[RECAP]: wave to earth Turned Radio City Music Hall into A Cozy Jazz Bar
Review by Crystal Li
Photo Credit: Crystal Li
On Tuesday, September 29th, wave to earth brought the ( ) pieces tour to the iconic Radio City Music Hall in New York City. With more than 7.8 million monthly listeners on Spotify, wave to earth is one of the most prominent indie bands in the music scene right now. Made up of vocalist/guitarist Daniel Kim, drummer Dong Q, and bassist John Cha, wave to earth has built their identity around a blend of indie rock and lo-fi jazz. The dreamy yet understated sound carried the trio from their middle school days to increasingly larger stages around the world. The Radio City date is part of the band's largest international tour to date, following three sold-out nights at Seoul's Olympic Hall earlier this year.
Rather than immediately reaching for their most well-known songs, wave to earth devoted the opening stretch to their latest studio album, bad pieces, moving through new material including “sing it all again,” “everything comes and goes,” “talking ’bout u,” “skylark,” “courage,” “cherry flavoured love inside your heart” and “hyang.” From there, the set moved into more familiar territory, with the first notes of longtime favorites like “seasons” and “bad” drawing some of the biggest reactions from the crowd.
Photo Credit: Crystal Li
For a band whose music can be remarkably quiet and chill for such a large venue, wave to earth never failed to impress with their ability to connect with their audience. If anything, the contrast became part of its charm. Daniel Kim regularly broke through the band's otherwise laid-back vibe to interact with the crowd, and “annie.” became my personal highlight of the night, with Daniel having fun and asking everyone to sing along with him. Dong Q and John Cha even held a mini Korean lesson to engage with the audience.
That warmth extended beyond the band's frontman. Throughout the evening, each member had room to shine, and I very much enjoyed their solo segments with their instruments. The trio also made a point of recognizing the musicians joining them onstage, including their keyboardist and saxophonist. It made the performance feel like a group of talented musicians genuinely enjoying playing together and having fun.
Lights dimmed after “closing.” , and the band walked off stage, leaving crowd wanting for more. They returned for an encore shortly after, with fan favorites “daisy.,” “homesick” and “love.”
Photo Credit: Crystal Li
I'll admit that wave to earth's slower, lo-fi side isn't normally the kind of music I gravitate toward the most. But it didn't particularly matter. At the end of the day, they know how to make ‘feel-good’ music and put on a show, and I walked out of the venue with a deeper understanding and fascination with how they managed to captivate such a devoted fan base.
Follow their discography here:
