Aespa – Synk : Hyper Line Tour
Aespa – Synk : Hyper Line Tour
– AT A GLANCE –
Overall rating: 4/5
Live vocals: 3/5 (When they sang live it was amazing, but almost half the show was lip-syncing.)
Is it worth the price? I was lucky to find a half-price ticket for the top row of the lower bowl, so I would say yes. But the VIP packages checking out at over $400? Yeah, the 15 minute soundcheck isn’t worth it.
Would I see them again? For the right price, yes. But they won’t be a future priority for me.
The “ae” in the beginning of Aespa stands for “avatar experience,” creating an otherworldly immersion from the jump. Each member has an AI counterpart that is . . . technically part of the group . . . but also has a group of their own . . . You know what, I’m just going to give up this poor attempt of establishing background and get right into the concert. Even after sitting through pre-show videos explaining their lore, I was still confused every time the animated girls popped up on the screens.
The Synk : Hyper Line Tour started with high energy. The crazy bass in Girls shook the arena as the members hopped in place for the iconic face-framing gun choreography. I blinked and suddenly three of the four girls had disappeared, leaving Winter, who was equipped with a sharp-edged electric guitar. It was shocking to see the tiny, sweet girl shredding such a sharp and sleek instrument—but she killed it.
Out of all the K-pop concerts I’ve been to, I think this was my favorite way I’ve seen a show organized. Usually, for the sake of variety and members’ energy levels, they’ll sprinkle in songs with alternating genres throughout the show. It’ll start with a run of some high energy songs, followed by some talking and maybe a few more chill songs leading into another burst of energy before the first break. But Aespa broke their setlist into increments of similar songs—each VCR being followed by a solo performance before being joined by the other members for the remainder of the set. The first increment, which also included other hits like “aenergy” and “Savage,” was full of hard-hitting anthems. They were songs you could belt out while following along with the familiar choreography. The girls were adorned in baby pink, sparkly outfits as they performed these songs without any introduction. Then they walked off the stage.
The second installment opened up with Karina’s unreleased solo, Menagerie, which had a catchy drop that wasn’t too harsh on the ears. This section had more of their R&B-inspired tracks. This included one of my favorite performances of the night, Lucid Dream. This was never a standout song for me, but after seeing the sultry choreography on the chairs and tabletop . . . yeah, I was thinking about it afterward. At this point, the girls finally introduced themselves to the crowd before playing rock paper scissors to determine who would be stuck explaining the name of the tour to the crowd. (I will not be relaying this information, as I barely understood it at the moment. Go look up a video.)
The following set had similar energy as the previous one. It opened with Winter singing a sweet ballad, dressed in a little getup I could only describe as chic schoolgirl. This set included the English version of Life’s Too Short and an unreleased track, Don’t Blink. This was probably the least memorable run of the show.
Giselle’s solo was the only one that fell a bit flat for me. 2HOT4U was basically just her telling the audience she was too hot for us over and over. The bridge hit me especially hard when she repeatedly told us to “hashtag settle down.” The song could have potential . . . if there was a complete rewrite. The rest of the performances were enjoyable. They transitioned seamlessly into the widely popular Hold On Tight remake, along with their most recent title track, Spicy, (my personal song of the summer.) As much as I loved this group of songs, the last set is what ended up really getting me.
Ningning is my favorite member of Aespa, but there is a common conception that after going to a K-pop concert there will be someone else who will catch your eye and take their place. While I have experienced this phenomenon on some occasions, I did not experience it with Ningning that night. Her solo, Wake Up, had the entire crowd going crazy. Was she very obviously lip-syncing? Yes, but so was every other member during their solos. Her hair blew in the wind as she faked her high note—and everyone bought it. Anyways. This was a short but incredible set: Salty and Sweet, Next Level, and Black Mamba. They brought out their handheld mics, which was quite a bold choice given the amount of floorwork in Black Mamba, but they nailed every note. I have to say, they actually sang live more than I was expecting them to. In my mind, Aespa is a group that is most notorious for lip syncing, and for the first couple of years of their career, I never felt like I actually heard their voices during performances. So I was shocked to hear Winter hit some of her crazy high notes and realize that it actually was her voice at that moment.
Aespa isn’t one of my top K-pop groups—I went with a friend I knew I would have a good time with. But I ended up leaving liking them a lot more. When it came to their b-sides, I actually enjoyed all of them, which is an uncommon occurrence with K-pop groups’ discographies. They had a lot of tasteful choreography and kept up their endurance throughout the show. Would I go see them again? For the right price and with the right people, yes; but I wouldn’t go out of my way or alone. But for my half-price, last-minute ticket, I was content with the experience I got.
-SHUFFLED NOTES-
Setlist:
Girls
Aenergy
I’ll Make You Cry
Savage
Menagerie
Illusion
Thirsty
Lucid Dreams
Dreams Come True
Lips
Life’s Too Short (English Version)
Welcome To MY World
Don’t Blink
2HOT4U
YEPPI YEPPI
YOLO
Hold on Tight
Spicy
Better Things
Wake Up
Salty & Sweet
Next Level
Black Mamba
‘Til We Meet Again
ICU
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