“Are you ready for the ride?” Soyoon Hwang (황소윤, a.k.a. So!YoON!) asked the crowd huddled at the Filinvest Tent south of the city, where SE SO NEON (새소년) had moored their pirate ship for the evening (18/11), ready to take everyone on an odyssey – about 18 songs long, although it felt like time had stopped.

SE SO NEON had been making the rounds in the Asia-Pacific region as part of their world tour, including their home turf of Seoul, where superstar idols were among the throng of spectators. Their Manila headlining show, presented by Karpos Live, happened to be their first time in the city, Soyoon noted, as bassist Hyunjin Park (박현진), along with touring drummer Drumgyun (Hyung Gyun Kim김형균), raved about the local banana chips. It’s not the only thing that would capture their attention, however.

Here, many fandoms have long prided themselves on being the singing sort. KDG (the fandom name, short for 코딱지, meaning “booger” – explained here) in Manila, too, sang entire choruses – in Korean – without missing a beat. After all, in this pirate ship, as the band said, “There is no distinction between passengers and the crew; everyone aboard performs their role as a sailor.” (우리의 해적선은 승객과 승무원의 구분이 없으며, 승선한 모두가 선원으로서 각자의 역할을 수행한다.)

“This energy is just so crazy,” Soyoon took notice, amid rambunctious barks and obligatory bursts of “사랑해요” from the crowd. Later on, they wrote on Instagram, “What a night, Philippines! Loved every moment!”

All eyes were fixed on the stage even before the onset, as shouts of “새! 서! 년!” from the crowd played out as the overture. Then it was time for the band to take the stage with the punkish, angsty openers ‘이’ (E) and ‘joke!’, before moving on to play most of their entire catalogue – a real treat – plus special cuts and unreleased material like ‘Athena’ (So!YoON!), ‘3 Revolution’ and ‘NOW’.

More effervescent fare like ‘구르미’ (Gurumi), ‘덩’ (Dong), ‘엉’ (Ung), ‘파도’ (The Wave), ‘여름깃’ (Summer Plumage), ‘집에’ (go back) or '긴 꿈' (A Long Dream) were an invitation to jump in place, while pensive numbers like ‘눈’ (Winter) or the crowd favourite ‘亂春 [난춘]’ (NAN CHUN) had some people later admitting to tearing up.

In spite of the language barrier, the crowd was able to volley the energy back, validating what Soyoon had said in an interview with The Rest is Noise some time ago: “I find it fascinating that the crowd can understand the energy that I’d like to share, even though we speak in different languages.”

Soyoon’s distinct lilt – gossamer and gritty at once – scaffolds her songwriting and its unassailable heart-on-sleeve honesty.

In ‘亂春 [난춘]’ (NAN CHUN), for instance, melancholy and solace from it go together. If the first light of spring after a long, dreary winter could still feel a bit too much, she explained, there is warmth and assurance in an embrace.

“오늘을 살아 내고 우리 내일로 가자” (We will live today and see tomorrow’s light), the crowd sang together, just as she had hoped it to be: “a song that could be sung together, one that could be listened to together.” (함께 부를 수 있는, 함께 들을 수 있는 노래)

Other times, she distils her own outlook – perhaps her own generation’s ennui and angst, especially from someone born and raised in South Korea – in imagery like a stifled song and dance (‘덩’ [Dong]). To adapt a philosopher’s words (sorry, Merleau-Ponty and Godard): songwriters like her do possess a certain view of the world, which is that of a generation – giving thrust to anthems where pain and uncertainty give way to hope.

The frantic, jangly riffs of ‘심야행’ (Midnight Train), in all their nostalgic glory (personally, I recall Broken Social Scene, at least vibe-wise), carry the weight of existential woes: "자라나는 절망은 나를 먹고 피어나, 밤으로 가네, 밤으로 쏟아지네" (A growing despair blooms by eating me, and goes into the night, pours into the night). In ‘Kidd’, SE SO NEON also ask: “절망은 우리에게 무뎌질까? 부서질까? 영원할까? 사라질까?” (Will despair dull us or break us, will it last forever or fade away?).

“‘Kidd’ kind of means ‘hope’ and I want to give it to you guys,” Soyoon told the Manila crowd, and as if some prodding was necessary, she rallied this bunch to sing together with her. As she clasped a yellow dandelion-like flower (as in the song itself) a fan had given her, the band launched into the song – tenderly at first, until it erupted at the chorus with fists pumping in the air and shouts of: “빼꼼, are you waiting for!?”

The rather subdued but poignant ‘자유’ (Jayu) (‘自由’ in Hanja) is just as defiant, as Soyoon explained to the crowd, “It’s not about freedom [itself], but just feeling free.” As Soyoon once said in a short documentary: “The truth is, there’s no good in hating on the world. The world has always been an absurd and strange place, and what we have to do is find our own freedom and live that way.” (사실, 세상을 미워할 게 아니라 세상은 원래 부조리하고 원래 이상한 곳이고, 거기서 그냥 내가, 우리가 우리의 자유로움을 찾아서, 살아나가면 되는거구나를 좀 [느낀다])

For some, that meant the Pride flags they were waving; for others, it was just singing along, relishing every word. When the band started to wind down for the night, the crowd illuminated the place with their tiny phone lights, humming along, for “it’s gonna be fine / 자유로운 날 (this day, I feel free).”

It had all felt like a joyous ‘긴 꿈’ (Long Dream), and it was sad to wake up from it. Then, SE SO NEON said a heart-wrenching goodbye with ‘눈’ (Winter): “사랑, 나는 멀리 이곳에. 돌아가조 않아. 우스운 말이지만, 자 여기 소란스러운 내 맘” (Love, I’m far away here. I’m not going back. As ridiculous as it might sound, here’s my noisy heart). It’s such a bittersweet nightcap, but it’s surely not a final farewell, as Soyoon hinted that there will be a next time.

“Take care. Stay safe,” she told the Manila crowd. “Before we come back again.”

Setlist:

1. joke!
2. 이 (E)
3. 이방인 (Stranger)
4. 집에 (Go Back)
5. 亂春 (난춘) (NAN CHUN)
6. 구르미 (Gurumi)
7. 덩 (Dong)
8. 엉 (Ung)
9. 여름깃 (Summer Plumage)
10. 3 Revolution [Unreleased]
11. Athena
12. 파도 (The Wave)
13. Kidd
14. NOW [Unreleased]
15. 심야행 (Midnight Train)
16. 자유 (自由) (Jayu)
17. 긴 꿈 (A Long Dream)
18. 눈 (Winter)