A new episode of Mnet’s fantastic MUST Era Of The Band will be broadcast tomorrow, but first here’s what our panel has to say on the episode from June 18th. This week I’m joined by Youngmi of Dream, Girl, Sangha of strangeseasons and Dahee of Dahee’s Plastic Castle. Watch the episode yourself through Mnet’s free VOD service.
This week we get to see Okdal, Windy City, Rock’N’Roll Radio, Monni, Broccoli, you too? and 3rd Line Butterfly cover songs that have served to guide the young.
Anna: Rock’N’Roll Radio!! Very curious to see what Broccoli, you too? will do of this. And yay for another round with 3rd Line Butterfly!
Youngmi: This couldn’t have come at a perfect time for me! I’m definitely in about-to-graduate-from-college-crisis mode so, I’m certainly in need of some guidance and support.
Sangha: Broccoli You Too!!! I haven’t heard anything from Rock’N’Roll Radio so I’m excited to see what they’ll do.
Dahee: Ahhh, another great line-up! I’m so happy to see 3rd Line Butterfly back, and am pleasantly surprised by the inclusion of Okdal and Broccoli, You Too?. I love the diversity of the bands on this show!
Monni vs. Okdal
Anna: Sistar and Super Junior’s Ryeowook are all Okdal fans? Struck me as unexpected at first, before I realized they went on quite many music shows some time back. Dear Cloud’s Nine provide some hints on how to handle Kim Sini. Seems Monni stayed up till 2am the night before the performance and are now very tired. I’d thought late hours were commonplace for
Youngmi: I love Okdal and am pleasantly surprised to see them participate in the competition. As for Monni, looks like our gem, Kim Sini isn’t in the best condition. (Musicals really wears a person out, huh?) They even schedule an evening practice to prepare for the show and we all know Monni never does evening practices. Ruh roh!
Dahee: Uh-oh, Monni’s having trouble…
Monni – “이 밤을 다시 한번” (Cho Ha Moon cover)
Anna: I was a bit skeptical at first, Monni taking on this song, but the arrangement from the start makes it seem like the perfect song for them to cover. My expectations increase the closer it gets to the refrain, but once we’re actually there it’s not quite as powerful as I had expected. It’s all so very straightforward, although I’ll have to say the arrangement is quite good. The audience seem to respond very well to Kim Sini, but to me it was actually his performance that disappointed me the most.
Youngmi: Kim Sini mentions the death of his girlfriend (back when he was in his early twenties) often and it pains me each time because it looks like he never really got over it. Anyways, this song is such a classic and a moving tribute not just to people with broken hearts, but to those who have lost loved ones in any shape or form. I like how Monni arranged it so that we can pay more attention to the beautiful lyrics. For someone who isn’t in the best condition vocally, he sure sings with such perfect emotion. Much better than last week’s for sure!
Sangha: Ah, lovely. They all seem so sincere and somber, I like this much more compared to their last week’s performance .
Dahee: Agreed, this was much better than last week’s performance. The whole effect is rather lovely. I love the candles and the lighting effects, and the guitar. I imagine this is the kind of arrangement that would have gone over very well with the I Am A Singer 2 audience. This is the kind of thing Monni is good at, and I’m glad they did it.
Okdal – “걸어가자” (Lucid Fall cover)
Anna: Delightful song choice! And a very Okdal take on it. I’d rather not have all those other instruments involved though. I can sort of accept the trombone, but the electric guitar line kinda ruins it for me. And the happiness and energy exuded by the drummer does not at all match any of the other things that go on on stage, but that’s more fun than disturbing I’d say.
Youngmi: The performance starts out very simple with a light tone which made me wonder if that was all they planned on doing. However, by the end I was completely taken and I think the audience was too! The song choice couldn’t have been more perfect because they sent a message of strength and support which is more relatable in the context of this theme. I was definitely teary eyed by the end!
Sangha: Love the song choice! But I agree with you Anna, I’m not sure if I quite like the surplus of instruments. Especially the guitar and the trombone. I’d rather see just two of them play it out.
