Throughout the entire US leg of their ‘Zeneration II’ World Tour, The Boyz’ crowds were filled with people of great energy. Kicking off in New York at the famed Radio City Music Hall, The Boyz trekked the USA for almost two weeks performing five concerts for their fans. Their July 25th show at Peacock Theater in Los Angeles ended up a true highlight for the group’s career. Not only was it member Eric’s first official hometown show, but the group hosted many special guests at the show, including Grammy Award winning artist Scott Hoying of Pentatonix, singer-songwriter MAX, and fellow K-Pop icon Mark Tuan of GOT7.
The 11-member unit was able to show true variety in their discography for both casual and serious fans, with many tracks making their stateside debut. The members made their way onstage with powerful b-sides “Diamond Life” and “Out of Control” before launching into fan favorite “Maverick”. A few VCR videos played between the different sets of songs, and although without storylines like many artists tend to insert, the inbetween bits displayed interesting cinematography and the groups’ famous visuals perfectly. Their song choices continued to surprise, with throwbacks from their first few projects in 2017-2018 (‘Back 2 U’, ‘Walkin’ In Time’) making an appearance on the setlist as well as songs from their Japanese-promoted albums (‘Tattoo’, ‘Breaking Dawn’, ‘Back All Black’) which typically only see stage time within Japan.
Despite being one of the larger-member groups in K-Pop, the stage never felt too overwhelmed as they often took the last chorus of songs to interact with fans and have a bit of fun. One such song was “Complete Me”, where the members bounced around with pool floaties and props both from production and fans. “Fantasize” featured mock proposals from the members, and TBZ classic “Right Here” was also fit in before launching into “Thrill Ride” and “D.D.D” with a spotlight on audience members’ moves on the big screen— including the aforementioned Scott Hoying! Fans could barely take a breath while dancing that a few were overheard mentioning their impending loss of voice. Laughing between songs, member Kevin noted, “L.A, you guys know how to party!” while taking sips of water.
Taking a turn and slowing down the vibe, the members presented their versatility once again by singing a few of their iconic ballads. “Walkin’ In Time” from their debut mini-album ‘The First’ was the icebreaker, with assistance on the chorus by LA The B’s. The heartfelt b-sides “Horizon” and “Survive The Night” were up next, bringing tears to the eyes of fans and even a few of the members. Gradually bringing the energy back up, performed next was March release “Hurt Me Less”, a rock-tinged breakup anthem with easy to sing lyrics. If audience members were fooled into thinking it was a simple song, the vocal line of the group brought the harmonies and angelic adlibs to prove their capabilities.
Passing the last half of the concert, The Boyz took some time to give a sneak preview at what’s to come next for the group, with a special performance of unreleased Reggaeton/Hip-Hop track “Bite Back”. They then threw in a run of their most popular title tracks to complete the tour of their discography. 2020’s game changer single “Reveal” was up, followed by “The Stealer” and last year’s “Watch It” finished out the show. At least, that’s what the members wanted you to think. After a brief break of fan sign show-and-tell, the members were back for an encore with nostalgic “Nectar” to pull at your heartstrings, and “Fire Eyes” to get another workout in.
Before saying their final goodbye, the members had a lot to go over, especially Eric. With an unfeigned smile, he spoke of his childhood going to concerts with his family in the LA area and how unbelievable it was to be finally performing there on his own (during The Boyz’ 2022 US tour, Eric was on hiatus for his health). “As you guys know, it is my very first time performing at a The Boyz concert in LA. I’ve been dreaming of this moment for what, 9 years? I couldn’t be happier. I just want to say thank you guys for making this all possible, OT11 forever!” Eric then thanked the audience for attending before leading their signature no-mic goodbye as a group. “This has been The Boyz!” might’ve been the last memory from this show, but the members reiterated that they’ll be back to see US The B’s sooner rather than later.
Follow THE BOYZ:
https://www.instagram.com/official_theboyz
