Pia Watching In a Small Hall
In a somewhat small concert hall set down very close to the bridge heading south over the Han River near Hapjeong Station, mostly girls, and a few guys they’d drug along, filed down the staircase to the hall to find their numbered seats to see Pia.
Pia had already played here in 아르떼홀 both Friday and Saturday night and were rounding out the weekend with one last concert. The fans found their seats and it was clear this was a show for those hoping to get some pictures of one of their favorite Korean bands and not a show for their die-hard moshing fans that attend shows in bigger places like Ssangssangmadang Hall. As soon as the show started phones turned onto camera and video mode were set up and camera lenses were removed. It’s always interesting watching a show through a phone that is raised in front and I thought, well at least I didn’t pay for the ticket.
Maybe because it wasn’t the normal big hall concert or maybe because it was a lazy Sunday, the concert didn’t go off without its share of hitches. Twice songs had to be restarted, once because the singer Yohan started singing a different song and once because Kibum the bassist start playing a different song. The heat was cranked up even though it was not the chilliest of days and though the artists repeatedly asked for the heat to be turned down or the aircon to be turned on, it wasn’t and became pretty toasty. They also gave the audience an opportunity to speak up and ask questions if they felt the urge, but none did, except to ask what they’d eaten for dinner. It seemed the lazy Sunday attitude had filtered into the audience and the band.
That is not to say that the concert was bad, however. The music was great and though Yohan expressed doubts as to the quality of sound in the hall only moments before heading on stage, I thought it sounded pretty good.
They’ve played in worse places with worse sound quality anyway. They played their crowd pleasing favorites from their winning season on Top Band 2, the covers of Michael Jackson’s “Beat It” and “Black or White” as well as some newer songs and switched throughout the concert from acoustic to plugged in electric. One of my favorite parts though, was when Yohan took his middle of the concert break and the rest of the guys played a Miss A “Hush” cover. Of course, I love listening to Yohan sing, but I’ve seen Pia so many times so, I’m always thrilled to see them a bit goofy and doing different things to the pleasure of the crowd.
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If you haven’t seen Pia in awhile, check them out. The spring is coming and with it they’ll be sure to get out and about much more.
They are regulars during the summer festival season getting fans moshing, singing and screaming along at some great outdoor venues. Don’t miss them.