Dahee: Beautiful. Like Youngmi I was worried that they were going to go with the simple, light tone they had in the beginning all the way through, and was relieved when that turned out not to be the case. I think this arrangement is certainly more daring than Monni’s, and that there was a definite danger of it being too repetitive, but they somehow managed to avoid that trap. And the song is just so perfect. The lyrics definitely got to me.
Result
Monni: 235
Okdal: 250
Anna: I don’t feel strongly for either, but had expected Monni to come winning out of this.
Youngmi: Eep, I’m glad Okdal won!
Sangha: Same, I thought Monni would win as well.
Dahee: Whoa! I thought Monni would win for sure. But I’m happy for Okdal.
Rock’N’Roll Radio vs. 3rd Line Butterfly
Anna: I was quite surprised to see Rock’N’Roll Radio get a chance in this competition, but am glad to see they’re getting some more recognition. It’s one of the bands I feel would’ve gotten a lot bigger through Top Band 2 if it hadn’t been for all the big name bands joining. Quite a lot of focus on Rock’N’Roll Radio here too! Getting tips from both Galaxy Express and Crying Nut.
Youngmi: LOL at drummer Suh Hyun Jung’s face as Bong Tae Kyu is suggesting Hello Venus and B1A4 for 3rd Line Butterfly to cover for this week’s mission. She dismisses them right away (much to his dislike hehe) and I can’t wait for the group to cover a Sanolim song!
Dahee: I keep getting surprised by these little surprise cameos. Who’d have thought that Bong Tae Kyu knew the 3rd Line Butterfly members?
Rock’N’Roll Radio – “D.I.S.C.O” (Uhm Jung Hwa cover)
Anna: As excited as I was to Rock’N’Roll Radio, I can’t help but be a bit disappointed with this. Already from the start it falls flat. Not that the arrangement is bad or anything, it’s just not fit for a big stage like this. Had it been shot at Club FF it would’ve been spot on, but I’d need a more elaborate and rich sound from them for this. Great dance moves from Kim Jin Gyu though, lightening up the performance considerably. And they put a bit of their own “Shut Up And Dance” in there as well! I’m liking it a lot more now, but in spite of the cheers from the audience feel like the stage should’ve been smaller for this to work better.
Youngmi: This is actually my first time seeing Rock’N’Roll Radio perform after hearing so much about them! Being as young as they are, I thought they would not only fit the theme well, but also bring the most energy. I appreciate the carefree song choice and it allowed the audience to have fun with the band even more so during the end. That is all I got from the performance, unfortunately.
Dahee: I’m unimpressed. Something about this performance feels shaky to me, like they’re nervous and trying really, really hard not to show it. The arrangement isn’t very imaginative, either. The only thing I like about this is the little instrumental break and Kim Jin Gyu’s smooth moves.
3rd Line Butterfly – “내가 고백을 하면 깜짝 놀랄 거야” (Sanullim cover)
Youngmi: All praise to Nam Sang Ah. Seriously, she’s on some role model business! I’m not going to go into detail here, 3rd Line Butterfly killed it!!
Dahee: I LOVE THEM. I LOVE THEM. I LOVE THEM!!!!!!!!
Anna: At first I thought the song choice was a bit dull, having been recorded by a couple of other artists as recently as last year, but 3rd Line Butterfly are sort of doing their own thing with it. It’s all very stylish, but still rocking. Though to be honest I’d seen all the buzz about this performance before actually watching it myself and consequently my expectations were sky high. While I can definitely both hear and see the appeal of this arrangement, Nahm Sang Ah’s screaming ways make it resemble the Mukimukimanmansu version of the same song more than the “A Heavy Night Fog” part 3 I was craving.
Result
Rock’N’Roll Radio: 216
3rd Line Butterfly: 274
Youngmi: I think 3rd Line Butterfly might end up winning this episode!
Dahee: YES! GO 3RD LINE BUTTERFLY! (…As you can tell, I have still not come down from my high from that performance. Just ignore me for the next few minutes.)
