Report from the MAMAMOO concert on May 16th.
As expected, MAMAMOO delivered. No question, the best KPop concert I’ve been to. What I knew about them from YouTube is what we got.
The tour is named “My Con” which stands for My Concert. But I also learned it’s a pun for “Mic On”. Yes indeed. More than any other KPop group ever. MAMAMOO’s reputation for actually singing live is legit. I heard it with my own ears. And while singing and dancing, their live singing is better than a lot of other KPop stars singing period.
The stage production wasn’t anything too fancy. They had big video screen in the background, 8 backup dancers, a handful of costume changes, lights, smoke machines, and some confetti cannons that got used maybe 3 times. They could have done more, but it was enough. What they had they used very well to create a powerful performance.
Also, they did what I think every live music act should do, and that’s perform something live that can’t be seen elsewhere. In this case they created a medley of their solo work. However, they changed it up and each member performed the solo song of a different member. Then they performed some more of their solo songs as a whole group. I knew they were doing this because they have the same set list on every stop of this tour, but it’s still great.
And for the songs that are performed normally, they have special concert versions that are slightly remixed. Different breakdowns and renditions that are not what you get on the albums or music videos. A+. A concert should be a unique experience. We’ve all already heard these songs before, gotta spice it up.
I stand by what I said before. Even if someone isn’t a KPop fan, this is the group to see live. As long as someone likes music and dancing, this will be a good time, especially at a smaller venue.
All that said, it wasn’t perfect.
First, I wish it would have gone on a bit longer. Just maybe 2-3 more songs would have felt complete. Despite being different than other KPop groups in many ways, they were also the same. They would perform a few songs, and then take a long break to play videos or have some useless talking. I know they have to entertain the crowd while they catch their breath, but it doesn’t entertain me.
Since it was the big arena, we experimented with expensive tickets in the 12th row. I didn’t want to sit far away and watch the concert on video screens, since that’s no different than watching on YouTube. Was it worth it? Mmmm, maybe not considering how high the price was. I think we could have found a better balance of price and closeness. Moving maybe one section backwards and off to the side the view could have still been good enough at a much lower price point. So yeah, it was very good being that close, but not better enough to justify the cost vs. some of the other seats.
I brought the light stick and it was actually kinda fun to wave it around. Surprisingly they didn’t use the RF system to control the sticks centrally. We were left to control them however we felt like. This was also nice in its own way. Trying to change the color and pattern to match the performance going on, or just changing it to your favorite color. I noticed quite a few fans were in sync on that as well. Felt a little bit like a secret communication system between the fans.
Everything going on at the arena was very well managed. The only complaint is that its the arena belonging to the evil NY Islanders. I may dislike the team that plays there, but the UBS arena is a well run venue. To be expected from someplace so new.
Here’s a video from one of those people at the concert who was holding their phone up the whole time, and sitting even closer than me.
