"Fab Five"

The boys of TVXQ rocked Stadium Merdeka at their second Asian tour concert last Saturday.

By SETO KIT YAN
skyseto@thestar.com.my

TOP South Korean act TVXQ was in town as part of its second tour of Asia. I saw the guys in concert during their first Asian tour last year and nothing could have kept me away from another performance. Known as Dong Bang Shin Gi in Korea and Tohoshinki in Japan, TVXQ is the acronym for Tong Vfang Shen Qi, which means Gods Rising from the East.

Cassiopeians (TVXQ fans) poured into Stadium Merdeka in Kuala Lumpur in a sea of pearl red on Saturday evening. The 12,000-strong audience was double that of the first concert last year. The speakers were booming and the earth shook under my feet.

Fans of all ages were screaming, “Dong Bang Shin Gi, saranghae.” (TVXQ, I love you, in Korean.)

TVXQ opened the concert with a bang, rocking the stadium with a succession of fast dance numbers like Phantom, Million Men, The Way U Are and Rising Sun. Well-known for their dancing prowess and choreography skills, the boys and their dancers dazzled fans with their funky moves.

The show’s anti-war theme was illustrated with black-and-white images of war and terrorism shown on the screens, in between songs. It was an amazing pyrotechnic-fest, too, as every song was punctuated with fireworks.

The humid Malaysian climate got to the boys, and they were bathed in sweat. They started in all-black outfits with long black trench coats, which they quickly shed after the second song.

After the fourth song, we witnessed the boys diving down from tens of metres above into the “water”, where they “swam” down to save a woman in a rescue scene achieved using wires.

Returning for their fifth song, One, they wore white trench coats, to symbolise angels of peace. With the spotlight on them, the boys seemed to glow.

Then they introduced themselves in Malay and English and Korean, before rendering pop ballads Trust and You’re My Miracle.

Up next were individual performances; Xiah, 20, (Kim Jun-su) gave a rousing performance of My Page, which he composed himself. Wearing a metallic gold outfit, he donned a black cap just before the “rain” started falling on him, reminiscent of Korean pop idol Rain.

Micky, 21, (Park Yoo-chun) entertained with Brian McKnight’s One Last Cry.

U-Know, 21, (Jung Yun-ho) rocked to Spokesman, which he composed himself. He was joined by Lee Dong-hae of 13-member South Korean boyband Super Junior, who rapped.

During the fast dance numbers, U-Know sang in a far corner as he had injured his back last month.

Max, 19, (Shim Chang-min) sang When I First Kissed You, an English song by Extreme. Golden-haired Hero, 21, (Kim Jae-joong) delivered Crying, a song by Korean band Flower.

While performing Tri-Angle, the boys were joined by Chinese singer Zhang Liyin. Xiah performed his second piece of the night with pretty Zhang. They did a duet called Timeless.

After that, an anime clip of TVXQ was screened that showed the boys discovering their management company, SM Town. Amid cheers for an encore, TVXQ closed the concert with Unforgettable and Hug which the fans sang along to.

Yes, TVXQ swept us off our feet and stole our hearts. The good-looking guys, who hold the distinction of being the first Korean pop act to stage a concert in Malaysia, performed close to 30 songs in the almost three-hour-long concert.

Kamsahamnida (thank-you) for a wonderfully entertaining evening and I hope to see TVXQ again next year.

The Malaysian leg of the TVXQ 2nd Asia Tour Concert ‘O’ was jointly organised by CMG Absolute and Dream Maker Entertainment and presented by LG Mobile.

P/s: I'm pretty sure it wasn't Donghae that was rapping with Yunho. Just thought you gals should be better informed. I'm also in doubt that it was the boys who performed the swimming wire act. I doubt SM Entertainment would let them perform stunts like that and get themselves hurt.

~lynn~