Anna: Wow! That’s a brutal win for 3rd Line Butterfly – and only 10 people did not vote this time! Can’t say I’m all that surprised about the outcome even though I don’t really share the enthusiasm of my fellow panelists.
Windy City vs. Broccoli, You Too?
Youngmi: First, I’d like to send my condolences to Windy City for the loss of their very young guitarist, Oh Jin Woo, a week ago. It’s sad to see him on television with the band after his death, but may he rest in peace. I’m excited to see Windy City cover these two songs for I feel like they will match very well! As for Broccoli You Too, I saw them live at Green Plugged last year and that was when I first heard of the band. I’m excited to see what they have prepared.
Dahee: The guitarist passed away?? Oh no!! That is tragic. :( This sheds an entirely different light on these happy scenes between the band members…
Anna: I had no idea either, that’s so sad!
Windy City – “나도야 간다” + “치키치키 차카차카” (Kim Soo Chul covers)
Youngmi: Well, I prefer this performance than their first appearance on the show. I think one of Windy City’s (and Goonam now that I think of it) strengths is the camaraderie that can be felt on stage and in their music. It’s really comforting to see a band that is so confident in their own sound and work so well together. I enjoyed the performance although maybe there could have been a better transition from one song to the other. It felt like two different entities.
Dahee: I’m not entirely sure why they chose to stick two songs together when the two parts clearly did not mesh at all. I was rather bored by the first half, and then was suddenly woken up by the second, and found myself wishing that they’d gone with the cartoon song cover the whole way through.
Anna: Very chill start! Rather than being bored I dream away to fabulous warm nights in Hongdae or anywhere else in Korea for that matter, the world all smiles. But again with the double songs–as both Youngmi and Dahee have already pointed out they didn’t even go well together. But once the transition has been done I’m enjoying the second half as well–not nearly as much as the first, this being the part where I would probably start moving elsewhere, but I’d still enjoy the sound of it while walking away.
Broccoli, you too? – “세상에 뿌려진 사랑만큼” (Lee Seung Hwan cover)
Youngmi: Oh goodness, the song choice, the arrangement, the paper airplane throwing at the end, everything was SO Broccoli, You Too it’s like I have nothing more to add! It was everything you expected from the band which is not really a bad thing. I enjoyed it and the end was just so darn cute! Look at everyone being so happy and throwing their paper airplanes!
Dahee: Very cute, even if it is an excessively standard arrangement. The paper airplanes was a nice touch, and I loved Ryu-ji’s vocals. I find myself feeling underwhelmed, though, much like I have with most of their music after Gyepy left the band…
Anna: They sort of lost it with me too when Gyepy left the band, even though the songwriting and as we get to hear here the arrangements are still there. This is a very lovely and perfectly Broccoli, You Too? performance. Yet I can’t help but miss Naun and Goonam whenever I see shots of Jandi (even though she too is lovely behind the keyboards). How nice of Windy City to dance along behind the stage!
Result
Windy City: 211
Broccoli, You Too?: 251
Youngmi: Hmm, I thought Windy City was going to win because of their creativity.
Dahee: Not surprising, although a part of me wishes Windy City had won, if only to reward their willingness to experiment.
Okdal vs. 3rd Line Butterfly vs. Broccoli, You Too?
Youngmi: 3rd Line Butterfly for the win!
Dahee: There is no question for me here. 3rd Line Butterfly must win. MUST.
Anna: I don’t feel strongly for either, although its very nice to see two of the newcomers to the show here. While the show continues to be awesome, to me this was the most boring episode so far as for the first time I was missing a definite favorite band in the line-up.
Winner: 3rd Line Butterfly
Youngmi: Looks like there’s one more episode left until the semi/finals?
Dahee: YESSSSSSSS!!!! *jumps up and down and generally acts like a crazy fangirl*
Anna: Congrats! Will be glad to see them in the finals and can hopefully be more excited then. And yeah, the one more episode left was sort of expected I think. With the whole 6 bands every week setup they couldn’t very well add more bands to the final, unfortunately.