"K-towns everywhere..." That was one of the items Epik High included in their list of Things We Love About North America, and it was extremely apropos of their 2015 North America Tour stop in sunny Los Angeles.

An alumnus of Stanford University, Tablo was given a hometown hero's welcome as Angelenos showed up in force to party with the hip hop trio and another K-town homeboy, Parker, aka Dumbfoundead.

"Growing up in K-town, I've always dreamed of playing the Wiltern. And tonight, the sign outside says....Epik High!" joked Parker.

Despite not being the headliner, DFD dropped a hard-hitting set with his friends, DJ Zo and fellow K-town rapper, Mike B, opening with "Field Trip" and "Mellow Yellow." On "Untouchable," a track by Mike B., they were joined on stage by Ben Baller and Parker's co-host on Danny From LA, Danny from O.G. YG Family group, 1tym. Throughout his set, Parker repeatedly thanked his mom, undoubtedly someone he draws tremendous strength and inspiration from, as shown in his choice for the next song, "Are We There Yet." He wrapped things up with the track, "Ganghis Khan."
 
One look at the stage revealed this was no idol spectacle. The stage was sparse, set only with a raised DJ table with an EPIK HIGH table runner underneath. Above, a digital marquee, plain white text on black, displayed "EPIK HIGH, 2015 North America Tour." No elaborate video screen, moving sets, or choreography marks on the stage, just bottles and bottles of water. As DJ Tukutz, Mithra Jin and Tablo walked onto the stage, the audience greeted them with thunderous screaming, ready and pumped for a night of poetry performed to music. First performing "Raise the Curtain" and then their hit track, "Fly," Epik High declared to all the High Skoolers they were going to put on an unforgettable show.

DJ Tukutz, introduced by Tablo as "the DJ with the best hair," riffed on the DJ table through the group's introductions, playing Tupac's "California Love" to get the crowd going and the Superman theme during Mithra Jin's intro. Tablo, simply announced as "Haru's daddy," told the crowd they were in for a "true Arirang night," as they launched into a remixed version of "Top Gun," featuring a slick sample of Seo Taiji Boys' "Come Back Home." DJ Tukutz showed off his mixing skills as they segued into "It's Cold" and "Umbrella," seamlessly weaving female vocal tracks in between Tablo's and Mithra Jin's raps.

To rev the club atmosphere back into high gear, Epik High dropped the next song, "Burj Khalifa," with the unforgettable tag line, "My high is epik," which the crowd screamed delightedly over and over. The crowd kept the energy level high through "Map the Soul" and "Rich" before the group left the stage for intermission. Except Epik High did not just walk off and leave their fans behind to stand quietly for their return. Over the loudspeakers came Tablo's voice, "We're not on tv where you are, so we don't know why you know us, but we wrote you a letter, Things We Love About North America." Here's a short and random recap:

"Apple computers. Tupac and Biggie. Grizzly bears. Niagara Falls, both sides. Bill Clinton. Michael Jordan. Air Jordans. Starbucks. KFC. Harvard University. Stanford University. Stanford Hotel in Manhattan, where we stayed. Backstreet Boys, One Direction, Britney Spears. F. Scott Fitzgerald. Jay Park. Walking Dead. Batman. Chuck Norris. Hotmail. K-towns everywhere. Bagels. We love all these things, but most of all, we love you."

Upon their return to the stage, Epik High performed "Happen Ending" and "Love Love Love" and "Up," with DJ Tukutz showing us his 4D dance moves despite Tablo's ribbing. Tablo, having asked Mithra Jin if there's anything he wanted to do after the show, helpfully "translated" his short response to "What happens in LA, stays in LA" with a big wink to the audience. DJ Tukutz had his revenge during the next set. While Tablo performed his solo track, "Airbag," he had to stop to reprimand DJ Tukutz for hogging the vocals and not letting Tablo finish his verses.

"Just stand here quietly!" "Don't worry, be happy!" enthused DJ Tukutz, and proceeded to skip the second verse, rushing Tablo into the next song, the English remake of Taeyang's "Eyes, Nose, Lips."

In the last set, Epik High was determined to bring the house down. Kicking the volume up to 11, they performed "Kill This Love," "High Technology," One," "New Beautiful," and "Fan," playing with the beats so that they slowed to a hip-grinding groove and sped  up to a head-banging techno beat and back. At this point, I could barely hear the person screaming next to me over the thumping bass reverberating through my body.

The sudden silence left behind by the group's stage exit was quickly filled with shouts of "Encore, encore," and "EPIK HIGH! EPIK HIGH!" Returning to the stage, Epik High finished off the night with "Born Hater" and "Don't Hate Me," inspiring singing and screaming of High Skoolers that must have been heard in outer space. They sang, took selfies with the front row, sprayed the audience with water and threw souvenirs into the crowd. It had been six years since they last visited LA on tour, and Epik High was going to make sure fans remembered them until the next time.