It was great! I'm falling for La Poem even more.
Since La Poem's concert tour ended, the members have been busy performing alone or together in various venues. But, there hasn't been a concert similar to the Scene#1 concert tour. 2021 Great Concert Series hosted by Sejong Center provided La Poem with a chance to have a similar concert in Sejong Grand Theater. It was organized on a large scale; instrumental accompaniments were provided by Korea Coop Orchestra made up of 53 artists and a session band consisting of guitar, drum, and bass players.
It was a much awaited concert for La View. Most tickets were gone as soon as they were open for sale. Not a single VIP seat was available to pick up until the day of the concert.
Thanks to La Poem, I have trained myself hard for getting a concert ticket. As La Poem was holding more and more concerts, my success rate of booking a good seat was going higher and higher despite the fleeting time available for booking good seats. For me, a good seat means a seat that is centrally located and pretty close to the stage.
I was quite confident in booking a ticket of this concert. Well, I guess I wasn't so lucky. I got bumped a couple of times and had to move to the second floor. It was still a VIP seat, though. With the second-floor ticket booked, I tried many times to move to the first floor and get closer to the stage but never had a chance. Anyway, the ending of this story is I had a fairly good seat and watched La Poem perform in Sejong Center.
The show began
On November 13 (Saturday), it was two o'clock in the afternoon. As the curtain was slowly going up, Sunghoon, Minseong, Kihun, and Chaehoon standing on stage began to appear.
The orchestra and singers went right into the first song "One Day More." Ah... Les Misérables!
It was the song that I used to listen to over and over again in the past.
One Day More in French (audio focused)
It was La Poem's first public performance of the song. I was surprised and ecstatic at the same time. Watching them singing to the accompaniment of the large scale of instrumental players lifted me up very high. The sound was so rich that I felt as if a choir was singing together behind the wall. The rich sound lasted until the last moment of the concert. As the song ended, the audience of the hall including myself gave them a long round of applause.
After having a small talk with the audience, La Poem sang Waltz in Storm and Waves.
Waltz in Storm reminded me of La Poem's hot summer concert tour. Sunghoon's operatic skills particularly shine in this song.
Continuing the intense and stormy energy conveyed from Waltz in Storm, La Poem sang Waves. It was a perfect fit for La Poem in the sense that their vocal power resonated in the large hall.
Songs performed: One Day More, Waltz in Storm, Waves
Duet
As wrapping up a brief talk, Chaehoon and Kihun quickly drank water (as pointed out by Sunghoon 😀). They were up to something. Although Chaehoon was Kihun's pick and vice versa in Phantom Singer 3, they had never performed a duet. Finally, it was time for these two singers.
Sunghoon and Minseong left the stage. Kihun and Chaehoon were looking at each other, exchanging the lyrics of Miserere. Since the song was performed in Phantom Singer All Stars early this year, it has been a favorite choice of many crossover singers. I have listened to different duet performances of the song. Kihun and Chaehoon nailed it.
Now it's Sunghoon and Minseong's turn. They also had never paired up for a duet. Starting in soft and lyrical tones one after the other, Minseong and Sunghoon gradually increased their volume as they were approaching its highlight. I wasn't aware of the song they were singing. Later I learned that the song was titled Walk with You (그대 한숨이 깊고 깊어도), an OST of TV series Hush. Sunghoon kept the song in his mind and suggested it to Minseong as a duet song.
Songs performed: Miserere (Kihun and Chaehoon), Walk with You (Minseong and Sunghoon)
Quartet
All four members came back to the stage. The first song they performed began with Sunghoon's collected but lonely voice. It was Rain that Drops First time which delves into our deep emotions. The second and third songs were Crescent and Half Moon, respectively. As always, the transition from Crescent to Half Moon was made quietly without applause. Nobody asked us to do it. There is no applause because the lingering feelings left behind Crescent stop us from doing anything. We just sit there and try to let our feelings sink. I guess that everyone being in the concert hall felt exactly that.
One of my favorite La Poem songs from Phantom Singer All Stars is Don't Forget Me (see the post published on May 21). Obviously, it isn't only me liking the song. La Poem is aware of the good reception and frequently sings the song. They again did not miss this song on this day.
Closing the first half of the concert, Chaehoon was frank about how hard it was for the other members to become crossover singers. He was prompted to talk about it because a song like Don't Forget Me is not suited for those who were trained in classical vocal music. I'm ignorant of classical vocal training, but it seems that ways to make vocal sounds are very different between classical and popular music. His remark got Sunghoon a little emotional. Chaehoon must have touched upon a struggle Sunghoon has tacitly had.
