Blackpink’s ‘The Show’: Concert Review

Saturday night or Sunday morning, depending on the time zone, Blackpink fans finally got the closest experience to a live band gig with “The Show.” While the K-pop titans – Lisa, Jennie, Rosé, Jisoo – were planning on touring to support their full debut album, “The Album,” which dropped in October, this concert at the Arena ladder, broadcast live from Seoul, showed the quartet missed no milestone, despite the pandemic.

An otherworldly theme filled the soundstage throughout the nearly 1.5-hour stage, as the quartet was accompanied by LED lights, mirrored walls, neon lasers, and confetti. Seemingly emerging from outer space, the four members burst into a pink-hued post-apocalyptic setting, where they took to the stage with a grandiose “Kill This Love”. They carried that same confidence throughout the show with performances of hits like the sassy “How You Like That” and a rock rendition of “As If It’s Your Last”.

“The Show” (postponed from its original date of Dec. 27 due to pandemic concerns) is presumably a rendering of what the tour would have looked like if we hadn’t been faced with a pandemic, which resulted in that their performance is more like a live show experience. From the group’s choreography to their flashy costumes of tulle, feathers and corsets, the production made audiences feel like they had a real place in the Seoul venue.

Between outfit changes, neon images flashed across the screen and featured each of the Blackpink members performing on their own: Jisoo delivered a stripped-down blanket of Tove Lo’s “High” on a velvet couch; Lisa put on a skillful spin on Doja Cat’s “Say So” on an illuminated dance floor; and Jennie charmed with her single “Solo” 2018. But perhaps the highlight was when Rosé shared her first solo track “Gone”, a vulnerable breaking hymn she performed on a swing, interspersed with of bad love thumbnails of an accompanying video clip.

The four also rolled out their playful collaboration with Lady Gaga’s “Sour Candy,” the fierce kiss “Playing With Fire” and the sparkling dance-pop anthem “Lovesick Girls” – with the help of cascading glittering confetti. But one of the most visually exciting moments of the night was during a dazzling transition from “Pretty Savage” to “Ddu-Du Ddu-Du”, where the band literally heated the stage with fire and danced on. the water. But even the quietest performances were cinematic: After walking through the metal tunnels of the soundstage, the group emerged with the towering ballad “Don’t know what to do”.

Despite the intensity of the show, the band were carefree during the interludes where they laughed and shared their excitement to be back on stage – and, in K-pop lore, shared how much they missed their “Blinks”. (Fans).

“I hope everyone felt our presence because in our minds we’re here with everyone,” Rosé told the audience ahead of the “Forever Young” finale. “Watching our concert, I hope you get the feeling that we are all together.”