Intro:

I’ve been going to kpop concerts for a while now, and I figured typing out my thoughts—with some help from the people I dragged along—they could be something interesting that’s a bit different from my usual reviews.

(If you’d like to see all concert reviews, click here)

Dreamcatcher debuted in early 2017, so they’re nearing their 8th anniversary (breaking K-pop’s infamous curse), with 7 members: JiU, SuA, Yoohyeon, Gahyeon, Handong, Dami, and Siyeon. Handong was not involved in their 2020 comebacks due to being in her home country of China when COVID broke out, but she’s since returned. They have very complicated storylines which I won’t be going too deeply into here besides when I think a specific song’s meaning in context is important to mention.

Here are my credentials: I’m a HUGE fan of Dreamcatcher, and have been an Insomnia since mid-2021 or so, just after the release of BEcause. They were actually the first concert I’ve ever been to.

Check out my Discography Review of them: (Part One)(Part Two)(Part Three)

Review:

As you can see from the title, I saw DC in concert almost three years ago at time of writing, so to say my memory’s a bit foggy is a bit of an understatement, but I still wanted to do this review as best I can, even though it won’t be nearly as in depth as my reviews of ATEEZ, TXT, or Kiss Of Life. I went to the show with my mom, and we were originally planning to see (G)I-DLE in NYC on their Just Me ( )I-DLE tour that was happening around the same time. But for one reason or another (that I honestly don’t remember the details of) that didn’t work out and, still wanting to go to a show, we went to see Dreamcatcher.

It was a unique experience for the both of us, that’s for sure, each knowing half what to expect. Having never been to a concert before but having been a kpop fan for around 3 or so years, I could guess at the order of things, more or less, and how long it would be, what songs they’d perform, etc. Meanwhile, my mom, a veteran concert goer but a fairly casual fan, had the opposite perspective. She said to me later when I was typing this up, “I wasn’t expecting that they would stop and talk to the audience and how much the fans liked it. I’d never been to a concert where there was so much engagement with the audience, or where there wasn’t a live band on stage.”

We were decently far back, actually, but we could see just fine, and Dreamcatcher did a great job making sure all the members of the audience stayed engaged, switching from high-energy intensely choreographed numbers like Break The Wall (my favorite) or MAISON (my mom’s) to more relaxed ones like fan song Always to upbeat ones without dancing like Mayday. It was a really good mix, I thought, and their somewhat of an intermission halfway through to do a medley of all their (at the time newly released) solos not only added another kind of performance but gave them a chance for a deeper connection with the audience and a chance to each get a moment in the spotlight.

Something I still remember years later is how funny Dreamcatcher were—-I chuckled a good few times, writing this—and how much fun they seemed to be having. It’s not uncommon for idols to have a bit of banter back and forth during shows, but Deukae take it to a whole new level, seemingly unafraid of sticking within the guidelines of propriety. One of my favorite moments from the show was watching the members do quick covers of each others’ solo dances, each getting more ridiculous as time went on. Yoohyeon and JiU tango danced during “For” and Handong turned SuA’s “No Dot” into an overly sexy spectacle. I was full on cackling at the time, and my mom was too.

I’m definitely not doing such a great experience justice; there’s so much more I wish I could remember more clearly, so I’ll just share a couple more anecdotes. I think it was during the solo medley when an audience member in the GA section yelled “SUA MARRY ME” and Siyeon put her arms around her and said (in English), “No. My wife” to shrieks from the other members and screeching applause from the audience. And, during the encore, as they collected gifts from around the stage and danced around with God knows what energy, JiU grabbed a pride flag and wore it like a cape as she jumped and sang “Wake Up” at the top of her lungs. She’s been my bias ever since.

One last memory: Mom ducked out for a few minutes—saying she had to go to the bathroom—and then returned with a Dreamcatcher tour poster, which would turn into the first in a long line of posters littering the walls of my bedroom. She had no idea what she was getting into, probably. Or that three years later she’d be asked for assistance writing a post about it on a blog that was still a year from being an idea.

At the time, I was still in high school, and this was the first time I really got to meet other kpop fans, and especially fans of Dreamcatcher. It was the first time I realized that there were actually a lot of us out there, and, not going to lie, it made me a bit emotional. Years later, in college, at a practice with my kpop dance team, we were taking a break from learning the choreo to Dreamcatcher’s Scream when I found myself in a conversation with three other girls about their favorite members and we all ended up exchanging photo cards and Instagrams. (Scream’s choreo is no joke, by the way, and we were only doing the chorus) I couldn’t help thinking that, without the trail of coincidences that led to this concert, I would never have ended up where I am now.

So, I suppose what I’m saying is, thank you Dreamcatcher. I hope I get the chance to meet you all one day and say thank you in person.

Verdict: 9.5 / 10

The girls gave SO. MUCH. ENERGY. for this show. This was actually my first ever concert, and I couldn’t have asked for a better show. They made me laugh, made me cry, and absolutely made me sing along. To see my ults perform live was an experience like no other, and I couldn’t have asked for a better night for that. They totally gave their all for those two and change hours and I ended up loving them even more afterward. No doubt about it; I’m absolutely going again if they have another tour. And I am getting that VIP ticket, come hell or high water.

~Interlude For Fashion Screams~

I went to this concert over a year before I started the blog, so my memory’s a little fuzzy, to be honest. But I’m pretty sure I was wearing an ankle-length dress with white polka dots (think like…the brown one in Pretty Woman but more orange), brown sandals, and my hair in a high ponytail. This was both before my hair was pink and before I really had a solid sense of style, so I was just wearing tan eyeshadow, mascara and orange lipstick.

Setlist:

1. BEcause
2. Red Sun
3. Locked Inside A Door
4. Jazz Bar
5. Always
6. Can’t Get You Out Of My Mind
7. Black Or White
8. Starlight
9. Tension
10. Break The Wall
11. Solo Songs Interlude
    • Cherry
    • Playground
    • No Dot
    • Beauty Full
    • Winter
    • For
    • Entrancing
12. Maison
13. Odd Eye
14. In The Frozen
15. Silent Night
16. Scream
17. Deja Vu
18. BOCA
19. 4Memory

~~~Encore~~~

1. Wake Up
2. Mayday
3. New Days
4. Skit: The Seven Doors

Special Video:

Tschüss! And I’ll See you next concert!