Nothing Stops DKB at Their First Concert in New York

DKB, the nine member group under Brave Entertainment, arrived on June 10 at the first stop of their 2022 DKB Meet and Live U.S. Tour at the Brooklyn Monarch in New York City. The guys debuted in February of 2020, right before the world shut down around them due to the pandemic. Though they’ve released a number of EPs, a full album, and a bevy of singles supported by their international fanbase BB (standing for DKB’s Bestie), they hadn't been able to meet their U.S. fans until that day. Finally stateside, hyped and ready to show what they were made of, E-Chan, Teo, D1, GK, Heechan, Lune, Junseo, Yuku, and Harry June burst on stage yelling, “Let’s go New York!” to start off the show.

Jumping right into their explosive choreography, the house was jamming to their debut song from their Youth EP, “Sorry Mama.” The EDM trap song with its aggressive beats hit the room hard and had the room screaming, “미안해 엄마 (I'm sorry, mama).” Working the relatively small stage, they pumped out their choreo and moved fluidly between formations. Dressed in casual ‘80s rock shirts (including AC/DC, Metallica, Def Leppard, and Led Zeppelin), many of them also had on the same plaid long sleeve shirts as seen in their Rebel album shots. The guys were in their stride with their sharp uniform moves and almost at the end of the song when…the music stopped. Technical issues can be tough to handle for a seasoned group, but for a rookie group at their first show on their first tour, it could have changed the vibe for the worse. But amazingly, it made the show even more special. DKB, with their professionalism and training, continued without a hitch in their choreography. Though you could hear their labored breathing more prominently not hidden by the backtrack due to the intense choreo, with the support of BB, they finished the song to cheers.

“Hello New York! Welcome to our concert!” D1 took charge as the leader. “This is the start, and there are many performances left…as this is our first time in New York, let’s do individual introductions.” Starting with Junseo, they went down the line, all expressing their excitement for their first concert in New York. Yuku’s expressive smiling face while introducing himself might have been too brilliant as suddenly the lights went out. Continuing on, illuminated by the phone lights of BBs, Lune and then Heechan continued when suddenly the music pumped back into play with “ALL IN” and the stage lights went back on. Smiling, the guys just went with the flow, singing and grooving along with all the BBs. Teo’s smile, urging everyone to sing more combined with his laughing eyes, was infectious. When the music abruptly stopped this time, D1 smoothly filled in to let everyone know, “This song we’ll meet again shortly later,” and just as smoothly jumped right into his greeting, continuing the stream of introductions. GK, the final member to greet everyone, warmed hearts as the lights went off again: “My first time in the U.S.A, and my best view in N.Y. is you, is BB.”

A short recess was in order to try to fix the glitches and in no time the guys were back. D1’s “shortly later” was now as they started on the floor for the start of “ALL IN.” The song’s infectious chorus filled the air while they moved in perfect tandem. E-Chan’s shooting move had the members popping onto the floor, and the mad dancing was a joy to watch. But the reprieve from the technical difficulties was short-lived as the music stopped and the guys went acapella again. But this is where BBs really stepped in. Knowing all the words and singing loudly, the voices of the room were united in the song. Teo’s steady voice carried the chorus and Junseo fed the rap line, feeding off the energy from BBs and creating a memorable synergy in the room.

The rest of the evening went relatively smoothly. “Still” began with subtle uniform head movements before everyone jumped full on into the routine. It was clear every member of DKB could move. Their rawness contrasted with the melodic moments, and the fast and slow dynamic fueled the song. In the middle, Teo and D1 even did different style flips in tandem as GK’s rapline moved upstage. The acrobatics, popping, and rolls were all done so smoothly that you wondered how many hours it took to get to that level of fluidity.

Dancing took the focus with the next stage as it began with an almost dance battle as one group danced after another followed by Heechan’s solo in the middle. Flowing into “Roller Coaster,” the song did a great job of showcasing individual talents. The playful banter with D1 and Harry June was a highlight and overall the guys seemed to have fun. The playfulness continued to the next number, “Go Up,” which started with the guys in small groups hanging and playing playground style. Harry June and Lune were adorable playing rock paper scissors in the Korean manner (loser hit with a forehead flick). With the cute rap joshing between the members between choruses, the song was all smiles ending with the lyric “Picture,” where they all took a moment to pose before collapsing. As they were on the floor already, in a creative segway, “Get Away” started with E-Chan waking up D1 and the duo getting the rest of the crew up. Having fun as a group before breaking into smaller group choreographies, DKB continued to make the stages interesting and fun. The peekaboo window created by Yuku, GK, and Teo with Lune and Harry June popping in and out was as fun as the next line where two by two they all hugged with Teo singing in the middle.

