WBW: 10 Concerts I Wish I Could Have Seen
I wrote a little blurb in theConfessions of an Uncle Fancolumn yesterday about how dedicated international fans are when their favorite groups are visiting their country. That's one of the things that I missed as a K-pop fan back in the late 1990's because international tours or concerts basically didn't exist, especially if you didn't happen to live in LA or New York (H.O.T.did visit Washington, DC back in 1997 but even that was in a high school auditorium -Fin.K.Lvisited Atlanta in 2000 as well butJoohyun&Lee Jin had VISA issues and couldn't make the trip). At the time, before the prominence of the internet, K-pop wasn't generating the kind of revenues or drawing the huge number of international fans as they are now so it just wasn't an option.
Today'sWay Back Wednesdayis focused on the 10 groups or singers that I would have loved to have seen live in concert if given the chance. Most of these groups are repeats from other articles but some might actually surprise you.
Seo Taiji and Boys
Watching the greatest Korean group in history live would have been the show of a lifetime for me. Even watching some of the old live shows onYouTubegave me chills.
Drunken Tiger, Yoon Mi Rae, Leessang
I'm not a huge fan of Korean hip hop but I am totally in the tank for Tiger JK, Yoon Mi Rae, and the boys from Leessang. They're the closest I've heard to replicating the sounds that I group up listening to and I think they have their own style and substance whihc make them unique. Also, as much as I like Bizzy , I would love to see the original Drunken Tiger with DJ Shine as well.
SMTown, Christmas 2000
Pretty specific huh? The reason I chose this was because this was the last SMTown that includedH.O.T. becase by the following Christmas, H.O.T had disbanded and onlyMoon Hee JunandKangtawere still with the company. Plus, the 2000 version also includedBoA,Shinhwa,Fly to the Sky,S.E.S, andYoo Young Jin.
Solid
For years, I wanted to go to Korea to see these guys live after I saw the video of this very performance at one of the famousDream Concertsback in 1995. It never happened but still one of my favorite performances from the group.
YG Family
I'm talking theold school YG Family though.Jinusean,1TYM,Lexy,Perry,Yang Hyun Suk(when he still performed). I'll even go as far asWheesung,Big Mama,Gummy, andSe7enbut even that's pushing it.
Lee Juk
If I were to go to an Lee Juk concert, I wouldn't want like a big stadium show. I would want something fairly intimate and have him talk about the inspiration for each of the songs he performs. The guy is a genius.
UP, Young Turks Club, Roo'Ra, S#arp
I wouldn't want to see an entire concert for any of these groups but if they had a joint show and performed like 3-4 of their biggest hits, that would be amazing.
Uhm Jung Hwa, Hyori, BoA
Kind of like the K-pop version of thatVH1 Divasshow that used to be popular back in the day. I mean, what fanboy wouldn't sell a portion of his soul to get tickets to this concert?
YB
The band formerly known asYoon Do Hyun BandandYB Band have emerged as the de facto rock group of Korea and their long list of hits and amazing energy would be amazing in any venue from big stadium show to small rock club.
C'est Si Bon
Some of you may recognize this name from an episode of the show 'Come to Play' which reunited legendary singersCho Young Nam,Song Chang Sik,Kim Se Hwan, andYoon Hyung Joo. The name C'est Si Bon was the name of a famous live music venue in Seoul during the 1960's and 1970's at which they performed but has come to encompass an entire generation of singers from that era. While this music was way before my time, I grew up listening to it because of my parents and I think it would be a cool experience to go this show with them.
Those are just 10 of the concerts that I would love to see but obviously there are so many that I couldn't include. Which old school artists would you love to see live?