Stray Kids are indeed everywhere all around the world- and this week that meant California, with the second stop of the DominATE World Tour landing in San Francisco. The icy chill of the Bay breeze couldn’t dampen the crowd’s enthusiasm and the group put even more energy into their performance to keep everyone jumping and dancing to stay warm. It was over three hours of K-pop bliss for the devoted fans at Oracle Park and Atlas was in the middle of the pit for an evening of unforgettable moments.
Emerging from the fog and backed by a marching band in lockstep to the pulsing beat of “Mountains”, the eight members of Stray Kids were a collective vision in glittering white outfits to kick off the show. Bang Chan, Changbin, Hyunjin, Seungmin, Felix, Han, Lee Know and I.N. absorbed the audience’s cheers and channeled that current into massive performances of “Thunderous”, “JJAM” and the addictively catchy choreography of “Back Door”.
Team SKZ was also heavily represented throughout the set, including a medley dance performance of Stray Kids cuts played out in perfect sync by the group’s incredible backup dancers. The live band was highlighted as well as they rocked out behind the scenes and allowed the spotlight to shine on Stray Kids’ individual and combined talents. With so many songs in their catalog now, picking a setlist that fully represents the group must have been a painstaking task and the group fully delivered choices that reflected every era of their journey. High-powered songs like “Chk Chk Boom” and “Domino” had the audience singing along in Korean and English, while Hyunjin’s growl at the end of “God’s Menu” and Han and Changbin’s dueling rap skills were standout moments along the way.
The Kids’ latest mixtape not only inspired the tour name but also gave them new unit songs for the middle of the set. Han and Felix complemented each other perfectly for the emotion and speed of “Truman”, Changbin and I.N. were adorably synchronized for “Burnin Tires” (with the fireworks to back them up), Bang Chan and Hyunjin showed off their sultry side on “Escape” and Seungmin and Lee Know made a movie in real time with “Cinema”. These unit tracks gave each member more chances to shine and demonstrated the group’s chemistry no matter what the combination.
Several outfit changes later found Stray Kids barely scratching the halfway mark of the set and there was no slowing down. The stage extended far into the audience and the members made the most of that space to get up close and personal with fans waving signs, lightsticks, plushies and more in the hopes of catching their bias’ eye. Seungmin- the group’s resident baseball enthusiast- joked about playing “Giant” at the Giants’ stadium during one of their many ments, while the rest of the guys laughed good-naturedly and each took turns being goofy with each other and the crowd. The members were more candid in their speeches for this tour, speaking sincerely and openly about their gratitude towards Stays and their unwavering message of mutual support that exists between Stray Kids and their devoted fanbase.
The biting cold of the night was really settling in when the group took their places at the end of the stage for an emotional performance of “Cover Me” right into the head banging, foot stomping “Topline”. With one of the loudest audiences in K-pop, Bang Chan decided to test the volume control with a competition that had earsplitting screams surely waking up the locals before the main set concluded with “Megaverse” and “Maniac”. Anyone unfamiliar with this group’s game was unprepared for the encore that had the members wheeled around the venue while singing “Super Board”, “I Like It” and “My Pace” before returning to the stage for “Stray Kids” and “Miroh”.
San Francisco was a special night for a tour that’s only just begun, as countless Stays contributed to a video project for the members to watch onstage. Their heartwarming reactions had the fans laughing, crying and smiling ear to ear as the entire venue shared a tangible connection to a group that’s come to mean so much to so many. The final ment of the evening had Bang Chan reiterating that Stray Kids will always be there to lift up their fans in the same way that the group is buoyed by the support given so readily to them at every step along their creative and personal journey. They weren’t ready to relinquish the night and everyone came back onstage for the festival version of “Chk Chk Boom” and “Starlost”, accompanied by a barrage of glittering fireworks that had both the group and the fans looking up in awe.
With so many incredible moments throughout this tour stop, there’s been one main takeaway every time Stray Kids gets onstage- this is a group that truly loves each other and loves their fans. Each member brings unique gifts to the whole of Stray Kids and they each had a spotlight turn in a way that meshed seamlessly with the group. All eight members move in ways that make it so clear that their dynamic goes beyond the music or the live shows- they want to be together and that strength and love makes their performance all the more powerful. Reaching the end of the evening was akin to leaving a party you hope never ends- and Stray Kids have promised over and over that they’ll return as long as their Stays are willing to welcome them back with open arms.
Photos courtesy of JYP Entertainment
