“Languages are different, but music makes us one.”

Those were the words that Dong Kyu, drummer from wave to earth, shared with Bandwagon during an interview before their show in Singapore. To prove that, the band made a stunning debut on the night of their sold-out The First Era Concert at the Capitol Theatre on 4 March where fans were heard singing along flawlessly to their music – whether in English or Korean.

 

 

 

 

 

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With minimal theatrics and words spoken to the crowd, Daniel Kim (vocals and guitar), John Cha (vocals and bass), and Dong Kyu found their way into our hearts through the raw and charming intimacy of their music.

As they took us through a succinct, 17-track setlist, it was enough to bring a tidal wave of euphoria into Singapore shores and left fans spiraling with energy through the night.

wave to earth started the show with two of their acclaimed hits, ‘bad’ and ‘peach eyes’, which set the bar for how their first show in the Lion City was going to turn out – electrifying. Even with the first strum of the guitar each of the tracks, it was enough to get the crowd excited and sing along without a second to waste.

“I just say that you guys are our first actual impression of Singapore. Thank you for being so awesome tonight,” John said after witnessing how loud Singaporean fans can be.

The concert carried on with ‘sunny days’, ‘nouvelle vague’, ‘so real’, and ‘daisy’, as Daniel’s vocals remained dreamy and buttery, enveloping the crowd in heartwarming lyrics. Meanwhile, John showcased his mastery, gracefully dancing his fingers across the strings of his bass guitar, while Dong Kyu exuded confidence, skillfully dribbling his drumsticks with precision that left the floor in awe.

Taking a breather, Daniel announced as he gestured towards John: “We’re gonna introduce our new artist, Potatoi.” After a swift exchange of their instruments, John took a moment before introducing his persona as a solo act to the fans. 

“I lost my words. Yeah, so it’s your boy, Potatoi, and I have a song for you guys,” John said before breaking into ‘evening glow’, a track off his Toy album.

The night continued with the oh-so tender ‘pink’ and ‘love.’, before an unexpected mishap came around when Daniel was belting out a lengthy note for ‘homesick’. The band faced a brief technical fault where the audio was shut down abruptly, leaving the theatre silent. While the crew scrambled to get things in order, John apologised to the crowd and fans reassured the band as they chanted “Gwenchana (It’s okay or It’s alright)” to keep their spirits up. The silver lining was that we got a repeat performance of the song.

Next, we saw a different vibe for the night when Daniel commanded: “Okay, let’s ‘surf’ together”. A warm and tropical tune, perfect to reflect the sunny city, the crowd constantly echoed “outside the waves” and “jellyfish” during the chorus.

Before making their exit, the unit dazzled the audience with an encore set consisting of ‘calla’, ‘seasons’, and ‘light’, a sweet ending to wrap up the even sweeter melodic voyage.

While we’re now back to reality, everything still shines so bright now that we’ve seen wave to earth’s music bring fans together to sing along in unison, their voices ringing through the theatre with contagious vigour. At the end of the day, life will always go on and on, but this moment will live with us forever.

wave to earth’s The First Era Concert in Singapore on 4 March 2024 setlist:

1. bad
2. peach eyes
3. sunny days
4. nouvelle vague
5. sunburn
6. so real
7. daisy
8. evening glow
9. ride
10. pink
11. love.
12. homesick
13. Surf.
14. pueblo
15. calla
16. seasons
17. light