The Renaissance of Min Yoongi

Yoongi's tour is innovative, explosive, authentic, and all the things we want in chapter 2. Here's what it was like in Chicago.

SPOILER ALERT: If you wish to remain Yoongi concert info free, because you want to be surprised for a live performance or the global movie screening…this is your chance to grandpa run away from this like him.

I am a person who does not like surprises. I like to know what is coming, plan for it, and then enjoy stuff on a deeper level. Which is why I don’t do horror movies, surprise parties, haunted houses, or anything else that makes me jump out of my skin. Trust me, I am jumpy enough on the average day - just ask the people who manage to scare the shit out of me on the daily. It’s not their fault, just me and my magic ability to zone out.

So I saw Yoongi’s concert online *blinks in illegal live streams over social media, ranging from holy crap you are next to him to accounts with terrible wifi equating to microwave quality* a few times from New York/Jersey. Hybe’s legal team, please forgive me.

I knew what was coming for the second day in Chicago (May 5), and thought I was ready to get hit with it live. Army bomb in hand, and 50 little bags of ARMY gifts (a PC and some watermelon (Suga high) Jolly Ranchers, I made the four hour trek from Michigan to the incomperable cement strip mall meets major airport that is Rosemont, Ill. I knew Allstate Arena, or as Chicago OG’s still call it the Rosemont Horizon, would not be luxe. It is a polite dump. It is an arena that existed before multiple levels, suites everywhere, and all the VIP crap that nobody but today’s corporate bigwigs can afford.

In other words, the perfect smaller venue to see my anti-capitalism warlord, Min Yoongi.

My tickets were in the 200 level, dead center on stage. I was not going to be one of the brave souls who camped out and then stood in line for like 24 hours to get GA barricade. I love Yoongi, but I am too old for that shit. And besides, I am on the shorter side, last thing I need is to fight a throng who is taller than me for like 3 hours. Nope, with age comes wisdom.

The energy brought by Yoongi, and the crowd in response, was nearly spiritual. It was a connection, clicked in from the first moment when the dancers laid his motionless body on the stage to start the resurrection. I knew what was coming, and yet, oh yet, I had zero clue for what was about to hit me. Slay, indeed.

Yoongi, aka Suga, aka Agust D, was about to take us through a quasi-spiritual Holy Spirit thing. Agust D is the hurt part of Yoongi, the alter ego who has literally been physically broken, but still rages on against all the bad things and playa haters. He is the Slim Shady equivalent of Marshall Mathers’ Eminem. He expels the venom and spits the truth. Suga is the BTS version of Yoongi, a legitimate twin ego, but the politer, more commercial form of the rapper - namely, the one who got scammed into dancing (well) and wearing eyeliner (intensity), and now is world famous. He is the producer who is in demand. And then there is the boy who ended his childhood early, the man from Daegu who chased his dreams of becoming a famous rapper/musician against his parents’ wishes. He’s one who still wants a normal life, trying to find new dreams - since he has gone far beyond the initial set.

That’s all Min Yoongi.

The VCR’s were as slick as movies, laying down the triad of egos, conflicts, call backs to BTS lore (HYYH). The Easter eggs made the ARMY-laden crowd squeal with the knowing, bring back the burning bed and the doe-eyed JK. The crowd was a mix of hardcore ARMY, but had a different feel than a BTS concert. There was more punk/goth styling, Agust D cosplay, cat/tangerine motifs, with a healthy dose of real rap lovers in the house. Extra love to the fans I saw who wore the pink silk PJs, the eyeliner/chains/Puma look, and a head to toe Shooky onesie.

It was multi-national, multi-racial, multi-generational. Everybody had a different access point to the fandom, but the intersectionality ended with Yoongi. The congregation was not here for a hip-thrust from Baepsae. They were here for the rap/music of Yoongi. (And YES, of course, the hip thrust laid into THAT part of Cypher 3.)

Yoongi was playful, happy, intense, completely owning the innovative 9-panel stage set-up, roaming it with the command of a confident man. He is not held back, he was free to be him, on his terms in his space. He was screaming the swears, sipping on something adult, and this was grown folks time. The focus was all on him, no spotlight to be shared with six others on stage. Not that there is anything wrong with his ensemble play. The dynamic is totally different with BTS. He is Suga there, playing starting guard for the team. Here, he was all the show and radiated that power.

He played piano and guitar, quite touching parts of the concert, and showed off his much improved singing range. (Current rap line singing rankings: 1. Hobi. 2. Suga. …and then Joon…like in 6th place. Suga does not need autotune. RM still does. No hate. Just facts.)

Yoongi’s stage separated as the concert wore on, with the panels going into the top of the rigging. It revealed more aspects, like the flames, or the stand-up piano area. It also gave the sense of him peeling away layers, revealing more of himself as the story unfolded. Kind of reminded me of how the staging in Hamilton, also spare, ended up being a main character in the musical. It was the software running in the background.

The highlight of the concert was the middle section, which had a hellacious run through Agust D and Suga’s best raps. Shadow, Cypher 3 and 4, Ddeng, UGH, HUH with no pauses - for him or the crowd. We knew every word, in Korean and English, and rapped with him. It was an intense communion, punctuated by the ARMY bombs changing color and swaying with the beat. HUH had choreo by Hobi, and he made sure to give him a shoutout for that.

The emotional high water mark was AMYGDALA, where the pain of the song’s lyrics were felt intensely. He was putting his soul into it. All of it. His accident. His mom nearly dying when he was born. His dad being diagnosed with liver cancer. The depression, doubts, physical and emotional pain, the failures were all laid bare. He was not hiding. He was not making this easier for us to bear. He was telling us, forcefully, that this all happened in his life, and he wants to find the best way to deal with the memories.

When he “collapsed” at the end of the song, mirroring how he started the concert - prone on the ground - he was showing full circle. He started prone, and ended prone. His limp body was carried off by the dancers on their shoulders, like a defeated Shakesperean hero, for burial.

And then, of course, there was the encore. Suga and Agust D suffered their trials, and now, at the end, only the true survivor remains - Yoongi.

(Forgive me for going all literary Namjoon on this, with a dash of 12 years of Catholic schools, just saw the parallels.)

As the concert went on, the stage became more stripped down. It was just the stadium floor, with the mechanics of the flame and smoke boxes, lasers and lights, the band, and two areas for Yoongi to stand on. Wasn’t much. But it was all what was needed - no more. The artifice was gone. Only the real remained - talent, drive, and the hard work of a career that’s been happening for more than half his life. Yoongi, his Ferrari of a live band, a mic, and an energized crowd, were the core ingredients.

This is a man who has found who he is, and is living it. I can see that Yoongi has changed a lot in the last few years, freed from the constant pain of his damaged shoulder. Pain alters a person’s mind, and he clearly - by his own admission - was living through a ton of discomfort. Living as Suga as BTS has also been uncomfortable, especially as their fame and pressure skyrocketed. The tabloids, stalkers, haters, and living the life as a K-idol are all elements of fame nobody is prepared for. We have sadly seen the price of that fame, through the suicides of famous idols. Yoongi never lied about getting dark about things, and how how anxiety and fears played with his mind.

Those elements of his life seem to be under control. He seems powerful, at peace, and wanting to be authentic with his talents and life.

I am glad I was able to see this live. It was special, and yeah, Yoongi’s path forward looks really beautiful.

Curious, what do you think about Yoongi’s concert? Let me know in the comments.