Ephney Tsai Photo Credit: Alive Coverage
Selling out The Wiltern, a historic LA venue, is an impressive feat, and rookie group NMIXX did just that this past Friday. At the third stop of their Nice to MIXX You U.S. Showcase Tour, the girl group heated up the chilly evening with an impressive show for their fans, known as NSWER.
Being a showcase tour rather than a full concert, the event was short and sweet, consisting of memorable performances, one game, detailed explanations of each song performed, and explosive liveliness from both NMIXX and NSWER. The show began with a powerful performance of the group’s debut album B-side track, “Tank,” showing off their synchronization and strong vocals from the very start. The group moved through each song with ease, whether they were slower songs such as “COOL (Your Rainbow)” and “My Gosh,” or upbeat songs such as “PAXXWORD” and “Just Did It.” Even despite the tough choreography, the girls never faltered, displaying amazing vocal range, breath control, and stability as they sang and danced through each track. In particular, the group put their harmonious vocals front and center, meshing Haewon and Sullyoon’s low vocals, Lily’s high notes, Bae’s wispy tone, and Kyujin and Jiwoo’s emphatic rap verses.
Prior to their performance of “Young, Dumb, Stupid,” main dancer Kyujin gave the audience a quick tutorial of their point dance. After the song, the group prepared a game with their fans that would consequently lead to a “prize.” The audience was split into three sections, and each section was instructed to sing the chorus, with the members’ help, one after the other. Once NMIXX was satisfied with the result, they dove right into two starkly contrasting performances, a cute cover of TWICE’s “TT” and a powerful cover of David Guetta’s “Hey Mama.”
Performing songs from their debut track, “O.O,” to their latest title song, “Love Me Like This,” the group sang a total of 14 songs within just an hour and a half. Despite the wide variety of songs, though, the highlight performance of the evening was, without a doubt, the group’s second title song, “DICE.” Fans anticipated this performance most, yet the energy surge throughout the whole venue was still enough to shock anyone. Throughout the whole night, the members performed with the eager energy of a rookie group paired with the confidence of a veteran group, yet this particular song highlighted this unique mix best. “DICE” was welcomed with loud cheers and fan chants by devoted NSWERs. Reciprocating the crowd’s passion, the group executed the powerful choreography and incredible high notes with no trouble. NMIXX shouted “Who are we?!” into the microphone before singing the iconic “NMIXX change up, let’s go!” line, but that line could barely be heard over the fans who sang along and shook the venue in excitement.
As the evening came to a close following the group’s two encore songs were over, each member bid the crowd goodbye with promises to come back with their own full concert next time: “Even if the plane ride takes ten hours, we will still come again, prepared with more cool performances for you.”
