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Maroon 5 kicks off Korea Tour

September 8, 2015

Maroon 5 performs at Olympic Park in Songpa-gu, southeastern Seoul, Monday. It was the first concert in the group’s fifth Korea tour. (Courtesy of Live Nation Korea)

By Yun Suh-young

SEOUL — It was a near-deafening experience to sit near the stage next to the standing section as the crowd went wild throughout the concert — the screams, which echoed through the stadium, almost numbed the eardrums.

The first Maroon 5 concert opening the band’s Korean tour was held at Olympic Park in eastern Seoul, on Monday evening. The concert was part of a world tour celebrating the release of the album “V.”

The first concert was scheduled to have been held in Daegu on Sunday but was cancelled an hour before the start because of singer Adam Levine’s “neck muscle problems.” It was unclear whether he had a throat problem or a neck problem.

With the Daegu concert rescheduled for Thursday, the band faced complaints from fans who asked for refunds, while others worried whether they could make the rescheduled concert.

Due to the postponement in Daegu, fans who had bought tickets for the Seoul concert on Monday worried whether the concert would be held as scheduled.

But Maroon 5 did not change the schedule for its Monday and Wednesday concerts in Seoul.

The Monday concert opened with performances by Dirty Loops, a rising Swedish band that gained popularity for “Wake Me Up.”

When the band’s performance ended at 8:30 p.m., the crowd had to wait 30 minutes for the stage set to be changed.

Maroon 5 lead vocalist Adam Levine performs at Olympic Park in Songpa-gu, Seoul, Monday. (Courtesy of Live Nation Korea)

At 9 p.m., Maroon 5 appeared and the 13,000 fans went wild as the band kicked off the concert with “Animals.”

Then lead vocalist Adam Levine sang “One More Night, “Stereo Hearts,” “Harder to Breathe,” “Lucky Strike,” and “Wake Up Call” non-stop without saying a word to the audience.

He seemed a little pained when singing the higher notes, looking at times as if he was squeezing out all his energy. A white patch was stuck to the back of his neck.

Before beginning “Love somebody,” Levine finally greeted the audience, saying “annyonghaseyo” which is “hello” in Korean.

“This is one of our favorite places to play. We love it here, we love you guys. So thank you,” he said.

He seemed to sing this song with all his heart, as if to send his love to the crowd.

The concert was a party for the crowd and by the crowd, as the band invited people to join in singing several songs.

Maroon 5 let the crowd sing the first verse of “This Love.”

For the first verse of “Payphone,” Levine and four of his band members sang in a cappella.

When the band played the last song, “Daylight,” the crowd stood and waved placards that read “Don’t Go.”

When the band left the stage, the crowd started singing a melody that was unidentifiable except by Levine, who returned with his guitarist and began singing “Lost Stars.”

“I’m singing this because you started singing it first,” Levine said.

“Lost Stars,” from the movie “Begin Again,” starring Levine and Keira Knightley, topped local music charts. Levine singing the song was unexpected, because it was not on the encore list.

The band then sang “She Will Be Loved,” “Moves Like Jagger,” and “Sugar.”

Before singing “She Will Be Loved,” Levine told the crowd, “Wherever we go all over the world, it’s here in Korea where we have the best crowd, the most enthusiastic and awesome.

“Every time we come here, the band unanimously agrees that you are the best.”