B1A4 Delivers One Of The Best New York City K-Pop Performances Of 2014 [Concert Review]
During their October 3 show, B1A4 delivered one of the best K-Pop performances New York City fans have seen in 2014.
B1A4 played before a packed but relatively calm audience during the first leg of their American tour entitled Road Trip to US. Their fans, many of whom began to line up at noon, were eager to see B1A4 take the stage. B1A4 promptly began to perform at 8PM.
B1A4 opened the concert with “O.K.” from their 2011 mini album “Let’s Fly.” The group then performed “Beautiful Target” from their second 2011 mini album “It’s B1A4.”
One of the distinguishing qualities of B1A4 has been their involvement as lyricists in their songs since the group debuted in April 2011. As B1A4 took the stage, it was obvious that each of the members was personally invested in various aspects of the songs, while still maintaining an effervescent joy of performing.
B1A4 greeted the audience, following their performance of “O.K.” and “Beautiful Target.” During their greetings, the group made a concerted effort to speak with the audience in English. This consideration was reminiscent of the painstaking dedication to conversation that was shown by U-KISS to their New York City fans in January 2014. Throughout their banter with the audience, CNU and Baro used the most English.
The group then launched into “I Won’t Do Bad Things” from their November 2012 mini album “Into the Wind.” Next, B1A4 performed “Oh My God,” a song off of the second studio album from the group, which was released in January 2014.
“Oh My God” was one of the standout songs from their performance, which displays the level of sophistication B1A4 possesses despite the young age of the group members. “Oh My God” was followed by “Because of You.”
B1A4 then went on to perform their songs “Seoul,” “Tried to Walk,” an accapella version of “This Time is Over,” followed by the chorus of “Drive.” The group then performed an acoustic cover of Bob Dylan's “Knocking on Heaven’s Door,” which was definitely a highlight of the night.
The group continued to perform acoustically with “Wonderful Tonight” from the 2012 album “Ignition”. During "Wonderful Tonight," the members of B1A4 were provided with an opportunity to highlight their individual vocal skills.
B1A4 then turned up the tempo with “Amazing” and “Lonely” followed by “Solo Day.” "Solo Day" was one of the group's strongest performances at KCON 2014 in August, and they did not disappoint with their rendition during the New York City show either.
The choreography for “Solo Day” is infectious, particularly when paired with live delivery of the song. "Solo Day" is also a song that drew the most enthusiasm from the audience, who sang and danced along with the song.
The group followed “Solo Day” with a video of their concert rehearsals, followed by a fan service segment which began with a mock phone call. This then segued into their performance of “Chu Chu Chu” which featured a poised but enthusiastic fan on stage.
B1A4 addressed the audience, telling the female attendees that they were “Pretty” like their song.
Next, B1A4 performed “What’s Happening,” followed by their song “A Cup of Water.” B1A4 then started to draw the show to a conclusion with the songs “Who Am I?” which led to “Baby Goodnight” following one of their last verbal engagements with the audience. The show started to come to a close, at this point.
B1A4 then delivered encore performances of “You Are My Girl,” “In the Air,” and “If.” Fans who were in front of the stage were fortunate enough to actively engage with B1A4 during this portion of the show.
Beyond the sophistication of their vocals, which were complemented by a live band, B1A4 actively engaged the audience with fan service that did not appear to be awkward or over rehearsed.
One of the downsides of live Korean pop shows is often the slightly off-kilter attempts by the act to engage with an American audience. B1A4 kept the attention of the audience between wardrobe changes and song through their incorporation of humor laced banter.
B1A4 maintained consummate showmanship throughout the concert, providing many small glimpses into the nuanced personalities of the group members. The true extent of vocal ability of B1A4 cannot be obtained through recorded music but is, as they proved, best heard during their concerts.
