I attended all four dates of TWICE’s Ready to Be tour in Australia. This is how it went.
Seven years into their career, TWICE have come to Sydney and Melbourne for the first time to perform four sold-out shows. Attending the same concert more than once may sound like a waste of money, but I saw my girls four times in the six years I had waited. My other excuses? Different solo stage outfits each concert, different tracks played during the soundcheck and encores and of course, more TWICE.
On Tuesday the 2nd of March, I arrived at Qudos Bank Arena at 2 pm, one hour before doors opened for soundcheck. I was early due to the excitement of seeing the girls, which allowed me to look around at the people that were just as overjoyed as me. My Nayeon's title track POP! replicant outfit, a denim butterfly top with denim pants, a butterfly chain belt and my bright blonde hair, had loyal onces doing double takes. Some were dressed like me, and others replicated iconic TWICE outfits or tour merchandise.
Once I was shown my seat by security, the reality started to hit me. I was only a few seats away from the barricade, so my view of the stage was perfect. It hit 5 pm when the girls came on the stage in casual outfits, with their microphones.
For onces, the first soundcheck was a perfect make-up for the lack of bsides on the tour setlist. Wallflower, Say Something and Love Foolish were sung while the girls waved and interacted with fans.
The concert started around 7:35 pm, and the girls opened with their most recent release, Set Me Free, followed by an earlier title, I Can’t Stop Me. The concert is casual-listener friendly, as they perform almost all of their title tracks, including hits Fancy, What is Love? and Talk That Talk. For once, b-sides like Queen of Hearts and When We Were Kids develop a closer bond between the girls and their fans.
Each member performed solo songs instead of unit groups on their tour for the first time. This allowed each member to show off their skills. For Momo, it was a dance performance to Beyoncè’s Move that ended with pole dancing; the audience has never been louder. