#FangirlGigs: wave to earth creates echoing ripples in their Manila show
wave to earth is a straightforward representation of their desire to “make a new wave across the world.” The trio is dedicated to their craft, priding themselves as a do-it-yourself band. They handle everything from lyrics composition to music production and album design. On their recorded albums, their music can be generally defined as lo-fi bedroom pop with hints of jazz and synth.
Hearing them live, however, is a different experience altogether.
Kicking off their "The First Era Tour" in Manila, Korean indie pop band wave to earth delivered a captivating performance at the New Frontier Theater on March 11.
Composed of vocalist/guitarist Daniel Kim, drummer Shin Donggyu, and bassist John Cha, the band has been making their mark across the world as they sell out shows in North America, Asia, and Europe. Their fans, fondly called ‘Planktons’ (in reference to their song surf), filled the venue to the brim and cheered tirelessly from start to finish.
During the concert, their lo-fi sound is amplified into a bustling symphony – one infused with cheery, melodic synth notes and punctuated by tight, jazz beats. Joined by session members Jeonmin on saxophone and Jo Junggeun on the keyboard, the band’s live music still had that distinctly chill vibe, but it was also immersively electrifying.
Right off the bat, wave to earth had an instant spark with the crowd. When they started the show with Bad, people were singing along so loudly that their voices almost drowned out Daniel’s. This was followed by the soft, lovestruck swing of peach eyes and sunny days.
Things got a jazzy spin when they played nouvelle vague and sunburn. Drummer Shin Dongkyu and saxophonist Jeonmin upped their ad-lib gaming to wild levels during their mesmerizing solos. John also had his time to shine when he took the lead for evening glow, a song he composed.
Incidentally, the concert turned out to be a double celebration as Jeonmin’s birthday fell on the same day while Daniel will be having his next week. The crowd greeted them by singing Happy Birthday as their staff presented Jeonmin with a cake.
The two-hour concert felt like a persistent push and pull with the desire to slow dance and headbang, reaching its highest point towards the end. When the lights glowed a fitting shade for pink, its sluggish, quiet tune leading up to the unmistakable guitar intros for bonfire and love., the crowd went insanely wild.
During surf, John asked the audience for a little help in filling out some keywords to the chorus “We surf like plankton / we surf outside the waves / we surf like a jellyfish / we surf outside the waves side the waves”—an endearingly fun moment for fans since the name of their fandom was a homage to this song.
wave to earth’s most striking quality is their palpable synergy during the concert. Their recorded tracks are already good enough to capture people’s attention, but the experience of seeing them play live makes their music more alluring. You can see it when Daniel’s voice curls and soars spontaneously, when Donggyu hits the drums with his whole body, and when John dances along to the bass lines — all this as the entire crowd sings along to their songs passionately – it’s a magnetic spectacle. Perhaps the band’s overarching goal of making a new wave is not that out of reach, after all.
For the encore, fans unanimously chanted seasons, their most popular track on the social media platform TikTok. The much-awaited song came like a rushing storm as the crowd once again sang along word for word. light was a fitting finale for the concert.