What a time to be a Kpop stan in Seattle. In the last year we’ve seen the likes of TXT (Tomorrow x Together), ONEUS, Wonho (former member of MonstaX), Itzy, Ateez, Colde, Enhypen, Carthegarden, and many more as well as a Stray Kids stadium show on the horizon. Seattle has never been a prime location to see acts in this genre. Until recently you’d have to fly to Oakland or LA at the very least if not NYC or Chicago to see your favorite groups (we even have 4 Kpop stores within a 20 mile radius). You need no more evidence of Seattle as a rising Kpop stop than the fact that the female group Aespa graced us with a show on Tuesday of this week at ShoWare Center in Kent. If you’ve dabbled in this genre at all, that group name might seem familiar; if you know your stuff, then you also know getting Aespa (pronounced like Ess-Pa) to stop in Seattle is a huge win for stans of all kinds. Despite the fact they debuted only four years ago, they’ve made a name for themselves in an oversaturated market of Korean music. I was lucky enough to not only be there to see the show, but capture some photos at the start of the show.
My experiences over the last year with Kpop shows have been sort of hit and miss. If you’re a fan of the band or artist, you’ll have an incredible time no matter what because of your connection with the musicians and the music. For casual fans, like I have been for several of these shows, you notice when the groups are tired (that time change from Korea to the US is nasty and it’s still fresh with Seattle usually being the first stop), they’re just not feeling it, or they’re still getting their bearings and the first few stops will be a little more lackluster than the rest. While Tuesday night’s show seemed a little slow out of the gate with fans acting more subdued than I’d expect from a crowd the size ShoWare holds, as the night went on not only did the fans warm up and really get excited, but the members of Aespa fed off that energy and gave it right back.
Fan favorites like “Whiplash”, “Next Level”, “Black Mamba”, “Supernova” and “Pink Hoodie” made their way into the set list throughout the show. It was so fun to see the choreography live, the intensity of the MYs (Aespa’s fandom name is MY, so multiple fans are MYs), their customized and coordinated outfits, the glowing light sticks donning “aespa” in the center (see the light sticks in action in my photo set), and every other amazing thing about live Kpop. I will never get tired of going to these shows whether I’m a big fan of the group or not.
One thing that stood out for me outside of the music was the VCRs (videos created for either the album or the tour itself that are shown throughout the show to allow the group to catch their breath and make outfit changes). Aespa has lore just like most Kpop groups, and theirs is about multiple parallel universes and multiple versions of themselves. The VCRs were very surreal, almost like a short film, with a lot of subtext and metaphors building a story from VCR to VCR. Throughout the night you kinda had to pay attention to understand where it was going (and even then, it was a bit of a mystery). Even though I was scratching my head at times, I actually really enjoyed these more in-depth attempts at storytelling where other groups might just have fun music videos.
Aespa is currently on the US leg of their SYNK: Parallel Line tour (get it, parallel line, parallel universe, or so I surmise) that has been going since June of last year and will end with a final show in Seoul in the middle of March. This tour is in support of their first, and only, studio album Armageddon. They have several more US dates through February 15th if you’re intrigued and happened to be in those cities. Either way, if you’re curious about Kpop or just want to experience what your friends, family or children have been getting excited about… you have tons of opportunities now and into the future. I highly recommend you give it a shot.