[Concert Recap] TAEMIN in Frankfurt

On March 7th, Taemin held his Ephemeral Gaze concert in Stadthalle Offenbach .For KpopConcertsEurope we were allowed to review & photograph the concert, which we are very grateful for!

When we entered, there was a nice atmosphere in the venue. People were excited but calm, there was space enough to get to the cloakroom or toilets. The venue is small, maybe too small for an amazing artist like Taemin, but it made for a very cozy atmosphere, and everyone was able to see THE Lee Taemin from up close. A unique opportunity!

Before the concert started, they explained the rules and wished us a good time, all in German. Criminal starts playing to hype the audience up, and then the VCR starts, a display of unique art, including a heartbeat and flawless transitions.

Then Taemin makes his epic entrance, lights illuminating him from behind, and Deja Vu starts playing. The big screens on either sides capture him well, so everybody in the venue can see his moves. The bass was heavy - our whole bodies shook with the vibrations! The audience was watching as they were enchanted by Taemin’s presence, but when Guilty started they did start to sing along. Then Advice started, accompanied by a background of a chess play.

All the songs are played with amazing female back-up dansers, who are really enhancing the performances by their power and forms. When Goodbye starts, Taemin is performing alone; the song was first only released in Japanese called Sayonara Hitori, and it shows how unique Taemin as a performer is. The dancers come back for IDEA, the crowd singing and moving alone. For Heaven he uses back lighting to show his silhouette, making the performance even more impactful.

The stage changes and they bring in a chair for I’m Crying. The energy is calmed down a bit, because after that the ballads Clockwork and Not Over You start playing.

During the Ments, Taemin recaps each song and sings a bit acapella. For an artist who first debuted as purely a dancer, we are blown away by his vocals! When he sings Heaven acapella, the audience keeps singing, and they turn on the lights so he can see the fans better. He also sings Soldier acapella - a song that unfortunately isn’t on the setlist today.

Before The Unknown Sea, Taemin asks us to put on our flashlights. It illuminates the whole venue, and is a truly beautiful sight. At Blue he takes out his in-ear to hear his fans sing better.

It’s time to put their dancers in the spotlight they deserve! They each get a dance solo, with their names on the screen behind them. Thank you so much Jihyang, Dora, Minji, Rozalin, Jihyun Lim & Suzy Hong for your amazing energy and performances!

Taemin comes back wearing his famous red outfit. The chairs are shaking from the bass from G.O.A.T, and it continues to flow into The Rizzness as the show continues. Many fans hold up their phones to film, as it surely is a song you want to capture for your memories! Then his newest song Sexy In The Air, and truly, the vocals and performances are even better live than on CD.

There’s a short pause and a ment, where Taemin gets his microphone and hair fixed and can get a drink. He sings a bit from Move with us, which the fans continue to sing the background vocals for, and he invites us all to make an album together. Yes please!

Next up, not surprisingly, is Move itself, with even more fans filming the iconic song. Then even more hit songs are being played. First Want, then Criminal. Before Criminal you can see him preparing the piece of fabric around his wrists for this choreo, and the audience cheers. He finishes the song with a strong dance break himself. Then it’s time for Horizon, a song that became one of my new favorites after today! The crowd agrees, jumping along energetically.

A break, with the audience yelling his name, and then it’s time for the Encore, wearing his tour merchandise. For the encore he plays Danger and Crush, and he looks so happy to perform for us that it’s truly contagious. Thre’s no time to feel sad that it’s almost ending!

To thank us, he wants to sing another song, and asks us to put on our flashlights again. We are blessed with a performance of Pansy, where he sits on the edge of the stage at first, then stands up and takes out his earphone again. Afterwards it’s time to make a picture together with the German flag, and he tries to say some things in German. To finish off, the last song he performs is Say Less, accompanied by a confetti canon. It’s really all too happy to feel sad! When saying goodbye, he bows to the audience for a long, long time - longer than I ever saw someone bow and the end of a concert. It truly shows how humble and grateful he is, even when he is one of the most well-known artists from South Korea.

Thank you so much Taemin for giving us a night to never forget!

Review & Photography by Eva

Setlist