September 13 was cloudy, but the afternoon still hit 29°C before the air cooled to a comfortable temperature by the 7 p.m. showtime. It was the perfect weather for an outdoor concert. Maybe that’s why PLLI, dressed in black and red per the dress code, arrived at Incheon Munhak Stadium beaming. That night, the stadium hosted the show that opened PLAVE’s first world tour, “KEEP IT MANIC,” and their last local stop.
The tour’s slated to run from the September 12 and 13 shows, continue the Asian leg including stops in Kanagawa, Bangkok, Taipei, and Macao, then wrap up in Los Angeles on November 14. With the Korean show, PLAVE had the honor of becoming the first virtual idols to take the stage at a stadium that holds about 50,000 people. As the first stadium concert and first world tour, VLAST had already stirred up excitement by setting up an enormous 120-by-90-meter LED screen—one big enough to be seen from a plane. Anticipation was high for what would appear on it.
“Lunar Hearts” launches the world of “KEEP IT MANIC”
Sure enough, the first thing that caught my eye after I sat down was that enormous screen. Several prerecorded videos played before the show, and just being in the presence of that thing was overwhelming. As the Sun slowly set and the surroundings darkened, all eyes were naturally drawn to the one thing glowing bright. And then, the intro video began to play.
Of the characters in the futuristic intro, the two who stood out most were YEJUN and NOAH. The five of them walked in a line toward the screen, and YEJUN made a motion as if tearing it open. The screen burst into color, and the whole crowd, packed in up to the fourth-level seats, was transported through a “Quantum Leap.” When that came to an end, the alarm clock from “The 6th Summer” and “Hide and Seek” rang out, signaling the next song. “In the middle of seasons repeating / Found the light that I’ve been longing for out of the darkness,” NOAH sang. When the last note faded, NOAH stood center stage and shot the arrow he used in “Caligo Pt.2” toward the audience. The yellow light slowly washed over the crowd thanks to the light sticks in PLLI’s hands, and the concert was officially underway.
According to the official archive book “PLAVE: The Children of ASTERUM,” both “The 6th Summer” and “Hide and Seek” are set in a parallel universe—after NOAH used his magic in the epilogue video for “Caligo Pt.2,” the group was left without their memories. It’s telling that the two songs came right after NOAH shot his arrow since the alarm in both music videos signals a parallel universe. After singing “The 6th Summer,” “Hide and Seek,” and “WAY 4 LUV” back to back, the group greeted the crowd. The idols reflected on their previous concerts and promised to keep pursuing personal growth to match the ever-bigger stages, and to thank PLLI for making it possible for the group to perform to a stadium that big, they gave the deepest possible bow.
A new world unfolds through cleaner sound and more advanced tech
What stood out most that night was how far the technology, the polish of the show, and the group’s own prowess had come. Fans came ready to be impressed by the visuals, but the group’s a cappella take on “Blossom Parade” and the jazzy, live band arrangement of “Chroma Drift” were so stellar that the crowd was gripped right from the very first bar.
The same goes for the solo performances that followed. A shift to black and white in the latter part of YEJUN’s cover of “(They Long To Be) Close To You” gave it a touch of classic elegance. EUNHO danced through a surreal set for his take on “TASTE,” while HAMIN went barefoot and gave off a decadent air during “Spider,” and the stage on the screen kept changing shape in an instant to suit each song. For “Chroma Drift,” the group sat perched on a giant contrabass. In “Hide and Seek” earlier, they popped up on amusement park rides in different dimensions, and as they transitioned into “WAY 4 LUV,” they pulled off a costume change in the blink of an eye. The ability to present audiences with fantastical, surreal staging with endless variety, with no massive rigging required, is where virtual idols hold an edge.
Virtual idol talent, cutting-edge tech, and a dance crew come together
Perhaps because it marked the start of their first world tour, “KEEP IT MANIC” added in videos and performances with a traditional feel, something the earlier “DASH: Quantum Leap” didn’t have. There was a massive dance crew that put on an impressive routine with an expansive historical folding screen for the backdrop, and the PLAVE members donned outfits with traditional Asian flourishes—including from Korea, China, and Japan— for “Watch Me Woo!” and “RIZZ” arranged in echoes of traditional Eastern music. Every time the group moved, the light caught their binyeo hairpins and their daenggi ribbons swayed, while their translucent folding fans opened and closed naturally with each hand motion. These stages were a clear showcase of what VLAST and PLAVE are capable of on a technological level.
Another exciting part of “KEEP IT MANIC” was their close collaboration with their usual dance crews. Jang Hyunjin and Tamzin Choi’s crew TEAM SAME were part of the newly arranged versions of “Watch Me Woo!” and “RIZZ” and each of the solo performances, bringing in extra energy by joining the group onstage. PLAVE danced to “Think I Am” for the first time, choreographed by AIKI’s dance crew HOOK. NOAH, who covered TOMORROW X TOGETHER’s “Good Boy Gone Bad,” took the dark, creepy atmosphere of the original and put his own spin on it, playing with vampire theming and emerging from a coffin.
Last up was BAMBY’s “Sherlock (Clue + Note)” cover. As PLAVE’s main dancer, BAMBY took on a group song all on his own, but he absolutely gushed with so much passion and energy that even the massive screen could barely contain him as the song built toward its climax. PLLI shouted “Chae BAMBY!” in unison to cheer him on, and the idol answered with a fired-up “BAMBY is back!” and took another shot at the song like the pro he is. If anyone needed proof of how tight the connection between PLAVE and PLLI is, that was it.
“From where we’re standing, PLLI, you were the star”
“I gave it everything I had so you all would have a fun, fantastic, unforgettable time. I can honestly say I went all out.”—EUNHO
“You might’ve seen us as the stars, but from where we’re standing, PLLI, every one of you was the star. Thank you.”—HAMIN
The concert opened with NOAH firing off his arrow and closed with “Lunar Hearts”—where the group members go looking for their star shards—and “Wait for You,” the song where PLAVE first introduced themselves to the world. I was immediately drawn into the thrilling world PLAVE has created. The concert wrapped up in a spectacular burst of fireworks and the end-of-show message. It was impossible to miss just how much love PLAVE has for PLLI, and indeed, the whole world.
PLAVE surprised the crowd with an unreleased song that night, and the group’s set to make a comeback on October 12 with their fifth mini album, “HYPERDRIVE.” With the massive world tour not wrapping up in the US until November 14, PLAVE will be roaming Asterum and Terra for a while yet. Just as PLAVE sings in “Virtual Idol” about wanting to be with us all the time and be showered in our love, I can’t wait to see the kind of future they have in store for their virtual world.