[Review] TXT ‘Sweet Mirage’ Tour
On their third tour, Act: Sweet Mirage, Tomorrow X Together have brought two very specific things, production and pure talent.
The K-Pop five-piece have stunned global fans this year. Image: TXT Official Twitter.
The lights dim. The mesmerizing “Sugar Rush Ride'' music video comes to an end. The first VCR begins, welcoming the crowd into the mysterious world of TXT lore, and the spellbinding Sweet Mirage world tour. After debuting in 2019, the five-piece have taken the K-pop world by storm, amassing millions of fans who travelled far and wide to witness one of their latest live shows.
The first VCR of the TXT concert consists of a story told about the five boys going on a journey and suddenly hearing the voice of the devil whispering to them, “Drink this.” The members of TOMORROW X TOGETHER appear on screen entering the magical red and gold room and show up on the screen one by one: Choi Beomgyu, Heuning Kai, Kang Taehyun, Choi Soobin, and Choi Yeonjun.
They are greeted with a green drink which only Yeonjun dares to touch and contemplates drinking. With that, the clock strikes and the screens go to black. Reignited by stars and wonder, everything turns blue and the group everyone travelled to see comes to the stage: TOMORROW X TOGETHER.
Entertaining fans of all kinds
After starting the show with “Blue Hour,” the group sings eight songs in a row before the next VCR, giving them limited time to breathe and the crowd maximum time to give TXT all the energy they can muster. There are occasional pauses in the sprint of songs — like when they introduce themselves one by one, as well as after “Cat and Dog.” TXT do the famous barking call and response after the song, barking like big and small dogs, and having their MOA fans repeat after them.
Though they exit the stage for quick changes and tonal shifts, like before “Can’t You See Me?,” the group is almost nonstop. But, they never once drop their energy or excitement to see all MOA, new and old.
The second VCR commences, showing Beomgyu and Soobin playing with the magic of the room, Yeonjun adding a green sugar cube to his drink, Kai experimenting with levitation, and Taehyun finding something eerily new: a portal to a new world. In it, a faceless woman reaches for them, inviting them in. Soobin reaches his hand out and, as a surprised look appears on his face, a red liquid begins to drop. The screen goes black once again.
TXT reappears lined up on the stage as the intro to “0X1 = LOVESONG” begins to play. Taehyun screams “I know I love you,” and the group is back to continue the night with fans. They sing some of their most loved songs back to back, with “LO$ER = LOVER” followed by “Dear Sputnik”, and “Magic.”
Good and evil, light and dark
Leading to a darker concept, the third VCR presents the group with a threatening dragon-like being and a mysterious blue liquid that is well-known to the fans of prior music videos and lore.
To start the next trio of songs, pairings of Beomgyu and Soobin and another of Kai and Taehyun perform a dance intro specifically made for this tour, which leads to a solo dance by Yeonjun. Going from “Opening Sequence” to “Anti-Romantic” to “Eternally,” light and dark go back and forth, fluctuating between heavy, body shaking beats and heavenly, tear jerking vocals.
The storyline progresses and dark is brought to light with “Good Boy Gone Bad” moving to “Tinnitus.” As the newer songs begin to play, the crowd knows that the night is dwindling, but their enthusiasm doesn’t. Less choreographed songs like “Angel or Devil” and “Ice Cream” give TXT time to have fun, dance however they like, and interact with the many fancams that are being recorded from the floor seats.
Image: Eliza Orlic for Cherry Chu Magazine.
Shortly after The Name Chapter: TEMPTATION was released, Yeonjun created his own choreography to the track “Happy Fools,” which became a dance challenge on social media and is now one of the highlights of Act: Sweet Mirage. Yeonjun and the other members teach the whole audience the dance to “Happy Fools” and pick two people to do the dance on the big screens. After their next song and most recent single “Sugar Rush Ride,” they leave for one last outfit change and the penultimate VCR.
TXT are shown underwater on the screen, trying to escape the world that they’ve fallen into. There are flashes of their adventure so far, reminding them of where they have been. Soobin’s memory shows him saving the boys from Yeonjun’s curiosity by knocking the glass of green liquid away from his lips. It shatters on the ground. The venue goes dark.
An emotional goodbye
On the stage, three candles are lit and TXT sit elegantly in a small boat where they croon through “Farewell, Neverland.” The last VCR shows a message that they want all MOA to remember. “Though the eye-blinding winds and speed of falling may trap me in horror, though I may be scared, I won’t run away.”
The sign of the concert coming to an end: TXT arrives for their last two songs in Act: Sweet Mirage T-shirts. First, an unreleased song is sung, “Blue Spring,” which was written for and dedicated to MOA.
The final song, “Our Summer,” is sung once by TXT and the chorus is repeatedly played for the audience to sing it back to the boys. Though the song comes to an end, the goodbyes last almost ten minutes as each member walks around every part of the stage, waving and talking to the crowd. They each slowly make their way to the back of the stage and line up for a final bow.
As a screen comes down in front of them, only their feet can be seen until even they are finally gone. The concert is over, but with promises of coming back, it won’t be the last one.
You can listen to the TXT Act: Sweet Mirage tour setlist via the Cherry Chu Spotify below:
Edited by Gabii Rayner.
