My Own Comeback, and Review: “Tonight” Live

It’s been a while. I can somehow sense the virtual dust that has been developing on my blog. The past month has been especially hectic, so unfortunately I haven’t been really up-to-date with what’s going on in kpop. That being said, (most likely) the stuff that I’ll be posting will not necessarily be brand new compared to kpop current events because I’m trying to catch up.

Earlier this month, Big Bang made a long-awaited comeback with “Tonight.” I know I usually do MV reviews, but I’m going to steer away from that and talk about live performances. The good thing about reviewing “Tonight” is that there are multiple performances out there to use as references, giving me a wider scope. One of my favorite ones to refer to (although not technically live) is their dance rehearsal version. “Tonight” is a great song. It’s super catchy, smooth and has that aggressive energy that Big Bang includes in a lot of songs. The only downside to this song is the borderline whiny quality during the chorus, “toniiiiiiight~~.” Trust me, Big Bang pulls it off great, but whenever I hear that part, I tense up a bit because it’s so easy to go flat during that part which would be a disaster. For a song like this, energy is key. Again, imagine a performance without energy whilst singing, “toniiiiiiiight~~” (not a pretty image.) However, referring to Big Bang’s dance rehearsal, the members bring it. I love the classy elements such as the use of microphone stands, but on top of that, everything is so crisp and in sync. Every member of Big Bang has his own style which can definitely be seen through their dancing. My eyes were caught on Taeyang for the most part. The way he moves is so clean and smooth (the dude just glides across the floor!)

Vocally, I think Big Bang is doing a great job live, especially G-Dragon. To me, he brings the most energy in terms of his aggressive attitude on stage. I love Taeyang’s dance skills, but I really wish I could hear him more clearly because of his headset.

Some things to mention regarding live performances: the “man skirts” sometimes worn by G-Dragon and TOP, pyrotechnics, and of course, the smashing of the guitar (which I recently read that they will stop doing that.) The skirts (of shall I say kilt), not my first choice of costume, but hey, G-Dragon and TOP have always had their own unique personal styles so I think that they pull it off (hehehe~ I think G-Dragon is pretty *gets smacked*) Although if I were Big Bang, having explosives on the stage would freak me out, but I LOVE watching that part right in the middle when G-Dragon’s acoustic part comes in. It’s a smooth contrast between the high energy that they brought in the beginning (again, very nice use of glow-in-the-dark microphone stands) and then BAM, G-Dragon just obliterates that guitar and the entire stage explodes (both from pyrotechnics and also from even more energy.) Seriously though, first time I saw him smash that guitar, a couple of things ran through my mind, “Does smashing a guitar have anything to do with this song?” and “Wow… and that was a nice guitar too.” But I just heard that Big Bang will stop smashing guitars (and that YG actually paid for new guitars for every performance. I was hoping that they would be props, but nope, they were legit!)

Congratulations to Big Bang on a very successful comeback!