Is the kraken slain by Seonghwa’s lightsaber sword what you’ll remember most? Or the ARRIBA bar? Or is it the giant monolith shaped like the Eiffel Tower caging a ball of light?
As striking as these may be, the first thing you’ll take away from an ATEEZ concert is none of these. No, as you’re dressing down and settling in after a breathless near-three hour display of fervour and adept musicality, the biggest spectacle whirring around your mind will be the boys who won’t slack for one minute.
What do you get when something that was already excellent, becomes more excellent? Brilliantly surpassing themselves from their last show in London two years ago, ATEEZ prove there is no limit to how good something can get. Towards the Light : Will to Power is a mostly live performance of honed skills such as Hongjoong’s dabbling in Screamo in order to wholeheartedly sell the rock of ‘Guerrilla‘, introduced by an exquisite solo from the group’s leader; and it would seem his display on a pink guitar with birds between his fingers was a little too good, as fans are now demanding a full rock comeback from the boys.
Some unmissable vocal moments came by way of the mercilessly spat verses of ‘MATZ’, Seonghwa’s siren calls in ‘Utopia’, and San’s rich elongated notes countering the youngest’s bright timbre. One cannot count on two hands how many times mouths were seen agape in shock at Jongho’s abilities. Even after touring across America beforehand, the boys did not let up for one day. Every audience member gets the same treatment: the same charisma fans saw a spark of from their ‘Pick It Up‘ days.
Energy reached impossible heights for such a long run. ‘BOUNCY’ had its own justified mini-encore, to which the volume of the arena was nothing short of blaring. One of the biggest identifiers of frenzy can be seen in the dedicated fan chants, which London audience served back at the boys dutifully.
You’ve got to love them for it: ATEEZ will stick to a bit. Many of their songs (See: ‘Utopia’, ‘New World’, and ‘Silver Light’) have been centered around the idea of finding, or fighting, toward a better place, for the sake of all hope left in the world. It’s no surprise that concert director Seo Donghyun, the genius behind ATEEZ’s theatrical performances on Kingdom: Legendary War and at Coachella 2024 had a generous contribution on Towards the Light : Will to Power and the boys also worked closely with dance troupe BB Trippin to fill out their stages, and often, tell a literal story.
Those knowledgeable on ATEEZ’s esoteric storyline will have had a field day with such lore-inspired scenes during the concert. The premise was simple: after losing the light, they must find it again. Seeing Hongjoong, Seonghwa and Yunho fighting together to keep away their oppressors was beautiful, and they only succumbed to their pursuit when their defense falls apart, and they are separated.
Yunho’s face of pure terror onscreen was an image fans won’t easily forget, and Seonghwa in particular performed a stunning display of emotion and elegance in his final moment where he is caught; his “wings” are ripped off with feathers cascading. The stellar performer perfected the gaze of a broken soul with a plume of hope. It is no wonder his fans compare him to a star.
The storyline reached its pinnacle at ‘Silver Light’, after which things got a little more comfortable. After all, fans needed an appropriate comedown after the euphoria. The boys seemed pretty chuffed to be in the UK, and as far as K-Pop idols’ making attempts at the local lingo goes, ATEEZ’s was pretty noble.
Behind the bar built on stage for their performance of ‘ARRIBA’, Wooyoung flipped out a notepad to declare his love for British culture: a segment that is different each tour stop(we checked). The boys seem to know their fans well, as they were easily able to get UK fans riled up with a debate about whether milk goes in before tea.
The octet had summoned thousands of fans in black garb, chains and pearls, and the odd fedora (the cool kind, not the m’lady kind), to the most fashionable city in the country. After nearly three hours of partying, at a concert more rooted in power than all their previous tours, surely fans were all thinking: please don’t make me go back to normal gigs again!
There’s post-concert blues. Then there’s post-concert devastation: from a run so good attendees realise that likely nothing will ever top this. But hey, there’s always ATEEZ’s next tour.