Not even rainy day could hold back the fans of Dreamcatcher, the seven member girl group who debuted last year, who came out in force for Wednesday’s concert. The first date of Dreamcatcher’s first tour outside of Asia, Fly High in Europe, set a great standard for the shows to follow. A show full of high energy performances, touching ballads and enough impressive covers to leave fans wondering what there is they can’t do, Dreamcatcher definitely did not disappoint.
The night begins as most concerts do, fans slowly filling up the standing section and seats. Lightsticks make for a pretty purple glow; not quite an ocean, but more of a starry sky. Just minutes before the concert, the ambient music suddenly becomes much louder as the first notes of a familiar song start playing: Sleepwalking, a fan favourite out of Dreamcatcher’s album tracks, the audience responding to it’s heavy dance beat with more than a few screams. Two songs later, the lights dim. The music rises in volume even more. And then the girls make their way onto the stage for the opening.
To the sound of their intro track from their first mini album, the screen on stage slowly lifts to reveal each of the members, who then smoothly make their transitions into the starting positions for the first performance. They begin with the song of their debut, Chase Me. The crowd doesn’t hold back from showing their excitement and the girls seem to thrive off the sound of the support. The dance is slick and full to bursting with the fierce energy that they are now becoming known for. Without pausing for a break, the audience is then treated to Sleepwalking. Having only heard this song moments ago, it’s another thing entirely to see it performed live. There’s a small moment where members Siyeon and Yoohyeon bump into each other whilst moving into a line for the pre-chorus, something barely noticeable with how smoothly they continue with the dance. The song itself is just as high energy as Chase Me, yet the difference in genre gives it a completely different feeling.
Dreamcatcher make that energy their own. Having originally debuted as the girl group Minx, they’re not afraid of switching genres and concept whilst proving that they can pull them off with confidence. In a k-pop landscape filled with talented girl groups all trying to mark their mark, Dreamcatcher have the advantage of their unusual horror concept and rock inspired sounds to make a name for themselves. In this, they prove that they can really own their sound whilst still proving their versatility.
The first talk segment arrives after this second song, signaling a change of pace. Dreamcatcher step forward and, for the first time, greet their UK fans. SuA begins, followed by Handong, Siyeon, leader JiU, Yoohyeon, Gahyeon and finally Dami. Yoohyeon in particular takes the chance to demonstrate her English skills, thanking fans for coming and for all their love and support. Staying in this line up, the audience is then treated to two of the groups ballad songs, which show a much softer tone than their title tracks; 괜찮아, or Trust Me, followed by Lullaby. Those with lightsticks in the audience wave them slowly in the air to the rhythm of each song. Those in the balcony section improvise and bring up the lights on their phones to join in. Trying to keep to the calm atmosphere, Dreamcatcher then begins an interaction section with their fans through the means of post-it note questions. Due to “special stag preparations” Dami, Yoohyeon, SuA and Gahyeon choose first. They pick a range of questions from what their favourite desserts are (to which Yoohyeon amusingly replies ramen), what they do in their freetime (Gahyeon replies “sleep”) and an attempt at a British accent, which leads to Yoohyeon saying “manners maketh man” from the film Kingsmen as an example. Siyeon, Handong and JiU’s question choosing time results in Siyeon and JiU dancing to Sunmi’s Gashina, evidently a highlight for many fans as the crowd goes absolutely wild. The calm atmosphere is definitely lost.
The middle section of the concert demonstrates that versatility that Dreamcatcher consistently prove they are capable of. This comes in the form of covers – some that fans were were hoping for and others a nice surprise. First up is Gahyeon, SuA, Dami and Yoohyeon’s performance of Pink’s Just Give Me a Reason. Their vocals are impressive, their pronunciation nearly perfect. The crowd sings along, cheering when each member gets their first lines. Then comes JiU, Siyeon and Handong’s cover of Maroon 5’s Sunday Morning. They later explain they chose the song in order to have fun on stage and interact with the fans a little, to which said fans express their appreciation with more cheers. Another surprise cover sees the full group coming together on stage once more to sing Taylor Swift’s We Are Never, Ever Getting Back Together which they again pull off with ease.
After this, two of their most popular covers are the songs of choice. Dreamcatcher’s covers on their YouTube channel have gained a lot of praise from their own choreography for Maroon 5’s Lucky Strike, to their flawless execution of Girls’ Generations iconic debut song Into the New World. Both of these performances are are a highlight of the night, really showing just what the girls can do in both vocals and dance. A short dance cover just after this of Imagine Dragons’ Believer reinforces this once again and catches much of the audience of guard. It’s safe to say that this is a performance no one will be forgetting for a while, the Dreamcatcher members giving their all to every move, enticing the crowd and causing the excitement in the venue to reach a new height. The finish off this cover segment with their own song, Emotion, a much calmer affair that allows the crowd to gather themselves again before another moment of interaction.
After an attempt at calling out numbers and sections for some lucky fans to win a prize, Dreamcatcher goes into their final two songs – Full Moon and Fly High, their two most recent tracks. As a song meant to be for the fans, Full Moon carries some emotional weight as they perform to their fans in London for the first time. After these two songs, they leave the stage. Immediately, the audience starts chanting for an encore. How can it be over when one of their most popular title tracks is missing from this setlist?
Of course, Dreamcatcher rejoin the fans once more at their request to perform Goodnight and one last surprise cover – Seo Tai Ji’s Regret of the Times. The crowd is still with them for both songs, chanting the lyrics to Goodnight with passion. All too soon, the concert is over. JiU closes the show, thanking fans for being here – they are the reason the tour was organised, thanks to My Music Taste. She also reminds everyone that it’s possible for them to return again if the fans want to see them as much as they did this time. The crowd assures Dreamcatcher, one last time, that they definitely will want them to return again.
After a show like this – filled with energy, sweet moments and an amazing display of talent – it’s hard to think why anyone would not want them to return. Though only just over a year old, Dreamcatcher have already made a place for themselves in many fans hearts around the world, and the impact of this was obvious during their first London concert. Thanks to their fans, Dreamcatcher have a chance to tour Europe, something that few rookie k-pop groups get the chance to do. And what an effort they gave to prove that the request was worth it. When they return, with more songs and an even more developed sound and fanbase, it will be a show that shouldn’t be missed, just as this one was. Let’s hope that they can meet UK fans again sooner rather than later.
