The boys are back in town! Tomorrow X Together, or commonly known as TXT, returned to the big apple, but this time to the new UBS Arena for a two-night concert event as a part of their Act: Sweet Mirage tour. As the members, Yeonjun, Soobin, Beomgyu, Taehyun, and Huening Kai, promised, the boys came back to dazzle their super fans, MOA.
The boys open the show with their dance hit, “Blue Hour,” which was a special rendition that included dance breaks. Clad in white outfits with sport jersey tops, the boys could see a sea of their fans’ light-sticks of gold and blue illuminating the arena. Plus, those in attendance were certainly happy to see their Idols light up the stage. TXT then performed “Can’t We Just Leave The Monster Alive?” before giving the audience a shortened version of “Drama.” Up next was an English version of their song, “Cat & Dog,” which they followed it up by stealing their fans’ hearts with “9 and Three Quarters,” aka “Run Away.” At the end of the song, Huening Kai did an extended dance break or choreo. The dance break was very whimsical, with a mixture of fantasy inspired augmented reality projected on screen and Disney Magic-esque moves. Basically, Huening Kai seemed to be channeling the one and only Mickey Mouse from Fantasia with gold dust bursting out of him before it was time for the show to move on.
When all five members returned to the stage, they did so for “We Lost The Summer.” During the song fans went wild with delight as Taehyun hit the high notes as the stage was bathed in red. Red covered everything as the boys performed, “Can’t You See Me?” The song was slowed up a bit and a little reverb was added to the song to give the performance a fiery feel. Then a video break played on the big screen as the boys disappeared backstage to prepare for the next song. The video break was mysterious and dark involving an invading green gel and interesting tea drink and the boys wearing military uniforms. The video used imagery that was magical. It was inspiring to the soul and left the mind wondering what would happen next.
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Next, TXT returned to the stage to perform their hit, “0X1=LOVESONG (I Know I Love You)” but this time the boys were wearing darker edgier rock inspired clothes. Plus, fans went crazy for Soobin’s part during the song. As the boys transitioned into their next song, “LO$ER=LO♡ER,” the graphic projected on the big screen of an ice palace faded away into a desert motif, which saw a jaguar sports car placed on the stage. The boys jumped into the car and toss the green paper into the air as they sing a song. Then Yeonjun dazzle the audience with sparkling delights using AR before a video of magic beams of color took over the stage for their song, “Dear Sputnik.” However, things went next level for the boys’ performance of “Magic.”
It seemed as if the whole crowd could feel the magic as TXT performed their English hit, “Magic.” The whole arena seemed to be on their feet, singing-a long and clapping their hands. After a short video break, which was a continuation of the previous video, the boys did a series of dance breaks with a black and white serious vibe. The breaks were clouded in smoke and were reminiscent of traditional k-pop moves with serious fluid movements that would make any classically trained dancer proud. When they all reunited as one it was powerful to see how their own individual talents could be combined to make a powerful statement as TXT. Yeonjun remark that the dance breaks showed the guys evolution as artists and as a group that they now had to offer to MOA. Then, Soobin and Beomgyu tease each other about their visuals and who was more handsome, though it was painfully apparent that Soobin was not comfortable with the audience noticing his increasingly good looking visuals. Every time he would speak a crowd of girls would erupt and he would get quiet and blush as if to say I’m really not that good looking, but thank you. TXT went on to perform “Opening Sequence,” “Anti-Romantic,” and an almost rock version of “Eternally.” For “Anti-Romantic,” a chandelier was projected behind the guys before a rose in a glass jar was seen to be shedding its petals slowing just like in Disney’s Beauty and the Beast. For “Eternally” the projections changed again. This time colorful images of the night sky were projected behind the boys, but things changed on a dime as the cool calmness was replaced by fiery red rage for the part of the song that were more aggressive. After that performance, the boys then retreated from the stage for another video break which was a continuation of the previous video’s story.
After the video, TXT returned again on stage, with one member placing a rose in his mouth, almost like a cigarette and lighting it on fire, for a dramatic intro to their Mega hit,
“Good Boy Gone Bad.” The guys for this go around donned white t-shirts with black jeans before putting on jackets later in the show for their songs, “Tinnitus,” “Devil by the Window,” and “Angel or Devil.” For this set the boys gave off killer rock vibes and fiery fierceness capturing the beautifulness of love and its dangerous downfall.
Changing things up completely, TXT took things in the opposite direction for their decadently sweet pop anthem dedicated to sugary goodness in the soft serve form with their song, “Ice Cream.” It was obvious that the boys really enjoyed performing the song. Afterwards they admitted it was one of their first times performing the song and they did it as a gift to their fans. Beomgyu even joke they know what their fans like. Knowing what their fans like, Yeonjun got MOA up on their feet with his dance challenge for “Happy fool.” He first gave the audience a tutorial and then assigned a TXT member to school their section of the audience on the dance. The moment was certainly cute as the camera from the show captured MOA trying their best on the big screen. The cuteness certainly continued as the guys took turns eating imaginary ice cream from each other before jumping on a “Sugar Rush Ride.” Right before the final song the boys promised to be back to New York soon before heading off stage.
However, like most K-pop concerts the show wasn’t exactly over. Cue the encore as TXT returned to the stage for a very special moment. Wearing their tour tees the guys did a very sentimental and sweet rendition of “Farewell, Neverland.” During the song they waved at fans as they walked about the stage. Then TXT bless their MOA with a sing-a-long to their new unreleased song, “Blue Spring.” They genuinely seemed touch by their MOA singing to and with them. As “Our Summer” played the boys lingered on stage as if not ready to say goodbye. They seemed to stay another 20 minutes on stage just smiling, waving and interacting with fans.
The two shows at the UBS Arena showed just how Tomorrow X Together has evolved as a group and grown as individual artists. Their shows are obviously more cohesive and now a have mythical and magical narrative running through the whole entire performance. Plus, the show is more condense with only major and moving songs being performed. Furthermore, their use of new technology like augmented reality seems to fit seamlessly into the show as if it was an extension of them as artists.
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Though there was some pondering if TXT could keep the intimacy they had with fans as seen in previous concerts. From their debut in Time Square at an exclusive venue to their Madison Square Garden Theater concert, in which the boys jumped into the audience and ran around, TXT has always been really close to the NYC MOA. They enjoy interacting with their fans almost to the point that fans could see the pores in the boys’ skin. Delightfully, the boys didn’t lose that closeness with fans. Even though the UBS Arena is quite big there were numerous times like when Yeonjun challenged MOA during his dance challenge for “Happy fool,” that TXT kept their closeness with fans. Seeing MOA on the big screen and the boys’ reaction kept the moment sacred. Plus, the sing-a-long to TXT’s new song, “Blue Spring” easily pulled on the heart strings. Clearly TXT have grown as artists, but still kept their connection to their fans.
Tomorrow X Together will conclude their North American leg of their Act: Sweet Mirage tour in Los Angeles. The boys will then head over sea to Asia for shows in Japan before returning to the States. They will return to Chicago to headline Lollapalooza on Saturday August 5th. One can only wonder what magic they will bring with them to Grant Park in Downtown Chicago.