“Tell Me Tell Me” had the guys back into full performance mode. Again, it was their creative way of breaking up and transitioning that really stood out. Mixing more serious choreography with aegyo and feeding off of each other made the performance. “Work hard” would be the the last song in this segment before the members broke off into their ments and wardrobe change.

Lune, Junseo, Heechan, Harry June, and the adorable Yuku would stay on stage while the older members got changed first. Heechan took the lead in hyping the room during this transition. Harry June then asked the crowd to pick their favorite stages and the resounding answer was “everything.” Lune then grabbed the reins trying to tell the room that they could now talk with the younger line, but Junseo interrupted with moves rather than words, as he led the crew into a sweet “hot, hot, hot” body roll. Reclaiming the reins, Lune let everyone know that they had something special planned and that the hyungs would be performing “Take Care” for them upon their return. Yuku waving, giving hearts, and checking in with the back of the room brought smiles which he quickly replicated. One by one, the other members came on, and gone was b-boy plaid, replaced by black leather. Though the room was already hot, it seemed from their new outfits that it was only going to get hotter.

The hyung line, E-Chan, D1, Teo, and GK, started with “Take Care,” a sweet ballad that had hands waving in the air. With the smaller group, E-Chan’s rap and D1’s sweet vocals had a chance to shine. E-Chan then addressed the room asking if the crowd was hot, to a resounding yes - and it wasn’t just heat from the guys. The room was hot. Warning that he was planning on spraying water to the crowd, he asked if this would be okay. Letting the crowd know that the other team was taking a while, the guys broke into some of their other songs, ad-libbing parts of “Curious” and “YOUTH.” As if the younger line knew they were being called, one by one the remaining members of DKB took the stage.

Gathering together in the front, they broke into “Elevator.” Purely hip-hop at this point, the guys were freely vibing on stage. GK dominated, but the overall rap line killed the song. Grabbing phones from the audience, splashing water, giving fan service while singing and dancing on stage, the guys were having a blast and everyone was there for it.

Units were next, starting with the rap line. Heechan, GK, and E-Chan pumped out “Samsung.” Spitting rhymes with style, they gave all they had while interacting with the crowd in front of them. Next up was Junseo, Lune, Heechan, Harry June, and Yuku hitting it hard by performing a dance unit to Jack Harlow’s “First Class” and $uicideboy$’s “F*ck.”

The guys took a break to chat with the crowd, and poor D1 had to control his team who were teasing the hopeful fans, from showing off a bit too much. Teo did manage to unbutton his leather vest, the only thing he had on top, and give the audience a much welcome view. While D1 continued on member control, E-Chan stepped in with words that touched all our hearts: “While we were preparing, we were very excited about showing our performances. If all the BB that came today watch our performance and think we did a great job, we’d be so thankful. Because of you guys, I’m so happy to be an artist.” From the sentimental, D1 brought it back to business: “We’re about ready to show you our last performances. What is your favorite stage so far? Before that, did anyone see the DKB United Show? Do you know? We want to show you the performance.” From there they broke out into the dance performance pulled from the show. At last, it was time for the last song of the night. “Sober,” from their latest album, pumped through the speakers and elevated the room to another level. Everyone was singing and dancing along.

After a short break, the guys were back for the encores, excitement still high egging the viewers to yell, “Encore” louder. With “Bestie” and “Real Love,” the night closed out. After the customary group photo, “Sober-Remix” ended the night. A night that started with inconsistent technical issues flipped into a night of amazing moments. The guys gave everything they had, and in the end the performances exceeded expectations. With great choreography and the ability to adapt to any situation, they were in their element. It seems on stage nothing can stop DKB and from accounts from the rest of the tour, it seems like nothing is going to.

Thank you to Studio Pav and Brave Entertainment for granting coverage of the show.

* Please note any spoken Korean has been translated to English for flow.