From Manila To Montreal, Dreamcatcher Kicks Off Latest Travels With Unforgettable Performances

From the beginning, Dreamcatcher has had touring and performances around the world in their blood, not only being built by the company to be a group that travels, but also in the enjoyment that each member seems to feel when they are performing in front of their fans live. Excluding the pandemic years, Dreamcatcher has traveled abroad every single year since debut.

As such, it should be no surprise that not only did Dreamcatcher head back out on the road this past week, but that they put on some really great shows for fans in places that they’d either never been or hadn’t been in a few years. As always, the performances and memories from such shows delivered in spades. Let’s take a look at what the group was up to this past week concert-wise and more!

Gahyeon continued her content release storm this past week with two more videos - one continuing her Jeju island adventures (including another view of the fishing video from a while back and the other appearing in the Doosan Bears baseball team’s official YouTube channel practicing her first pitch. It’s unfortunate that the latter didn’t pan out due to rain, but we did get to see Dreamcatcher’s youngest hurl a picture-perfect throw into the mitt of a catcher in the practice facility. Either way, I think Gahyeon is having a great time doing things that are outside of the standard vlog-type content that you’d expect.

Speaking of things that I didn’t expect, I wasn’t sure if “Dami reading and reacting to scary stories” was on my Dreamcatcher bingo card this year. Ensconced in her comfortable studio setup and with a few bits of decoration that heightened the horror mood, Dami spent the 2nd episode of her “Dam Tok Bang” series reading some pretty disturbing fiction.

This was really fun and interesting content. With some filmed footage interspersed with some of what Dami thought of the story, it made things better than it being just a static shot of Dami reading the story. And of course, in a calm and logical manner, Dami’s explanations and rationale were always welcome. I could definitely see her taking on voiceover or narration in the future, as she seems to possess the balance of natural inflection and calm demeanor necessary to pull it off.

Before we get to what Dreamcatcher did concert-wise this week, there was another good bit of news - KPOP LUX, from the organizers who put together an event in Madrid earlier in the year and who were part of organizing last year’s KPOP FLEX in Germany, confirmed that Dreamcatcher will be in the lineup for their London event in late September. This marks the 2nd time that the group will hit up the United Kingdom and another opportunity for folks to see them. The KPOP LUX website has some details and the O2 Arena is selling tickets to this event, so be sure to check it out if you’re able!

Rewinding back to this past week, however, the main attraction was Dreamcatcher’s return abroad. Their first stop was Manila in the Philippines, to return to Southeast Asia for the first time since before the pandemic. To their credit, local organizer and sponsor Random Minds PH seemed to do a good job with creating and putting together an event that didn’t just have the group performing - they had a package of benefits for VIP customers, as well as a fanzone for folks to commiserate and check out goods. The impression from the event appeared to be generally positive, not the least of which was because of Dreamcatcher’s over 2-hour set.

The highlight of this, besides a couple of costume changes and a setlist of both old favorites and new songs was the debut of a couple of the latest tracks from Dreamcatcher outside of South Korea. Apocalypse: From Us B-side “DEMIAN”, to me, was the highlight of the concert, as fans only got to see the choreography as shown in a Special Clip for “DEMIAN” only a few days prior. The Philippines got a treat in seeing it in full stage view for the first time, and not surprisingly, fans enjoyed it a ton.

And of course, recent title track “BONVOYAGE” was also a welcome addition, and also a debut outside of South Korea from a live standpoint. These first-time performances always seem to have great energy behind them and with good reason - many fans attending this event hadn’t seen the group in years, so to get exclusives like this had to be a nice treat for them.

Some of the existing recent discography also hadn’t been performed in Southeast Asia outside of South Korea before either, so fans getting to see the 2020-and-beyond songs from Dreamcatcher, along with some of the not-so-serious fanservice-y moments made normally chill and seated songs like 2020’s “Jazz Bar” more fun than they normally are. Coupled with old-school throwbacks like “Mayday”, “Wake Up”, “Deja Vu”, and more, the crowd energy was at an all-time high - a worthy way to start things off for Dreamcatcher’s travels.

In Montreal, the throwbacks continued, as 2017’s “GOOD NIGHT” and “Fly High” and more accompanied all the modern tracks from 2023’s releases, to the delight of Canadian fans. Despite a lugging handling mishap that caused Dreamcatcher’s luggage, including outfits and makeup, to be delayed, the group adapted well, with staff picking out clothes and cosmetics to supplement what was still lost. As always, Dreamcatcher was bright and energetic, and excited to be in yet another new country for the first time.

Additionally, the tour once again created memories during talking time, as the group had a bevy of some of the best of their special clip or cover dances to show off for Montreal. The list included JiU and Yoohyeon doing “Monster” from Red Velvet Irene and Seulgi, Dami covering SEVENTEEN’s “Super”, Siyeon dancing to Blackpink Jisoo’s “Flower”, and more, with the highlight being multiple covers of classic SuA choreography for Camila Cabello’s “Havana”. The first show on a Dreamcatcher tour is usually the one where planned show items get observed to see what pops the crowd, and it was clear everyone had fun watching a more varied version of the solo cover medley of the summer 2022 tour.

The show ended on now-seemingly-standard 2019 hype song “Silent Night”, and Dreamcatcher didn’t seem to want the night to end, which likely explains why they performed the last portion of it, with fans standing and jumping, multiple times. Sending the crowd home happy and full of the high energy Dreamcatcher maintained throughout the entire show seemed to be the group’s mission, and if so, they passed it with flying colors.

The latest Dreamcatcher tour is underway, and we have a week of shows from their travels yet to come. Be sure to check in here for all of the latest info and impressions next week, as we continue to follow the news of the latest tour! In the meantime, here is the Montreal setlist for all of you who are wondering:

• Scream (Dystopia: The Tree of Language, 2020)
• Odd Eye (Dystopia: Road to Utopia, 2021)
• The Curse of the Spider (Raid of Dream, 2019)
• MAISON (Apocalypse: Save Us, 2022)
• BOCA (Dystopia: Lose Myself, 2020)
• DEMIAN (Apocalypse: From Us, 2023)
• Propose (Apocalypse: From Us, 2023)
• Break the Wall (Dystopia: The Tree of Language, 2020)
• Tension (ENG Version) (Dystopia: The Tree of Language, 2020)
• Diamond (The End of Nightmare, 2019)
• GOOD NIGHT (Fall Asleep in the Mirror, 2017)
• Fly High (Prequel, 2017)
• To. You (Apocalypse: From Us, 2023)
• Fairytale (Apocalypse: Follow Us, 2022)
• Wonderland (Alone in the City, 2018)
• Jazz Bar (Dystopia: The Tree of Language, 2020)
• BONVOYAGE (Apocalypse: From Us, 2023)
• REASON (REASON, 2023)
• Can't Get You Outta My Mind (Dystopia: Lose Myself, 2020)
• Silent Night (Raid of Dream, 2019)