Korean boy band wows fans at Oracle
BTS, the phenomenally popular Korean boy band, made its Northern California headlining debut on Wednesday, Sept. 12, in Oakland. It’s only fitting that the show took place at the venue known as Roaracle Arena, where ear-piercing screams filled the air, bringing to mind the heyday of Beatlemania and ’90s pop juggernauts like ’N Sync and the Backstreet Boys.
The capacity crowd started screaming in earnest during the 10-minute video introducing the band members — Suga, J-Hope, Rap
Monster, Jimin, V, Jungkook and Jin — and continued to show its approval at full blast through the performance that lasted more than two hours.
Many fans had camped out on the surrounding Oakland Coliseum complex since Monday, members of the BTS Army, the moniker adopted by the band’s devoted fans.
Angel Molina, a high school freshman from Arizona, took three days off to attend the concert with her mother after spending a day online securing tickets. Cassie Peterson, from Minnesota, had seen BTS shows twice in Korea and once in Texas. She jumped at the chance to catch the group on its seven-city, 15-date North American “Love Yourself ” tour, and snagged a ticket for the Oakland event. (On StubHub, tickets for the long sold-out show ranged from $550 to $2,500 on the night of the concert.)
“I’ve been a fan for almost three years now, and I still can’t believe we were actually able to make it and see them,” Angel said after the show.
BTS, whose name is short for Bangtan Sonyeondan (Bulletproof Boy Scouts), is the first K-pop group to hit it big in the U.S., with catchy, heartfelt songs and tightly synchronized
“I’ve been a fan for almost three years ... I still can’t believe we were actually able to ... see them.” Angel Molina, high school freshman from Arizona, attending the Oakland show
dance moves. Band members notably co-write and produce most of their material, with songs ranging from pop and R&B to hip-hop and electronic dance music.
BTS made history in 2017 as the only Korean act to win a Billboard Music Award. In May, it became the first K-pop group to top the Billboard 200 chart with “Love Yourself: Tear,” the only foreign-language album to reach No. 1 since 2006. “Love Yourself: Answer” reached No. 1 this month — only Justin Timberlake and Ariana Grande had bigger opening weeks than BTS this year, according to Billboard.
But the inanimate MVPs of Wednesday night were the glow sticks sold at the merchandise booths and the pair of nearly ceiling-long rectangular video screens that framed each side of the main stage. Shaped like cordless microphones with a round, oversize top, the glow sticks were equipped with Bluetooth technology that changed the color of the lights between songs, a familiar K-pop and J-pop gimmick that was particularly effective in Oracle’s circular setting.
The video panels displayed videos that played several times between costume changes — ranging from military-dress-inspired uniforms to white T-shirts and jeans — and each of the seven solo showcases starting with J-Hope on “Trivia: Just Dance.”
There were no English supertitles projected on any of the screens, but they weren’t necessary as fans happily sang along — and even chanted, unprompted — in Korean.
A catwalk connected the main stage with a secondary one in the middle of the arena. There were no instruments in sight, save the piano that BTS member Jin played at the start of power ballad “Epiphany,” and lifts on both stages dramatically carried band members to and from the bandstands amid streamers, confetti and fireworks.
The members of BTS addressed the crowd at length, giving a shoutout to the Bay Area and thanking fans for their support.
“It’s our first time here,” they told fans. “It was a true celebration tonight.”