MY REVIEW ON EUNHAE JAPAN TOUR 2015 - SAITAMA 3/4, 4/4. 5/4
Super Junior Donghae and Eunhyuk (D&E), or more
affectionately known as Eunhae by fans, managed to pull off 3 spectacular shows
in Saitama over this holiday weekend, kicking their Japan Tour 2015 off to an
amazing start.
Known mostly for their close relationship more than anything
else, with the nickname as Super Junior’s ultimate “One-True-Pairing”, Eunhae
not only managed to please the fans with a truckload of intimate and cheesy interactions
across the 3 days but what impressed me the most was their ability to put up a
professional performance with their in-sync choreography and non-lacking
vocals, shining brightly on that stage even though they were without their
other 3 to 13 counterparts. We bore witness to the fulfillment of a shared dream
between 2 soul-mates who have come a long way.
The theme of this concert was “Present” which explained the
get-up of the stage layout being decked with presents in white base and red
ribbons topped with the decorative Eunhae badge. Eunhyuk had made an attempt to
explain the theme and even amused us with his English. The word “Present” was
to be taken as almost all the multi meanings it had carried. This concert was a
gift from Eunhae to us and in return, they had acknowledged the fans as their
present. Second meaning was set as a presentation, with the talented boys
showcasing their new songs to us. And I am also pretty sure I caught the hint
of Past, Present and Future theme amidst the VCRs.
The boys kicked off their concert with “Scary House” – a new
song off the Japanese album, making a grand entrance as they hung from a
helicopter which descended upon the extended stage before launching into an
up-beat choreography which immediately hyped up the entire audience. Despite
having not heard the song prior the concert I was drawn to the catchy beat and
found myself dancing along soon after one chorus.
Without slowing down the pace, they launched into a familiar
song – “Motorcycle”. This song had received popular feedback in the previous
tour due to its funky beats, addictive dance and hilarious music video and this
time round, things were taken to a higher level as a pair of majestic motorcycles
appeared above carts mid-song. The boys got onto the motorcycles accompanied by
a male dancer and “rode” their way through the audience to yet another stage
positioned at the back of the stadium where they performed the rest of the
song, giving the audience seated at the south section an eyeful.
“Bari 5!” was the next song to be performed and I could not
contain my excitement as it was a dance sequence I had personally favoured
while watching the Eunhae Japan Tour 2014 DVD. The song was performed as per
last year with an equal amount of rigor and height before the boys returned
back to the main stage on their “Harley Davidson/Ducatti”.
The fourth song was a song I had found myself already
internally choreographing from the moment I first heard it – “Lights, Camera,
Action”. It’s a new song off the latest Korean album “The Beat Goes On” and
evidently I was excited for it particularly when the dance choreography lived
up to my expectations with chest pumps, leg lifts, hip thrusts and sexy swag
rolling of hips.
Without any time for a breather, they launched into the 5th
and 6th song; “The Beat Goes On” and “Skeleton” - two of which were
songs we were all familiar with down to the infamous sexy fall courtesy of Lee
Eunhyuk. I found myself cheering for them excessively during their dance breaks
and was more than glad that there were no “accidents” this time around and that
Hyukjae had regained confidence in this dance. Skeleton ended off with the boys
being “kidnapped” and shut in the coffin by the dancers which linked to a
pre-recorded VCR and at the very end, the dancers re-opened the coffin for us
to find out that they were “gone”. That was a pretty cool “magic trick” right
there – yes we all know there’s a trap-door at the bottom.
A very gay VCR with Eunhae x flowers x girl kicked start the
next segment where I was able to catch a breather as they slowed things down
with a series of ballads. First up; a new Japanese song off the CD version
album – bonus track: “Super Pressure” (I apologize but only naughty thoughts go
through my head with the play on a very similar looking word). Hanging
microphones ascended from the top and the two female dancers were dressed in a
sexy blue and red dress as they engaged in an intimate slow choreography.
The set shifted to the extended stage in the middle for the
next song, “Wonderland” – acoustic version followed by “1+1=Love”; a song I had
been dying to hear live since Donghae had started writing it.
Rounding up the set performed at the middle stage was “Symphony”
– another new song off the Japanese album, a bonus track exclusive to the ELF
Japan version (see now why I have to buy all 3 versions?!) They also loaded
themselves up the carts as they offered another round of close interactions
with the fans before returning to the main stage where they launched into the
Japanese version of their Korean promoted song; “Growing Pains”. The music
video was played in the background as the boys flawlessly executed their moves
with much familiarity after having performed it countless times on Korean music
shows.
