Concert Musings: Itzy at Great Canadian Casino Resort, 2024
On my second ever K-Pop concert, a year after my first.
It’s been nearly a month. But I figured this was a moment that I wanted to write about nonetheless like I did for Mitski at the start of the year. It’s something I’m trying to do for most concerts that I attend, within the month I saw them - so I can reminisce about the memory of the show itself, and also my views of the artist or the band leading up to the performance.
For what it’s worth, this was a show that I was debating on going to, because it’s a venue that’s out in the middle of nowhere unlike the Twice show I attended last year which was in Scotiabank Arena. But adding to that, Itzy are a five-member group, and this entire tour, one of their members, Lia, was on a hiatus due to anxiety. Eventually, I relented when I got a ticket for around $170, which probably was slightly cheaper than the Twice ticket that I paid for (which was closer to maybe around $250).
Then again, I also knew that with most K-Pop concerts I consider going to, I figure I’d be in good company if I knew that
was also there, since she helped me with finding a more affordable Twice ticket that was not a nosebleed seat. By the way, I might as well also note that if you’re not subscribed to her newsletter yet, I’d highly recommend doing so, especially if you’re looking for someone who’s more of a K-Pop expert than I am:
Because the venue was a casino, I also couldn’t help myself but indulge in a little bit of gambling. I spent an obscene amount of money at this year’s Criterion sale, which is probably getting its own article on here at some other point, so I couldn’t help but at least try and gamble some money to try and earn it all back (for the record, I bought maybe around $300 worth in movies so talk about a whole lot to blow). On the bright side though, I managed to earn enough money to buy a free slice of pizza and get their tour shirt for free.
All this having been said, I was a little nervous about this show - as I am with going to most concerts where I don’t really know that many people around me. It wasn’t even until after the show when I found out some other friends of mine were also there, but I still found myself in good company as noted above. I was prepared for myself to witness Itzy from the second floor whereas Samantha would be on the ground (she was much closer to them than I was), only to find that it wasn’t the case: I actually got a seat that was much closer than I’d anticipated.
That might have been all that I really needed to know that I was in for a good time all throughout. Which, like the Twice show last year, this show was an absolute blast. Itzy themselves also had a live band to play the songs while they were taking up the stage with their presences, but they’re all fantastic performers at that. Not like I imagine you can expect anything else would happen at a K-Pop show of all places, but every time I watch clips from K-Pop concerts all around the world I’m always impressed by the amount of work that they put into designing the stages so that everyone regardless of how far away they’re sitting from the podium would be able to enjoy their time there.
Which, to say the least, is everything that made this concert as fun as I could have hoped it would be. I’ve never particularly followed Itzy as extensively as I know some more of my K-pop enthusiast friends would have done so (right now, I only very actively follow along with Twice, Red Velvet, (G)I-DLE, Dreamcatcher, and Blackpink), but this show also convinced me that I should be doing exactly that. They’re all amazing performers in their own right, and this show perhaps turned me into a bigger fan than I already was.
For what it’s worth, I first came across Itzy when looking through a list of songs produced by the late music producer and artist Sophie - whose extensive production credits have also included Charli XCX, Vince Staples, Madonna, just among a few. In particular, Sophie had produced the song “24HRS,” which was my introduction to them even before I started more actively listening to K-pop. It’s a great track, and I think that it remains my favourite Itzy song on that note, but alas, it was not performed at the show.
And yet, the songs that we still got were all so much fun. The solo performances made for perfect showcases for each member’s own individual talents at that. In particular, I wanted to single out Ryujin’s “Run Away” and Yeji’s “Crown on My Head” for being the songs where I felt the most energy in their performances. With Ryujin’s own case, you can only feel that there’s so much energy felt in a song that had around a toxic relationship upon which she endured - in how she confronts those demons you still sense that there’s so much energy felt in the fact that she utilized it to become an empowering moment for herself.
With Yeji’s performance of “Crown on My Head” though, I think that I also found that I was watching something that went even beyond the usual K-pop sound that I’ve always associated with many acts - showcasing a greater rock influence to which I’d also found can separate Itzy’s sound from most other acts. That’s not to dismiss their more conventional-sounding tracks, because they’re all very fun as is too, yet given where they started and the more obvious classics that fans would remember, it seems like they’re also showing a sense of growth. It fits, especially with the members’ young ages at that. If anything, Yuna’s own “Yet, But” feels like the perfect dosage of bubblegum pop - especially with herself being the group’s youngest member at that. Chaeryong’s “Mine” offers a nice counterpart too, especially with how this group embraces that “teen crush” image to turn out songs about self-confidence.
Even then, I think that being at this show has also helped me with getting a better taste of K-pop in general. Granted, I’ve always been quite fond of it yet I never really found that I truly appreciated until my experiences at both this show and last year’s Twice concert. The fact that Itzy also had a live band to back up the show was perhaps everything that made being there feel so lively, and even on my way home I’d also found that it gave me the urge to listen to even more.
And I think at the end of it all, I came out of this show thinking that I wanted to see them again. Only for the sake of being able to see the whole lineup perform. But I also found my heart warming when Ryujin went on to say “I think Toronto really reminds me of Lia.” It was a really nice moment, because the four were still able to put on a great show, but deep down we all felt that something was missing even though we were all still living our best moment watching the four of them deliver the best show that they possibly can.
But much like my own experience watching Twice perform last year, I really like how these girls engage with their fans too. For one, it made for a more intuitive show - especially when we saw a video of the group’s fans (they are referred to as MIDZYs) welcoming them to Toronto. It was really sweet, and I even got memories of seeing Twice interacting with the “Onces” who were also prepared to welcome them to Scotiabank Arena last year.
I’ll end this by saying that I found myself becoming a bigger Itzy fan than I already was: I’d also note that I found Born to Be to be one of the best K-pop records in recent memory at that. But knowing that one member was missing from the lineup as we saw them tonight, I’m hoping to be able to see them again with everyone there. Yeah, Itzy aren’t the same when Lia isn’t there, but the fact that Ryujin, Yeji, Chaeryong, and Yuna still put on a great show is highly admirable as is.
I look forward to eventually seeing them again with everyone there.
For a bonus, here’s a few of my favourite songs that didn’t make the show.
At the end of this all though? I’ll also include Samantha’s post about the same concert, as we attended together.
That was such a fun concert to experience together! But I must say the journey to the venue was really such a trek. It made me want an OT5 concert even more. Hopefully the band can come back to Toronto again soon and saw how much love we were able to give them!