Chock-full of funky riffs, contagious beats and crazy onstage antics (plus some \u201caww\u201d-inducing moments), the American quartet\u2019s first-ever show in South Korea proved that they\u2019re not just fun to listen to\u2013they\u2019re also an absolute joy to watch<\/b>
Chock-full of funky riffs, contagious beats and crazy onstage antics (plus some \u201caww\u201d-inducing moments), the American quartet\u2019s first-ever show in South Korea proved that they\u2019re not just fun to listen to\u2013they\u2019re also an absolute joy to watch
If you thought DNCE\u2019s music was the epitome of fun, wait till you see the band perform live.
Fans from Korea (and beyond) braved the post-winter chill to catch the American quartet\u2019s first concert in the country at the Yes24 Live Hall in Seoul\u2019s Gwangjin district.
With its pop punk-meets-disco funk repertoire, DNCE seemed dead set on getting people out of that humpday slump, and that they did. And how.
The band clearly lived up to its name. With hardly a pause in between songs, DNCE gave a slick, seamless performance of all tracks off its eponymous album, plus mashups and amped-up covers of pop classics from the last three decades.
After a \u201cStar Wars\u201d-themed intro, frontman Joe Jonas popped out from underneath a Darth Vader helmet and joined his bandmates\u2014guitarist JinJoo Lee, bassist Cole Whittle and drummer Jack Lawless\u2014in kicking off the main set with the cheeky disco ditty \u201cNaked,\u201d followed by the title track.
The band\u2019s boundless energy was fueled even more by the fans\u2019 enthusiasm as the latter chanted and sang along to all the songs, light sticks bobbing rhythmically like neon mini-light sabers across the concert hall.
There\u2019s definitely no shortage of onstage antics with this band; between songs, the members would periodically throw random collectibles\u2014 including women\u2019s underwear \u2014to the eager crowd.
Not only do they sound as good live (if not better), they also look good while they\u2019re at it. While bearded, blue-eyed Jack serenely doled out beat after infectious beat from his pedestal, JinJoo and Cole made for a formidable and utterly charismatic pair as they bounced searing riffs off of each other\u2014and, occasionally, while lying flat on their backs in the middle of the stage.
On the other hand, fans would squeal every time Joe slung an arm around the blond guitarist\u2019s shoulders, which led us to believe that they\u2019re secretly shipping the two in real life. (We smell a \u201cJinJoe\u201d fanfic pairing in the works.)
For his part, Joe seemed perfectly contented with sharing the spotlight with his bandmates, which takes some pressure off him as the group\u2019s most prominent member.
As DNCE\u2019s lead vocalist, the former JoBro and Disney heartthrob gets to channel his inner goofball and have fun with his musician buds while steadily building a more mature kind of mainstream appeal. How is this possible? Just ask the squealing fans who still swooned over Joe even as he strutted across the stage with fluffy pink bunny ears on his head.
With his quirky outfits and easygoing personality, Cole is pretty hard to ignore even while not performing. But onstage, the mohawked, tattooed bassist was a total livewire, owning the stage and ripping through his instrument with enough flair to make the Red Hot Chili Peppers\u2019 Flea proud.
Aside from handling bass guitar, Cole also mans the keyboards, plays the kazoo for \u201cJinx,\u201d and does the rap solo for the trippy Smash Mouth-sounding track \u201cBlown.\u201d Is there anything this guy can\u2019t do?
Next, the band busted out a tribute medley of David Bowie\u2019s \u201cLet\u2019s Dance\u201d and George Michael\u2019s \u201cFreedom! \u201990,\u201d which melted into the lazy opening chords of the hangover anthem \u201cGood Day.\u201d
The foursome sat down for an intimate, stripped-down mini-set, starting with the bittersweet breakup track \u201cTruthfully,\u201d which appears to be quite the fan favorite. The senti spell was momentarily broken when the audience couldn\u2019t help giggling at Cole blowing on a kazoo for the \u201cJinx\u201d intro, but eventually resumed as people got caught up in the song\u2019s moony optimism. The mini-set closed with the wistful power ballad \u201cAlmost,\u201d which saw the foursome returning to full band mode.
This Korea show was extra special, as it also doubled as an emotional homecoming of sorts for the band\u2019s resident \u201cGuitar Girl.\u201d Addressing the crowd in Korean, JinJoo recounted how, without speaking a word of English, she had moved to the United States 10 years ago to pursue a music career; lonely and frustrated, she had wanted to go back to Korea countless times, but the thought of being able to perform onstage for the people back home kept her going.
\u201cWhenever I felt lonely and times were tough, I imagined a moment. And this is the moment,\u201d a teary-eyed JinJoo said amid wild cheers of encouragement, and yelled a heartfelt \u201cI love you\u201d to the crowd before the band launched into the sweetly seductive track \u201cToothbrush.\u201d
Not to be outdone, Cole added his own shout-out: \u201cI don\u2019t know how to say this in Korean, but I f*cking love you,\u201d he yelled, then treated the laughing crowd to a throwback sample of Ghost Town DJ\u2019s one-hit hip-hop wonder \u201cMy Boo.\u201d
The band proceeded to do a mashup of the BDSM track \u201cBe Mean\u201d and Lenny Kravitz\u2019s \u201cAmerican Woman,\u201d followed by \u201cPay My Rent\u201d (complete with paper money confetti) and \u201cUnsweet.\u201d
The band capped off the 80-minute romp with a rock medley of the Spice Girls\u2019 \u201cWannabe,\u201d Britney Spears\u2019 \u201cOops!\u2026 I Did It Again\u201d and Kanye West\u2019s \u201cFade,\u201d which segued into the euphoric summer smash hit \u201cCake by the Ocean\u201d\u2014a fitting finale to a sexy, silly, fun-filled night.
If there\u2019s a DNCE gig near you, do yourselves a favor and catch it. Fan or not, you\u2019d be hard-pressed not to enjoy yourself immensely, whether it\u2019s dancing to the grooves of \u201cBody Moves\u201d or shouting \u201cAh-ya-ya-ya-ya-I\u201d along with other fans to that impossibly catchy \u201cCake\u201d chorus.
Here\u2019s hoping they\u2019ll bring this party to the Philippines real soon.
Grab a copy of DNCE\u2019s self-titled debut album at your local Astroplus and Astrovision stores. You can also download and stream the album on Spinnr.ph, iTunes, Apple Music and Spotify, or buy it via this link: http:\/\/link.to\/DNCEPDI<\/p>\n