each member to keep the crowd engaged while stage crews set-up for the next pyrotechnic boom.

Taking the stage to “Dionysus” from its latest album “Map of the Soul: Persona” closer to 7:45 p.m. (ahem), the group – clad all in coordinating, royally tattered, jewel-encrusted white outfits as life-size panthers inflated behind them — it was clear BTS was treating this tour as a victory lap. If the ear-shattering reception was of any indication, so were the fans.

Light sticks, or “ARMY bombs” flickered from purple to pink, blue to green – with BTS even imploring fans to start a lit-up wave effect across the stadium.

While the outfit has become synonymous with its formational choreography and “big pop machine” slickness, its live performance at Soldier Field felt freer; less like an act with something left to prove in the States.

Often, the group showed its range in musical style and ability by splitting up. Playing up each man’s individual personalities and strengths and with solo performances — from hip-hop influenced dance cuts courtesy of J-Hope and Suga, to titillating R&B infused numbers like “Singularity” (sung by V, who rose onto the stage in an oversized bed) and emotional messages of self-love (“Epiphany,” performed by Jin alone at the piano noticeably brought a few fans to tears) – and smaller group numbers (“The Truth Untold” performed only by the BTS ‘balladeers’ Jin, Jungkook, Jimin and V, and “Tear” attacked by its rappers RM, J-Hope and Suga); BTS rattled many preconceived notions around its “cookie cutter-hybrid pop” template.

Singer Jungkook took his lone rendition of “Euphoria” to new heights, actually soaring above the crowd before reing his mates for the chart-topping “Boy With Luv,” “Fire” and “IDOL.”

The group thanked fans for 15 minutes before capping its three-song encore with the exuberant “Mikrokosmos” — cementing the fact that BTS would not exist without ARMY. Each member addressed the audience, a few using a translator, to express their gratitude.

It went without saying that the feeling was mutual.

“As a mom, you don't get these moments that often,” said Tam O’Connell of Aurora, who’s attending both nights with her daughter, Cai

“Cai's the only daughter in town, but to really be able to go to this concert and be joyful and excited and spend time with my baby and all of the other moms and other ARMY. Online, there are so many ARMYs that reached out … I'm overwhelmed,” O’Connell says, visibly moved by the community and music she feels accepts her as equally as it accepts her daughter.

“What touched my heart (about BTS) was they wanted to include everyone. I'm a mom, I'm black, my husband's white, my son suffers with mental illness, I have a daughter — she's gay and she's beautiful,” she adds. “When BTS stepped up to the plate and said 'love yourself, love everything about yourself, be out and be proud' — that got me. I love the feeling and I'm gonna treasure that, so I'm so glad that I could do it with my daughter and have these moments.”

jroti@chicagotribune.com

Twitter @jessitaylorro

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In 2014, the of BTS literally walked around Los Angeles trying to drum up people to attend their free concert — about 200 showed up. Last week, the group kicked off its “Love Yourself: Speak Yourself” world tour with a pair of sold-out shows at the Rose Bowl Stadium near L.A., and on a chilly Saturday night it performed the first of two sold-out concerts at Chicago’s Soldier Field.

The two-and-a-half-hour show proved that the group has grown into the bigger stages. RM, Jin, Suga, J-Hope, Jimin, V and Jungkook made a theatrical entrance, flanked by a pair of giant black panthers. Their opening song, “Dionysus,” from their chart-topping latest album “Map of the Soul: Persona,” even nodded to that progression: “If we pop up anywhere in the world/ It’s a stadium party,” Suga rapped. “Born as a K-pop idol/Reborn as an artist… What does it matter if I’m an idol or an artist?”

They followed with 2017’s “Not Today,” which starts out with a rallying shout out to dark horses: “All the underdogs in the world/ A day may come when we lose/ But it is not today/ Today we fight!” Despite the group’s popularity, even that song is a statement on their careers: Sure, their popularity is due to their songs and their look — but it’s also because their most powerful numbers are about loss, inequality and the unrelenting pressures that young people face. “Our generation has had it hard,” they sing in “Baepsae.”

The songs also include elements familiar to Koreans from older generations. “Idol” – which sounded even more anthemic live with a stadium full of fans singing along – has its roots in pansori, a genre of Korean folk music that was originally played by and for commoners, before becoming favored by the elite. Layered with African beats and trap elements, the song has a rich, global sound that is both modern and traditional.

Even their current hit “Boy With Luv” – a catchy pop song with rap verses – has deeper meaning. It’s a tip of the hat to their 2014 song “Boy in Luv,” which deconstructs their younger adolescent mindset. The lyrics include the line, “I’m flying high in the sky with the two wings you gave me,” with the wings being a metaphor for their fans, while also referencing the title of their second album.

Many of BTS’ ballads evoke a feeling of “han,” which has no direct English translation. In Korean, it’s a wistful combination of longing and sorrow. This is evident in ballads like “The Truth Untold” and “Epiphany,” which started off quietly with Jin accompanying himself on piano before the song crescendos into a series of high notes that left some attendees in tears.

Each member had a chance to shine in solos. Jungkook floated above the crowd on guide wires as he sang “Euphoria.” Jimin appeared inside a transparent bubble for “Serendipity,” before showing off choreography that would fit right in place with a modern dance troupe. V performed the most smoldering song of the evening with the soul-fused “Singularity.” Rappers J-Hope, RM and Suga showed off their skills with “Trivia: Just Dance,” “Trivia: Love” and “Trivia: Seesaw,” respectively.

The group has also figured out the most challenging aspect of stadium shows: how to make them feel intimate. Their boy-next-door charm, lively banter (in both English and Korean) and constant engagement with projected a warmth that reached the upper bleachers of Soldier Field. And even a language barrier doesn’t distract from the storytelling aspects of their songs: Most of the fans in the stadium tonight have long since translated the lyrics.

And although there was plenty of screaming from the largely but not entirely young audience, it was less of a frenzied shriek than an emphatic roar of approval. Fans hollered with delight when the individual faces’ were shown on the video screens and cheered when Jimin and Jungkook flashed a bit of their abs. But they saved their loudest applause for the songs.

It also probably helped to keep them warm on this damp and unseasonably chilly night — RM joked that this was the group’s first winter concert. Still, V promised that BTS will be back next year — a remark that made the fireworks display that followed almost anticlimactic.

Setlist:

“Dionysus”

2. “Not Today”

3. “Outro: Wings”

4. “Trivia: Just Dance” (J-Hope solo)

5. “Euphoria” (Jungkook solo)

6. “Best of Me”

7. “Serendipity” (Jimin solo)

8. “Trivia: Love” (RM solo)

9. “Boy With Luv”

10. “Dope”

11. “Baepsae”

12. “Fire”

13. “Idol”

14. “Singularity” (V solo)

15. “Fake Love”

16. “Trivia: Seesaw” (Suga solo)

17. “Epiphany” (Jin solo)

18. “The Truth Untold”

19. “Outro: Tear”

20. “Mic Drop”

Encore:

21. “Anpanman”

22. “So What”

23. “Make It Right”

24. “Mikrokosmos”

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Thanks for stopping by.

Jal Jinaesaeyo!

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:sunflower: Thank you! :sunflower:

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Photos and videos credited to rightful owners.

#newsteam

20190514, 4:41AM RET