“In this endless repeating nightmare, stay trapped like this forever” – those are the words of taste breaking K-pop girl group, Dreamcatcher. Despite being birthed from the industry of many saccharine sounds, do not be mistaken; these 7 girls are nothing like what you’d expect.
On the 6th of September 2019, Dreamcatcher was kind enough to extend us Malaysians an “Invitation From Nightmare City”. The concert was organised by JS Concert Productions in collaboration with My Music Taste and was held at KL Live. It was the group’s debut performance in Malaysia as well, which added to the excitement of fans.
Dreamcatcher consists of Jiu, Siyeon, Yoohyeon, Sua, Dami, Handong, and Gahyeon – all gorgeous girls with an insidious agenda. What sets them apart from your average girl group is the very foundation of what Dreamcatcher is built on. Whilst most girl groups sell you a fantasy, Dreamcatcher does something similar – except they’re selling you a horror induced nightmare.
With heavy metal riffs and terrifying music video plots, the group has made quite a statement for themselves and built an incredibly dedicated fan base. Known as Insomnia, their fans flooded the venue to give our fan kits (ranging from transparent fans to hand banners) and exchanging freebies amongst themselves. “The girls themselves are very lively, so it’s going to be an energetic performance,” said David, an avid fanboy who was especially excited to see Dreamcatcher perform their latest single.
30 minutes before the show, the venue switched up the usual Top 40 hits for Dreamcatcher songs instead – which instantly rejuvenated the crowd. The moment the hair-raising music box intro of “Good Night” played, everyone sprang to life. This served as a good appetiser for the ravenous crowd, who gulped every last bit of it.
When the lights finally dimmed and the girls came out, they started strong by opening with “Fly High” and their debut title track, “Chase Me”. The stage lighting was almost as explosive as their music, matching every erratic switch up in their songs. Though it did make it a tad hard to focus on the members but their natural allure kept us going. Perhaps fans weren’t kidding when they mentioned how dangerous their charms were!
Opening 'Fly High'…sorry can't help but scream#DREAMCATCHERinKL pic.twitter.com/3M3xwgnZd5
— Shapley 🤍🌿BONVOYAGE (@Shapley_Somnia) September 6, 2019
The lights came back on for the girls to greet their Malaysian fans and say their hellos briefly before continuing. They moved on into the milder “Which A Star” and “Emotion”, which was quite fitting after all the bellows they received. It was quite satisfying to see the versatility of the group; going from heavy metal to emotional ballads all in less than 10 minutes and done in such a flawless fashion.
Member Sua even playfully added, “Keep your focus on us, okay?” after finishing their slower numbers, as a way to prep the crowd for what was to come. “Sleep Walking” was an especially enthralling track, which mixed mystery, electro-pop, and dread all into one. The girls also showed a little more of their seductive side with the coquettish “Wonderland”, which set the mood for what came next.
[#DREAMCATCHERinKL] One of the highlights for tonight:
Havana by Dreamcatcher!
#DREAMCATCHERinMY pic.twitter.com/GD4r1SrGUf
— Hallyu Malaysia (@HallyuM) September 6, 2019
Keeping in the theme, Dreamcatcher then performed a series of covers–beginning with the anthem for sexiness, “Havana” by Camila Cabello. However, all was washed away with their next stage; a medley of hit songs by famous K-pop boy groups! Performing BTS’ “Boy With Luv”, EXO’s “Loveshot”, Monsta X’s “Alligator”, NCT 127’s “Simon Says” and even rookie group ATEEZ’s “Hala Hala”! Fans were surprised to say the least but definitely impressed by the change in aura that Dreamcatcher brought to the stage.
The covers didn’t stop there, so it turns out to be yet another win for K-pop fans. Dividing into units, Sua and Siyeon performed as a duo to Taemin’s “Sayonara Hitori” while Jiu, Handong, Yoohyeon, Dami, and Gahyeon performed a little of Twice’s iconic “TT” and Red Velvet’s sultry “Bad Boy”.
190906 DREAMCATCHER IN KL – BAD BOY COVERhttps://t.co/rcLrvwHOHq#DreamCatcher #드림캐쳐 #지유 #JIU #한동 #HANDONG #유현 #YOOHYEON #다미 #DAMI #가현 #GAHYEON pic.twitter.com/8NKnLE8vzO
— :16 (Hibernating) (@strikesixteen) September 6, 2019
It was clear that Dreamcatcher themselves were very comfortable on stage as performers. The girls kept on sneaking smiles during performances and even little waves to the crowd as they danced to their numbers. Malaysian Insomnias were in for a lot of fan service as well, with the girls giving out gifts via lucky draw while trying their best to accommodate their fans wishes. Dreamcatcher is general are very animated, which made them even more entertaining to watch. It’s no wonder they’re so well-loved by their fans.
They performed all their hits; “What”, “Good Night”, “You and I”, but it was “Piri” that had the loudest cheers of the night. Being their latest and most popular single, the girls got everyone to stand up from their seats to go wild to the track as the flute intro began playing over the speakers. With that, Malaysian Insomnias cheered along as loudly as their lungs allowed them to.
Jiu: *interacting with fans*
Yoohyeon: focus on me pls, my turn😂😂😂😂😂😂😂#DREAMCATCHERinKL #DREAMCATCHERinMY #DREAMCATCHER #드림캐치 pic.twitter.com/cBQlYGRsKK
— 꿈둥이🐱 (@fttn_ahn) September 6, 2019
After that, the girls came together to say their final words. The youngest member, Gahyeon, mentioned how she was initially a little worried when she first heard all the cheers from backstage. “It was a great pleasure to see all the Insomnia fans!” she said with a smile, which fuelled more cheers from the crowd.
Member Dami shared her thoughts as well, saying how there were more fans than she expected and how thankful she was for it. Leader Jiu shared similar sentiments to Gahyeon, and told the crowd in English that was worried about not performing well either. “But after 1 song, I just enjoyed it!” she said with a laugh, which made the crowd cheer her on.
With bids of “Saya cinta kamu!”, the girls said goodbye ducked backstage to prepare for the encore. Then they performed their final songs, ending the night with “Over The Sky”.
Overall, Dreamcatcher’s performance was everything that one could love about K-pop. The intimate venue, the constant curveballs that were thrown, and the sheer thrill of it all is something sacred that will forever be shared all those who attended that gig. Dreamcatcher is on a steady rise and from seeing how authentic the girls are with their passion for performance and fans, seems like it’s only onward and upward from here on.
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