Epik High Dominates D.C. in World Tour

Veteran K-Hip-Hop group Epik High departed earlier this year on a world tour, beginning in Europe and carrying over to the United States on the first of April. The Kraze caught the group on their Washington D.C. stop on April 12.

The anticipation for Epik High taking the stage began building in the nearly sold-out crowd even before the opening act. Yoshi Flower kept the crowd satiated during the opener, helping to hype up the energy for the main act and get the crowd ready for Epik High.

My High is Epik

photos by Khanh Tran

The tension in the room finally snapped when Epik High came out on stage with the opening performance of “In Seoul” before jumping right into “No Thanxxx,” making the crowd go absolutely wild and lighting up the room. Tablo proceeded with hilarious introductions of each member, including introducing himself as “co-creator of Haru,” a reference to his daughter. The leader’s sense of humor added an endearing and overall friendly atmosphere to the show, making each fan feel like they were in an intimate meeting with the group. Tablo’s openness and unique sense of humor continued to provide this type of experience for the whole show.

The trio then broke into the next song “Burj Khalifa,” before taking a break to ask the audience which song was their favorite off of the newest album, sleepless in _____. The group proceeded to perform “Eternal Sunshine,” one of the fan favorites from the album, before switching it up with B-side “Bleed” off of We’ve Done Something Wonderful. After performing their song “Love Love Love,” Tablo took another ment to set up the performance of “Home is Far Away,” asking Mithra Jin if he was homesick, and then proceeding to incorrectly translate every word he spoke into something completely off-base. Tablo also mentioned that his sister was in the audience and pointed her out, poking fun at her from the stage.

Next came “Kill this Love,” “High Technology,” “One,” and “New Beautiful,” with another ment in between to speak with the audience. The trio took great care in making this concert feel like an informal get-together, with Tablo often interacting directly with the audience during the ments and cracking jokes at every turn. The unique atmosphere created by the group remained for the full span of the concert, and was definitely the X factor that made the show stand out in comparison to the other concerts we have attended.

With a goodbye and an insistence that there was “formally” no encore no matter how hard we begged, Epik High finished up their “official” setlist with “Fan,” an older but sentimental track that was welcomed among long-time fans of the group and a solid track to finish off the show. Of course, as alluded to, there was indeed an encore afterwards with performances of the famous “Born Hater” and finally, “Don’t Hate Me.”

The concert definitely felt shorter than most, but it was likely due to the friendly and approachable atmosphere upheld by the trio throughout the show. All three members took great care in setting time aside from performances to interact with the audience in more meaningful ways, which really showed how genuine they are in the gratitude they feel for the fans. If you’re used to a standard K-Pop concert experience, you definitely won’t find that in Epik High’s tour. That’s not to be taken in a negative way whatsoever; in fact, the crowd itself was much more subdued than you would find at a standard K-Pop concert, which contributed to how enjoyable the overall experience was. Epik High was able to be much more open and make the fans feel closer because of the audience’s level of maturity.

If given the option, you don’t want to miss a performance from Epik High. The legendary K-Hip-Hop trio is one of the best in the business for a reason, and that is definitely shown in their live performances, as well. The group still has a number of stops in the U.S., and we recommend grabbing tickets to see them while you still can. After all, the music high is epik.