Friday, March 26, 2010

Super Junior Super Show 2 concert in Malaysia

Review: Super Junior Super Show 2 concert in Malaysia
Are you guys still reeling from the Super Show 2? Even with its flaws, I enjoyed Super Junior’s first ever concert in Malaysia. The stage set up was amazing and if anyone should win an award, it would be the production crew.

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Like, wow: The Super Junior Super Show 2 has a RM6 mil price tag on it

The RM6 mil production wowed the senses and the Putra Indoor Stadium in Bukit Jalil proved (once again) to be the place for a concert. The audio blew me away compared to the lousy sound system at TVXQ’s Merdeka Stadium (open air) concert back in 2007.

During the 3-hour sell-out show, SuJu entertained the crowd with 35 songs, including some covers…as well as their funny / zany antics.

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Super Junior: The boys finally made it for a Malaysia concert!

Here’s the lowdown of the Super Show 2 in Malaysia, SuJu’s concert that was watched by 15,000 fans…yes, beating even Rain’s 2007 I’m Coming concert, which was held at the same venue. Back then, Rain performed to 10,000 fans.

Special thanks to Galaxie magazine for giving K-popped! the opportunity to be at the Super Show 2, and of course Marctensia and Red Presents for bringing SuJu to Malaysia!

Pause

After the stadium gates opened, it was an hour-long wait before the SuJu boys appeared to fans. Before that, local opening acts Thomas Jack and Iqwal warmed up the already buzzing crowd.

Press play – Disc 1

Anticipation hit the roof when RELA officers and ushers formed lines along various exit points of the stadium. Some of the SuJu boys were about to make their grand entrance through the crowd and the screams were deafening.

Lights

Sea of lights:...but no one's feelin' blue that night, I guarantee you that

The lights went down at 8:00pm and the stadium instantly turned into a twinkling sea of blue neon lights – the official colour of Ever Lasting Friends (ELFs or SuJu fans).

With great drama and through trapdoors, the boys magically appeared at strategic locations among the audience and on stage. The crowd went wild.

KyuhyunB
Surprise!: Kyuhyun appears near the Media Bench (left) and as seen from
Orchid's view (right)


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Magical moment: Some of the boys appeared onstage via trapdoors

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Bringin' the house down: SuJu rocks it out

SuJu then belted out familiar hits such as Thirsty, U, It’s You, Disco Drive, Miracle and Dancing Out. Some of the SuJu boys also started giving “fan service” i.e. teasing ELFs by acting as if they were taking off their tops.

Before the boys launched into Angela, a video introducing all the 10 members who came to Malaysia was shown. They were introduced like so:
  • Dangerous Cinderella – Heechul (of course)
  • A Living Work of Art – Siwon (oh boy, yeah!)
  • Hottest Baby – Kyuhyun (no complaints there)
  • Bubble Boy – Yesung (huh?)
  • Lovable Blurness – Ryeowook (really?)
  • Ultimate Sweetness – Sungmin (so, this means he gets bitten by ants a lot?)
  • Bejewelled – Eunhyuk (yeah, he’s a gem)
  • Sexy Fishy – Donghae (err…?)
  • Cutie Pie – Shindong (kinda :-))
  • Fallen Angel – Eeteuk (aww no, he’s a sweetie, not dark or mean at all)
(Three of the boys did not come for the concert, namely Kangin - suspended from all activities because of his DUI accident; Hankyung - in a legal tussle with SM Entertainment & Kibum - inactive as a SuJu member since 2009)

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Pyrotechnics: Yeah, it's really showtime

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Hangin': The boys all strike a pose

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Blending in: Comics coming to life ;-)

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Ap-pa khap-par, Malaysia?: The boys greet the fans

Half an hour into Super Show 2, the momentum slowed a little during the boys’ solo stages.
My Beautiful: Sings Donghae

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Friend: Eunhyuk (right) breaks it on down with Donghae during the latter's solo

Personally, Yesung’s Give Up bordered on boring and Ryeowook’s cover of Craig David’s Insomnia lacked punch. Eeteuk’s attempt at Park Jin-young’s Honey paled in comparison to the original by Rain’s mentor. Honey is one sexy song…and Eeteuk didn’t manage to sell the sex ;-).
Insomnia: Ryeowook admires his dancer's high boots

The violin-playing Henry (of SuJu M, a subunit of SuJu that caters for the Chinese market) accompanied flamboyant Heechul in Sonata Temptation. The effeminate Heechul proved to be one weird puppy as he burst onto the stage in a white suit with lace trimmings.

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Violinist: Henry of SuJu M takes the spotlight

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Wacky: Heechul (left) goes all girly as Henry patiently waits until he gets
to play the violin again


While Cinderella’s rock number did nothing for me, Henry of SuJu M definitely caught my attention. That boy sure played one mean violin! And what was that? A back bend while performing? Whoa! Somebody, stop him.

Next, an interesting Super Attack reel showed the boys in a bare-knuckled fight under the pouring rain. Sexy.

