The night of March 20, 2010 was special, because of Suju. Their Super Show 2 was uber fun, and I wished I had bought tickets to better seats – my only regret.
You could probably tell the sound systems are of sub-par quality, going by the warm-up acts at the opening.
There is only one mega speaker located at the top, front of the Bukit Jalil Stadium – which means no surround sound. The volume knob was turned up to high, and the music was distorted and screechingly uncomfortable on the ears. It was made worse when my seat – on the second floor – was not far from the speaker.
The good part was you can feel floor and seats rumble with the bass, but I’d much prefer a softer, clearer sounds. And most of the time, Suju’s voices were drowned out by the blastingly loud accompanying music.
Super Junior's Super Show 2 in Malaysia
One saving grace was the rectangular-shaped stage layout, which extended outwards and lined the railings where the audience were seated. The center of the stage was crossed, with two rock pits located on each side, bringing the members closer to the 15,000 fans. If you were standing at the rock pit, you’ll be able to touch them with your outstretched hands.
I could remember holding my breath the moment the concert began – at 8pm sharp, an hour after admissions. By then, the seating hall had morphed into a sea of sapphire blue – a sight to behold – as fans wrung out their light sticks and flailed their arms in anticipation.
I had no idea where to look because I couldn’t tell where they’ll spring from. Then I saw Donghae, who appeared first. The rest followed one after the other at various points of the stage. They were plonked all over and you find yourself diverting your attention at various places because the 10 of them were everywhere.
Speaking of Donghae, he sported a shorter hairdo from last year - during his SJ-M Supergirl album promotional activities in Taiwan last year.
Kyuhyun had shorter hair too, but the perm seemed a tad stiff. Nonetheless, his vocals was in top form. Despite the horrendous sound system, it’s a miracle he could still sound a tune. His solo – he sang a Chinese number – was actually pleasant coming from those speakers.
One other member that caught my eye was Sungmin. He looked completely different, with hair tied up and swept on one side of his face – very edgy, and very cool. It was a far cry from his bubbly, sunshine image, that I’m used to. But it was definitely a pleasant surprise.
Cinderella Heechul wasn’t a princess that Saturday night, garbed in J-rock-inspired outfit and makeup. Not surprising since he had mention before that he used to listen to J-rockers such as L’Arc-en-Ciel.
However, I thought he seemed kinda moody and heavy-hearted that day. Maybe this is one of his many offbeat personas, but I doubt it. I suspect it could be the Hankyung factor. And he didn’t sing too much that night either – he sounded soft on his mike, at times even missing his part whenever it’s his turn to sing.
As with the previous outings in Taiwan and China, 3 members – Hankyung, Kangin and Kibum – were absent.
Leader Lee Teuk was in his charmingly happy, chatty self, covering most of the MC with Siwon as his unofficial translator. And Siwon showed much skinship that day, to the delight of fans. He was constantly exhibiting his six-pack, whether voluntarily or otherwise.
Like most ELFs, seeing the Suju members for the first time outside of the PC or TV box was a surreal moment… Eunhyuk, Ryeowook, Shindong and of course fellow Yiruma fan – Yesung!
Anyhow, the group launched straight into a set list of fast numbers such as ”A Man in Love “, “U”, “It’s You”, “She Wants It”… etc in the introductory part of the show. Accompanied by high energy choreographed dance performances, it couldn’t have been a better opening as it revved every single fan in the stadium!
Fans were jumping up and down along with Suju, and you wouldn’t believe they’ll have energy to last the entire show, but they did. The ELFs beside me, behind of me, and in front of me screamed their lungs out for three straight hours! I’m not exaggerating.
Like their first concert, Super Show 2 was interspersed with short video clips, play-backed on the 3 giant screens on the centre and at each side of the stage. It was probably to allow for costume change time but that didn’t slow the pace of the show.
The second segment was individual solos – Donghae danced and sang to “Beautiful” followed by Ryeowook’s ”Insomia” - which I wasn’t fond, until I heard his rendition.
Then there’s Kyunhyun’s amazing warm vocals and Yesung’s number. Lee Teuk’s ”Honey” was really fun too and it left a deep impression on me. I always thought Teukkie looks a lot like his sunbae Lee Jihoon…
After the slower-paced segment, the members reunite onstage for some adrenalin-pumping dance music again. The part that I liked best was when they performed the concert remix of their hit song “Sorry Sorry”.
Decked in all-white suits, the 10 members were in sync in vocals and moves as they sing to “Sorry Sorry”. This the song that I’ve seen & heard countless times on YouTube and TV – both parodies and originals. But to see and hear it ‘live’ was beyond what words can describe. This song alone, at least for me, is worth the ticket price, including the return plane fare.
Unless you have a fave Suju member, it’s really hard to focus on all members because most of the time, they are standing at various points of the stage. But since I am fond of Donghae at the moment (it was Kyuhyun just a few months ago!), my attention was on fixated him. He was extremely thoughtful towards fans, always reaching out to them. I found my eyes roving in search of Sungmin as well, cause I was really taken by his cool and edgy look that day.
Though missing on 3 members, SJ-M’s Zhoumi and Henry made appearances, joining in the performances of songs “Supergirl” and “Blue Tomorrow”.
Despite clocking a whopping 3 hours, fans were reluctant to see the marathon concert end, hollering for an encore performance.
Suju ceded to fans’ call and returned on stage in casual, animal-prints Tshirts. They battled with fans at the rock pit with water guns as they encored with “Wonder Boys” and “Marry U” before wrapping up the concert. It seemed the latter song is a must-sing in their concerts, given what it symbolized between ELFs and Suju. And emotional Teukkie and sensitive Donghae were caught on cameras teary-eyed.
I’ve always wondered if Kpop groups sang live or lip-sync in concerts… I’m guessing it’s half-half. The solos were definitely live, but the dance numbers could have been half-lipsynced and half-live (eg: recorded chorus). When singing “Wonder Boy”, some members forgot it was their turn (or maybe cause they were so busy running up and down the stage while playing water games with fans), and you can hear the music without the singing.
In all, the concert was a most unforgettable experience, and it was definitely a super-duper happy day for ELFs.
While SM Entertainment has yet to announced the release dates for the Super Show 2 DVD, the closest thing is their Premium Live event in Japan last year, which is out now on DVD. It’s pricey, just because it’s a Japanese version, but it’s a must-have if you want reminisce the concert. You can check out the uploads on Youtube.
And another plus is, you get to see 12 members there - it’s a treasured recording of one of their happier outings, something which won’t come by easy given Hankyung’s lawsuit.