Chaehoon mentioned something similar in his blog (see the post published on Aug. 3) concerning difficulties of classical singers being reborn as popular singers. He always leaves himself out in talking about such a hardship. I, however, can't imagine the time he had spent in and the effort that he had put into becoming an all-around singer.
I am witness to all members' dazzling growth. They have grown enormously within such a short period of time.
Songs performed: Rain that Drops First Time, Crescent, Half Moon, Don't Forget Me.
Solo
With members' clothes changed, Minseong showed up first for his solo. Just like the very first song, it was a never seen performance. He sang a musical number The Age of the Cathedrals from Notre-Dame de Paris. He proved once again that he was a tenor disguised in a baritone.
The Age of the Cathedrals in French (audio focused)
Sunghoon showed up next, finally singing the song, the very very song, Caccini's Ave Maria. Since he mentioned this song in some interview, I've waited for his performance. I was happy to watch him singing the song live. The control the song requires must have been immense. Kihun came out with a fast, joyful song La Danza. He may have felt like he was singing a rap song. It was my second time watching him singing this song. Every time I listen to it, I am put into a jolly mood. The audience also must have been in a happy mood. Kihun got a big round of applause. The last singer Chaehoon brought one of his repertoire Mi Manchi to the audience. To my knowledge, it was his second time singing the song in a concert as a La Poem member. Thus, Chaehoon’s Mi Manchi is relatively new to La View. It was my first time watching him singing the song. He is well known for impeccable high notes. But, I really liked the intro in which he started in a solemn, calm voice.
Songs performed: The Age of the Cathedrals (Minseong), Ave Maria (Sunghoon), La Danza (Kihun), Mi Manchi (Chaehoon).
Quartet again
As soon as I heard the first phrase of Prayer, I shouted "Hooray" to myself. La Poem singing this song means a lot to me because I found this song matched really well with La Poem more than a year ago. I even wrote about my hope of La Poem covering this song in La Poem official fan cafe although that writing doesn't exist anymore.
For this reason, when La Poem sang this song with the leader Hong, Seunghyun of Hongsam Trio back in September, I was pleased with the performance, thinking that my hunch was right. Nevertheless, I was longing for La Poem's own version in which nothing but La Poem sings the song. Finally, I was able to see La Poem's Prayer.
La Poem continued their songs Fantasy and Gleamy Night. Fantasy was known to be the song of Earth, Wind & Fire. Now, I can't even remember how the original song went. For me, Fantasy is La Poem's song now. Gleamy Night will last for long as La Poem's first album title. The next song was Shining. Listening to Chaehoon's verse got me time-travel in my head from the moment of Phantom Singer 3 final competition to that of me listening to the song in Sejong Grand Theater. I was a little teary-eyed. I don't know if Chaehoon was having similar sentiments in singing the song; his singing felt somewhat different this time. People sitting in front seats on the first floor might have shown the same reaction as mine. After the song was over, Minseong said "I cry if you (referring to the audience) cry." Sunghoon said in return "I cry if Minseong cries." I always marvel that emotions conveyed by singer's singing are shared with people in the same space and that words aren’t necessary to have the shared emotions. Probably these shared emotions drive us to a concert over and over again.
The concert was officially finished with the final song Oasis. I wished there would have been more chances to listen to this song in various venues. Since its release, I think that there wasn't enough promotion activity. Perhaps it was partly due to busy schedules the singers had to follow and also to many songs being available for them to sing. However, it was the most recently released single and should have deserved a special attention.
Songs performed: Prayer, Fantasy, Gleamy Night, Shining, Oasis
Encore
A break given prior to an encore wasn't so long. La Poem returned to the stage and sang Dear My Dear and Time to Say Goodbye. I was really sad to see the concert ending. But, it was time for me to say goodbye as well.
Songs performed: Dear My Dear, Time to Say Goodbye.
As leaving Sejong Center, I felt once again that La Poem was greater than the sum of four individual members. When the members perform together, they create something greater than what each member offers, which I call "magic." I truly want them to stick together and present us with this magic for a long long time.
* The videos provided in this post play the original versions of the musical songs La Poem performed in this concert. I do not support an act of illegal and prohibited concert recording, and thus do not provide any links associated with such recording.
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