The fisticuff interlude led to the SuJu boys’ hit track Don’t Don. At the edgy song’s bridge, Henry appeared once again wielding his violin. He was superb.

SuJu SS2 Malaysia 40 copy


Liz K-popped, who was at Super Junior’s Super Show 2 in Malaysia, continues her review on the sell-out concert. The show, which is currently the talk of the town, seems to have breathed new life into the Korean wave (Hallyu) in Malaysia.

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Talk of the town: SuJu' Super Show 2 has gotten the local press a buzzin'

정말 감사합니다 수퍼주니어!

Read Part 1 here.

Press play – Disc 2
Fan service: Donghae (left) and Siwon check each other's breath



After singing another one of their faster hits (Twins), Super Junior slowed things down with Our Love. The boys were rather playful during this bit as Sungmin brought out a video cam to record his friends while they sang their parts. Heechul, the diva of the group, pushed Kyuhyun to the side and dominated the stage during the latter’s part. Fans screamed in delight.

Things got weird when the boys covered Peter, Paul and Mary’s Puff the Magic Dragon.

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Playtime: SuJu boys relive their childhood days

While poor Kyuhyun (I like this guy, he’s so hardworking…and he’s the youngest of the lot at 22!) sang the kiddie song (pic, far left), the boys, led by Heechul in a green dragon suit, fooled around behind him in large insect / animal costumes (pic, centre). It looked like the boys were in a children’s programme.

Eunhyuk, while wrestling with a snake (pic, right), did the famous Kara butt dance for Mister. The fans, again, went wild.

Next, five of the singers namely Shindong, Eeteuk, Kyuhyun, Donghae and Eunhyuk busted some moves for the dance interval before Henry took centre stage again (minus violin) with his self-composed Sick of Love.

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Heartfelt: Siwon is "a flower quickly fading, a wave tossed in the ocean, a vapor in the wind"

Siwon popped out for his solo wearing his faith on his sleeve when he belted out Who Am I (by Casting Crowns). The 23 year old commendably sang in English…but honestly, it was difficult to make out what he was singing, except for the pre-chorus which got me singing along.

Next, ELFs were thrilled when SuJu M, including Zhou Mi, sang their Mandarin songs Blue Tomorrow and Super Girl.

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Message: Donghae calls everyone ELF

A sweet moment followed in Shining Star as the boys got to really connect with fans. Sitting on stools at strategic locations all across the stage, the boys serenaded the crowd while soaking in their fans’ love.

What a touching moment, so much so that Eeteuk (the group’s leader) ended up in tears.

Yup, take it all in guys, take it all in. SuJu has sure come a long way since debuting in 2005.

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Shining moment: Soaking in the fans' love

ShiningStar
Relaxed: Siwon (left, from my view) & Sungmin (Orchid's view) during Shining Star

After a smokin’ R&B Sorry Sorry – Answer video interlude, the boys – looking absolutely dashing in white suits – appeared on stage again for their latest hit Sorry, Sorry.

By then, the energy had somewhat fizzled and SuJu didn’t quite nail the song. It was bland. For a kick from that track, I suggest watching the music video.

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Sorry, Sorry: There was no oomph to the song

Things got weirder when five of the boys dressed up as girls – with Heechul leading the way (of course) – to parody labelmate f(x). They sang Chu.
From boys to...girls?: Parodying f(x) and having a
lot of fun with it

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Sweeties take the stage: Ryeowook (left) and Heechul in their feminine get up
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Strut: Heechul (left) and Siwon pretend they are on the catwalk

The show became self-indulgent when the boys seemed more interested in fooling around than performing. It was soon a blur of shoving and prancing around on stage. The concert ended with Pajama Party but SuJu returned for 3 encores.

The encore was a whirlwind of props and costumes as the boys brought out their water guns, fuzzy animal hats and mechanical toys. It officially turned into a super carnival (just like their song, huh?). I glazed over.
Something fishy: 'Dude, I found Nemo! He's on your head.'

Point and shoot: 'Where's Super Blast on this thing?'

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Funky: 'Yeah, I don't look dumb, I just got a fish on me head.'

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Attention: The SuJu boys are preoccupied by a wound up Teletubby
and mechanical cymbal-banging monkey

SuJu then gave a shout out to all their Asian fans – Indonesia, Vietnam, Hong Kong, Thailand and even China were represented at the concert. For the heck of it Siwon asked “America?” and the crowd did not respond which prompted him to say: “Asians are one.”

Eeteuk then mentioned that the group is working on their 4th album and asked the fans to go: “사집 대박” (The 4th album will be awesome) and asked Siwon to tell the fans (in Siwon’s English): “(We) appreciate about coming to our concert.”

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Pirate: Siwon is happy to be the master of the seas

Awww, we appreciate you guys for coming to Malaysia too, but maybe next time, less fooling around onstage towards the end and finish the show strong.

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Final message: 'Yeah, we need to relieve stress after working so hard.'

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Gotcha!: 'Ha ha ha...you're IT'

The SuJu boys ended their Super Show 2 in Malaysia with the fan-pleasing Marry U. Oh, thank you very much…but I don’t know you that well ;-).

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