Concert Review: DREAMCATCHER Brings Rock-Infused K-Pop to New York City

The Theater at Madison Square Garden (formerly Hulu Theater) was nearly unrecognizable as k-pop girl group Dreamcatcher turned the venue into their own personal rave on Saturday night. The seven-member group, made up of JiU, SuA, Siyeon, Handong, Yoohyeon, Dami and Gahyeon, brought their unique blend of rock- and EDM-infused k-pop hits, and proved why they deserve a spot among the top Korean groups of this generation.

The setlist kicked off with the upbeat number "Chase Me", and the members expertly executed their powerful choreography, with live vocals that glided over every high note with ease.

This is the first k-pop show I've been to where the members barely took any breaks. Usually, groups will head backstage and change their clothes at least once or twice while a video plays onscreen to entertain the fans. Sometimes groups will have a section where their members will perform solo stages to give the others a break. However, the girls of Dreamcatcher were on stage nearly the entire show, save for a few minutes before the final encore songs. I was impressed.

This definitely felt more like a rock concert than a k-pop concert, and I've been to many of both. For several songs in the setlist, Dreamcatcher opted out of signature k-pop choreography and instead chose to scatter across the stage and interact with the fans, and each other. As someone who is new to the group, this was something I really appreciated. Watching them interact gave the audience insight into each member's personality, and it was a joy to watch. I found myself so focused on the little moments between two or more members and smiling to myself as they chased each other around the stage or reached out for a hug.

Dreamcatcher mentioned many times on stage that the setlist consisted of many songs that they didn't play often, and some they had never played at all in America. They created the setlist to please their fans, known as InSomnia, and they did not disappoint. Even the slower songs they performed, such as "Emotion" and "Polaris", were captivating, and their live vocals made up for any lack of choreography or staging in those moments.

One of my absolute favorite moments of the show was during "Silent Night", a song with an EDM-inspired musical break, where the lights cut out and all that could be seen were the densely scattered lightsticks flashing red. In that moment, the concert turned into a full-blown rave and I couldn't help but dance.

The group closed the show with their latest rock-infused song, "REASON", a song they released as a love letter to their fans. With unending energy that continued through the very last note, I can definitely see why their fans love them back.

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