The popularity of K-pop has been rising in the past few years, but J-pop is still a genre that is less well-known. On June 4th, the Japanese group BE:FIRST graced the Melkweg in Amsterdam with their catchy songs and great dance moves, making sure to give the audience members something to talk about afterwards. The group originated in 2021, when they formed through the audition program ‘THE FIRST’. While this group usually consists of 7 members, Ryoki has been sick and unfortunately could not join the tour. The remaining 6 members (Junon, Leo, Sota, Manato, Shunto, and Ryuhei) still put on a great show, making use of the entire stage.
Doors opened at 7 PM for general admission, after VIP had enjoyed the pre-show soundcheck and gotten their goodies. With no support act on the line-up, fans were eagerly waiting until the show could start.
A few minutes before the start time, a female voice was heard through the speakers. She told the crowd to be careful, since there was no barricade and the fans were right against the stage. She also asked everyone at the back to not push, but with the show not being fully sold out, that did not seem like it would become a problem. After this disclaimer, the lights started moving and put on a small light show before the group came on stage. Just after 8 PM, BE:FIRST walked out on stage, gaining immediate cheers from the crowd. The group started their set with ‘Mainstream’, which was a great song to open the show with. Energy was radiating off the stage from the first second, with just the group, their skills and an LED screen covering the back wall. The screen switched between displaying different visuals that fit with the songs and showcasing the English lyrics. The group did the first few songs back to back, without taking a break in between, with a cool part where they made the whole crowd clap along to the beat halfway through ‘Milli-Billi’. Following these songs, the band took a break to talk to the crowd, talking about how they ate pancakes and went to McDonald’s, joking about how it’s not just a world tour, but also a McDonald’s tour. During their Amsterdam adventures, they also went to the rubber duck store and were overwhelmed by the amount of ducks this place sells.
For the next song, ‘Softly’, four microphone stands were brought onto the stage and only Manato, Junon, Leo and Rhyhei remained on stage. For this song, the lyrics were shown on the screen again. Near the end of it, Sota and Shunto joined the group again, finishing the song with the full group. The six of them then went on to do ‘SOS’, with four of them leaving again once the song ended. After the previous four had their moment, now Sota and Shunto were left in the spotlight to perform ‘Spin!’.
After playing ‘Masterplan’, ‘Scream’ and ‘Don’t Wake Me Up’, the band took the time to talk to the crowd again, this time asking for food recommendations. As expected, the first food to be brought up was stroopwafel (a Dutch waffle with caramel syrup) and stamppot (another traditional Dutch dish with mashed potatoes). Then the crowd started yelling about kroket and how they should go to Febo to get some. A fan in the front row showed them pictures on their phone, and I’m sure we are all curious to know if they actually went out to eat some after the show.
Unfortunately, all great shows must come to an end eventually, and there were only a handful of songs left on the setlist. For ‘Sailing’, the lyrics returned to the LED screen, making it once again easy to sing along to the English parts. Their set ended with ‘Blissful’, which is most definitely how the group felt during this show. Every group member was smiling, and lots of “Arigato” and a few “Dankjewel” were spoken, thanking the crowd in both Japanese and Dutch.
