Epik High kicked off their MAP THE SOUL WORLD TOUR at Wynterland in Kobe, Japan.
I had the pleasure to attend Epik High’s world tour MAP THE SOUL WORLD TOUR 2009. The Kobe concert was on April 26th, in a performance venue called Wynterland, situated on the central area of Kobe, near tourist points. It was the first concert of the tour.
Other than the show at 7:30 PM, Epik High performed a few hours before, at 1:30 PM. I confess that I wondered if the band wouldn’t be tired after performing twice on the same day, but they proved me wrong after they showed no signs of fatigue.
Finally, beneath the fine drizzle, they began to call people in. You could already tell that the majority of the public was women. I looked at the band’s products and I thought they were nicely designed. Most of them black and white, but some, like the international tour shirt, were very colorful.
After a long wait, the Kero One show began. I didn’t know the artist, and I was impressed with his English. Kero One is a hip hop artist, but I noticed that he also emphasize the musical line-up, with elaborate instrumentals that included piano and acoustic guitar. Kero One, the vocals, also played piano and Big Vince, his partner, played the guitar, synthesizer, was the DJ and also did the backing vocals.
Around the middle of the show, during the MC, they revealed that they are from San Francisco, California. During the same MC Kero One also didn’t fail to notice the number of women in the show. “Are you ready for Kero One?! Are you ready for Epik High later on?! Oh, I see they have a lot of female fans…”
In the beginning, the songs were very melodious, but they slowly became more dance like even though the lights were always a soft tinted yellow and red. When the Sunshine Comes was one of the songs that excited the public the most. MYK also made a special appearance, leading the music to a rap style that resembled Epik High the most and raising the public.
After a short break that followed Kero One’s show, the long awaited Epik High concert began. The show started out with a synthesizer and beatbox solo. The lights that were very simple during the Kero One concert began to fill the stage and molded the concert’s atmosphere. Finally, the other members came in. Tablo, Mithra Jin and DJ Tukutz, together with Beatbox DG and Asher (piano) began to play Top Gun, which opened the show with style.
Shortly after the beginning of the show, the members presented themselves with very simple Japanese, and a young Korean lady entered the stage to translate what they said. The translation process gave us many funny moments. At a certain time, Mithra introduced a song and, every time the translator was going to begin talking, he would add something more. In the end, we were left without the translation. But, apparently, a considerable amount of the public was formed of Koreans.
Because it was my first hip-hop concert, I found it very interesting how the personality of each member would pass through their voices. I also liked the rap “duels” between the members. DJ Tukutz’s solos also raised everyone’s mood. However, maybe because I’m used to the dancing in Visual Kei shows, I thought the public was not very creative with the choreographies. Other than that, the people didn’t stop jumping during most of the show.
Later on, Map the Soul began to play, a collaboration between Epik High, MYK and Kero One, who came back onstage. The song slowed down the rhythm of the show and let everyone concentrate on the beautiful melody and lyrics. During the song, Tablo threw his hat to the audience.
The translator came back onstage while Tablo presented the next song. He began to speak slowly so the translator could follow and explained that the song was about love, and that “you shouldn’t just like or love a woman, but respect her”, to which the female audience rejoices. However, Tablo said that some girl were laughing and he wanted to know why, and asks the public if the translation was correct.
Another high point in the show was One, that started out slowly, like a ballad, different from the album version, to touch the public. The song was presented as “the song that explains the reason why Epik High makes music” and was received with applause from the audience. Jisun’s voice was heard only through the synthesizer. The song Love Love Love, in collaboration with Lee Yoongjin, followed the same style.
The show ended with the band’s most famous song, Fly, and represented the show’s climax. Tablo extended his hands to the people at the front, who went insane, and even threw his towel to the audience. I couldn’t see a single person who was not jumping and screaming to the sound of Epik High.
After the show ended, the public began asking for an encore, with a surprise. Even though I’m used to the Japanese way of asking for an encore (“ankooru”), I found the Korean way more fun (“angkoreu”) and quicker.
While the show was becoming more and more exciting, some older women, who were sitting to the side at some tables, began to stand up and participate more in the show. Their energy was amazing.
In total, Epik High sang almost 20 songs, making a memorable show. When the concert ended, as I was ready to go home, I turned to the side and I saw an older woman, all sweaty, summing up the show in two words: “Ah, I’m satisfied…!”.
