Well, Rain has been here…and gone…all within the weekend. No doubt many of his fans wished he had stayed longer. Some were even lamenting the fact that Singapore didn’t have a fan meet unlike Shanghai. Still, looking at all the comments, I think his fans weren’t disappointed with the concert. Hehe!
What’s a concert without merchandise right? The best time to sell these products really.
How about bringing a sexy Rain to school/ work? ^^
The concert time stated was 7pm but at about 10 minutes before 7pm, the stadium was still not full. I was getting a litle worried. Where were the clouds? Was this concert going to be a shower and not a thunderstorm? Thankfully, at about 7.10pm, the stadium had began to fill up and the announcement came on that the show would start in about 10 minutes. Whew
The show started with a bang. Well, actually it started with a little laser man on the wall. Hehe! I was rather fascinated with it. Were you? And then it started with a bang with Rain singing the opening song was the very appropriate
‘I’m Coming’.
I guess no decent major (Korean) star will hold a concert nowadays without the whizz-bang pyrotechnics. It was not on the same scale as Super Junior’s concert. BUT it was nice to see Rain doing his signature dance moves, singing his hit songs.
The second song,
‘Touch Ya’ followed quickly. It was nother fast number, obviously meant to warm up the audience.
By now, his fans were getting excited and the third song,
‘You’ gave the fans his familiar hip thrusting moves. Hmm.. the lyrics were suggestive enough and his moves even more so. Anybody had any ídeas’ after watching his perform this song? ^^
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4-iVsjCGfRA
And then, the media (except the few official ones) had to leave the media pit. After some scrambling and I’m-not-sure-what’s-happenning waiting, we were led upstairs and very kindly invited to stay on for the rest of the concert.
I don’t recognise all his songs…mainly his older hits. Though I do like Hip Song from his last album. Here are some
random highlights from the concert.
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QUku9XKPPI
Some must have’s of a concert now- throwing sweaty towel into the audience and serenading to a fan picked from the audience. And Rain did both. Only slight deviation was…the seranading part. He had scanned around (with the camera following him on screen) and finally zoomed in on a little girl, about 4-5 years old. How sweet, he was going to serenade to her.
But…but…but….. the little girl decided that going onto the big stage with a tall, sweaty man wasn’t her idea of fun. She firmly refused…even with the gentle persuasion of her mother and prodding of those around her. And then, she started to cry. Wahahaha! I bet Rain never had any girls rejeting him before. He finally had to settle for one of his fan from the mosh pit. She was showered with a huge teddy bear, flowers and hugs. I’m sure she will not be able to sleep for days. ^^ Rain didn’t forget the little girl though and kept saying ‘I’m waiting for you, babe!’. Well, he will have to wait at least 2 years’ time.
To me, Rain’s signature song is ‘It’s Raining’. It was the biggest hit back then and in a way, it was also the launch of his succesful career. I still like this song.
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pKcNAjwYpe0
httpv://www.youtube.com/watch?v=om1d2BxD_TE
Unfortunately, due to some techincal glitch, the sound went off half way through the song. But it didn’t faze rain one bit. He calmly went behind the stage and sang the song again. Now that’s what I call a true professional and a veteran. Thumbs up to him.
The other significant act in his concert was the ‘raining scene’. If the sight of Rain, in his torn shirt, having a public ‘shower’ didn’t excite you, then I think nothing else will (though I did find it amusing that some fans were begging him not to cry???).
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oivJqJ3Kud4
Btw, in line with this green theme, the water used will be recycled to water plants. ^^
Of course he gave the fans the almost mandatory encore, which was aptly named ‘Back to basics’. He was dressed in less flashy costume, and sang the songs from his first 2 albums. Whilst they didn’t sound familiar to me, I am sure his loyal fans know them very well.
httpvh://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eVD8faGAitQ
And then the concert was over. I had half expected him to come out with another encore but I guess he was tired and he had performed over 2 hours, which he performed well and with his heart.
After thoughts:
I have always thought of Rain more as a performer than as a singer. I think not get a chance to watch his concert in Singapore here in 2007 (the ticket prices were just crasy) but I’m very glad I had a chance to do so before he went into the army. His dancing was as good as before. If he was tired, he was professional and showed no signs of it. He interacted with the fans by going down stage a couple of times, he made the audience stand up and dance.
Even without 2PM & Jackie Chan (btw, where were they? I thought they would appear on stage. Hmmm….), the audience loved of his performance. Or perhaps I should say, I’m sure they must have been glad the stage belonged to Rain, and Rain alone with no other distraction.
Most of all, I think his fans who ‘grew’ with him, appreciated the concert. I had commented that I thought concert wasn’t as much hyped as some others that I had attended. These were the exact words of a long time fan:
‘Loved the show….We knew him back then, so felt the connection.’
At the end of the day, I think this was what the concert was all about- a farewell, thank you concert to all his loyal fans. There was no need for all the special effects because it wasn’t needed.
His fans were there because of Rain and Rain was there because of his fans.
A great big thank you to Faith n D Entertainment for giving me the chance to be up close and personal to him. Although there were hiccups along the way, they still managed to pull off a a good show. No mean feat since Rain is a mega star.
For more photos, please check out Seoul Rhythm’s FB
My opinion:
If audience is looking for another Super Junior type of performance in a Rain concert, it will not happen.
JYP and SM are two distinctive styles. Not forgetting Rain is a solo performer and he sang to “live” music and have to dance at the same time is not easy. For that, It is worth paying for a ticket. I thought the performance was great even the sales of tickets were not good as many have commented.
Super Junior stage a very entertaining concert and it targetted at younger fans. I did enjoy the concert. It is a wonderful feeling to be around the energetic young fans.
Well, everyone has to grow up. I started enjoying Rain’s performance when he first debuted. Then, the concert was a sell out. Rain has learned a lot during his 10 years in the industry. For example, he really handled the system break down very well and has lots more stage presence now than before. Even it is not a sellout show fan like myself feels this is a good concert in many aspects.
Everyone knows the life span of a korean singer (may be not so much of an actor??) will plunge by age 29/30. Those who needs to serve the miliary for 2 years will feel it even sooner. The plus point, after military, all the k-stars so far are more good looking than before….lol
I wish more solo concerts will be brought in, like Lee Hyori, Lee Sueng Gi etc..(hint hint to organisers)