wave to earth @ The Met
Photos by Kelsea Clarke
Gae Kkule!
Upon walking into the theatre, anticipation filled the air. The bright stage lights illuminated the full house. The atmosphere was hazy and moody. Excitement surged through the crowd as the time leading up to the headliner dwindled.
The lights dimmed, a door onstage opened, people rummaged, then quiet.
Bang! The band began to play, Daniel Kim on vocals, John Cha on bass, and Dong Q on drums. The previously empty stage is now full and bright. wave to earth began their set right at 8:15 with the song “talking ‘bout u,” off their new album. The crowd moved as one, swaying side to side in sync with the music.
The band’s melodies echoed through the theatre, enchanting the crowd and amplifying their stage presence.
A prop ‘house’ onstage enclosed the band members on three sides. The atmosphere was relaxed but detailed walls functioning as an added layer of ambiance, ornamented with lamps that would blink along with the overhead lights. There were couches and windows, through which scenes of Philadelphia played, a meta ode to the fans in the audience.
The set continued, with little breaks between every few songs allowing for the members to give introductions to select tracks. The stage design was immersive, adapting to the different tone of every song. During lo-fi track “Sunny Days” the lights were a deep blue, and the strobes moved slowly over the crowd in a polka-dot fashion, creating serene, aquatic mystique. The next track, “annie” was a dramatic performance, with blaring guitar solos and passionate lyrics screamed by everyone present. The lights strobed and seized, blinding and depriving the audience of anything but pure engrossment.
The band took a small intermission after the first half taking time to introduce each bandmate and give props to everyone backstage, on lights, audio technicians, and venue employees. wave to earth also did some crowd interaction during this intermission, asking fans to scream their favorite songs. At each concert, the group teaches the crowd a new Korean word: Philadelphia’s was gae kkule, which translates to dog honey. It is modern slang, similar to the english word awesome. They wrote the word on a piece of paper, then sent it flying across the theatre to be caught by one lucky fan!
They continued the set with some older songs, then bittersweetly ended the show, walking back through the door and slamming it shut. They had played for almost two hours, yet it felt premature. The crowd begged for an encore.
Moments later, the stadium tremored when wave to earth came back onstage. They played classics like “homesick” “daisy” and “love.” The crowd was louder than before, together enjoying the performance, and screaming along to the all-time fan favorites.
wave to earth performed an electric show at The Met Philadelphia! The Pieces World Tour will conclude in Seoul in late November, after which the band will go on an indefinite hiatus.