With a cute video of them “directing their lives”, the next
song was appropriately, “Mother”. My favorite bit of this song would
definitely have to be the ¾ mark where adorable childhood pictures of them and
their mothers were screened. Everyone was just gushing and it was during this
song on the second day that Hyukjae found his emotions catching up with him as
he broke down into tears.
The following song was one I had used my wish on; “Kimi Ga
Naitara”. Despite already being performed on the previous tour, they decided to
include it once again and I don’t even want to remember my state of
hyperventilation on day 1 when the first note was played. So basically I was in
tears day 1 and day 2 because of Eunhyuk.
The ballads did not stop there as they went into “Where Is
She?” – a new one off the Japanese album and announced with that song that they
were looking for their special half amidst the crowd after entertaining the
audience by acting scenes out – things they would do with their girlfriend
which included a lot of sexy lying on the floor and illusions of them hugging, caressing
and kissing her. This song was obviously yet another song where they had a go
on the carts which brought them close to the audience once again.
Finishing off the ballad segment was “Sweater and Jeans”
followed by “Breaking Up” – a sequence performed partially on Korean shows
prior their departure for Japan. Sleek moves paired with sensual vocals, this
combination was perfect.
Launching into another comedic VCR, something trademark from
the Eunhae pair, they came back out on stage in a grand manner, this time in a
giant champagne bottle instead. Of course, it comes with no surprise that the
next song is “Wine”, and the performance was complete with sailors, barrels,
and of course a wine glass which was actually filled. Cute choreography with a
catchy tune, I find myself still dancing to the song; “Oh, oh, oh, oh!”
The next trio of upbeat and fun songs which were sure to
keep you on your feet were popular songs previously performed; “Teenage Queen”,
“I Wanna Dance” and “Oppa Oppa”. Who wouldn’t know the choreography to the
latter two songs? And of course, the infamous opening line of “Oppa Oppa” was
tweaked to fit this show: We are Eunhae, Welcome to the DnE Show, Let’s party
tonight. And I can also assure you that the scissors, paper, stone segment is
not pre-planned. Out of the 3 shows I watched, Eunhyuk lost twice and Donghae
lost the last one. Eunhyuk had a sexy dance break on day 1, an amazing
handstand on day 2 and we were treated to a sexy dance by Donghae on the third.
Completing this high dance segment was their new title track
off the Japanese album, “Saturday Night”! I heard this song multiple times as the
truck in Shibuya made its rounds topped with spamming the replay button on the
Youtube preview, I officially declare that I am in love with this song. It is
definitely one to make you get up on your feet and dance to; well done Eunhae.
With another VCR being inserted, it was down to “Kiss Kiss
Dynamite” which kicked off the encore. Another well-chosen song to which the
audience could dance to, it was followed by “Hello”, a chance for them to
deliver another round of fanservice in the form of shooting autographed balls
and the dropping of printed autographed streamers in the front Arena
section. As much as I would have loved
to get my hands on a ball (any kind really) I only found myself flying back
home with streamers courtesy of my kind friends seated in the good area.
Along with the final words, the most appropriate song was
selected as the finale; “Gift” – this was how I had figured out the real
meaning of the album title “Present”. Me and my Eunhae girlfriends were playing
on the different interpretations of “Present” and I said; Present as in the
gift, because there’s a song called gift. I guess, as usual, I’m right. ;-)
The atmosphere throughout the 3 days varied significantly
with the 4/4 being the highlight of my entire concert experience at Saitama.
The amount of energy from both Eunhae and the fans were so much more than the
other 2 days; I reckon that’s our DVD footage right there.
I felt especially proud of Eunhyuk for pulling off such a
great show. Prided as Super Junior’s dance machine and a good rapper, he proved
to everyone that he could hold a note and his live singing did not lack a
single bit. He successfully hit the high note in Kimi Ga Naitara on all 3
nights, earning proud tears from me. (along with a bit of giggles together with
Donghae)
Good luck to Eunhae for the remaining concerts across Asia
and if you can, you really should attend one of these. I prided it as “the best
concert I’ve ever attended” – it surpasses any Super Show I’ve attended in
terms of grand scale, fanservice and professionalism on stage.
For a crazy fangirl version of my fanaccount, stalk and
backtrack my twitter if you dare.
Love
@phoebefeehily
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