Korean Music Festival 2008 - Part 1
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After the MCs, the show continued with the next act. The revolving center piece on stage turned to reveal
Moon Hee Jun standing in the center perfectly still, in front of his microphone stand. Dressed in a black dress shirt with only one sleeve and a white shirt under it, a red tie hung loosely around his neck while his gloved hands remained at his side. Backed by his band,
Obsession began while the audience screamed and sang along to the chorus.
Hee Jun paced the center of the stage, leaning down towards the front rows of the audience while he sang the chorus. Jumping in time to the music, he put his arms in the air and danced briefly before the next verse. After he ran down the runway and back towards the end of the song, fans in the front chanted "
Moon Hee Jun!
Moon Hee Jun!"
Hee Jun talked to the audience briefly before smiling and standing in silence, waiting for the next song to start. The audience screamed as
Generous began to play. With a light fog on the stage,
Hee Jun began to sing the soothing opening of the song while water ripples were displayed on the backdrop screens. As the song grew more aggressive,
Hee Jun leaned into the mic stand before pulling the microphone from its holder. As the intense part of the song played, the stage lights flashed in a frenzy while
Hee Jun threw himself into a full body head bang, growling into the microphone. The stage lights flashed orange, giving the image of fire as
Hee Jun sang with all his might. Singing in a higher vocal range, the lights switched over to a light blue-green when the end of the song approached.
Once it was over,
Hee Jun took a moment to talk to the crowd before
Drug blared through the Hollywood Bowl. Grasping the mic stand as the song's intro sounded,
Hee Jun leaned down, putting his weight on the mic stand as the guitar part sounded. Bringing his other hand up to the microphone, he grabbed it off the stand and grunted into the mic and began to bounce up and down in a squatting position, waving his arm in the air until it was time for him to sing. Returning the microphone to the stand, he clutched the mic in both hands and sang the first verse. With strobe lights flashing in the background,
Hee Jun bounced up and down once more before returning to singing. Taking steps down the runway each time he said "I want to die."
Hee Jun paused in his movements and let out a gut-wrenching shout, "I want to die!" before running to the end of the runway. Throwing his hands in the air,
Hee Jun paced the end of the runway while the audience screamed and jumped with him. Putting his foot on the stage speakers, he growled out the lines of the song with his head tilted back singing with power. Thrashing his body up and down and pumping his fist in the sir, the audience mimicked his movements, clapping together their thunder sticks. Doing dance moves resembling something robotic, the end of the song came as
Hee Jun dangled his arm idly, standing still on the stage. "Thank you!" he called, turning and running off stage to the audience's cries of "
Hee Jun!! We love you!"
Girls' Generation was introduced next. The crowd went wild as the girls walked out in similar outfits in a single file line arranged by height, the tallest in the front.
Kissing You started with the girls waving giant lollipops in the air. As the girls sang, the center screen kept with the lollipop theme. With the screen alternating between live footage and floating lollipops, the girls danced synchronized in heels. Each stepping forward into the spotlight for a solo line, the song ended with the group gathering together in the center of the stage, waving their lollipops at the audience. Regrouping in a line across the stage, the group introduced themselves as they passed their lollipops down the line and put them down. After their talk, the girls got into a V formation and began to dance as
Girls' Generation started. Dancing in a circle, they crouched down as
Jessica stood in the center for a solo line before walking down the runway. Lined up at the end of the stage, the girls jumped in the air and finished out the song dancing at the end of the runway. "Thank you!" they shouted, waving before they left the stage.
Jung Hoon Hee appeared onstage in a glittering pink gown. Standing in the center of the stage, a small orchestra sat behind her on the revolving part of the stage. With her smooth vocals and the sound of the orchestra behind her, the music was soothing. Moving her hand in the air as her vocals jumped from high to low flawlessly, the audience was taken with her vocal talent. After playing a few songs,
Jessica from
Girls' Generation came out on stage to sing with her. Performing one of
Jung Hoon Hee's most famous classics,
At a Flower Garden, the two voices complimented each other. Being a diva of Korean pop,
Hoon Hee hit the high notes easily and held them out, her voice resonating through the Hollywood Bowl. Standing side by side in the center of the stage, the two looked at each other often, making sure to stay in time with each other. Rolling her arm in the air to encourage the audience to sing the well known song with them,
Hoon Hee reached out and took hold of
Jessica's hand as the two finished out the song in a strong harmony. The duet was a wonderful surprise that everyone enjoyed. Bowing together and waving to the audience, the two walked off the stage hand and hand.
Brian and
Ock Joo Hyun returned and commented on the performance and how impressive the vocal ranges of the two women were before moving on to the next performance.
Choi Baek Ho stood in the center of the stage, in front of a microphone stand with his acoustic guitar in tow. The back screens flashed his name across a picture of his guitar in his arms as the audience waved glow sticks side to side during this folk singer's performance. With the band behind him playing, the first few numbers were soothing with a mix of piano and violin parts that could be heard over the guitar. His last number surprised the audience when suddenly the orchestra no longer played and a band took over instead. With the lights flashing all around the stage, the folk music turned into rock. The audience moving to the upbeat tempo, the gruff tone that had replaced
Choi Baek Ho's usual smooth vocals had even himself rocking back and forth on the stage, swaying his guitar. After proving that he can still surprise his audience,
Choi Baek Ho left the stage.
Then
Yoon Hyung Joo and
Kim Se Hwan came out on stage separately. Each with their guitars in tow they played their own separate songs at first. Many of the attendees were of an older generation, as was evident from the side screens which showed a video of the audience, many of whom sang along enthusiastically to the folk songs that had been so popular in the 70's and 80's. After playing separately, the two joined together once again for an onstage collaboration. Smiling throughout their performance, it soon ended and the two left the stage.
Shin Joong Hyun had come out of retirement for the Korean Music Festival. Backed by his sons
Daechul and
Yoonchul,
Joong Hyun appealed to both the younger and older audience with his classic rock sound. Decked in a white suit with his electric guitar,
Joong Hyun paced the runway, getting the audience to cheer and wave their hands in the air to the music. While he walked, swaying side to side, the stage flashed in an array of colors that were much more vibrant against the now darkened sky. For his last song,
Girls' Generation came out onstage and stood behind him until they began to sing with him. Fitting well with the Korean Festival's theme this year of old and new, his performance was unforgettable. The first half of the show ended and a brief intermission took place.
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Korean Music Festival 2008 - Part 3
Korean Music Festival 2008 - Part 4
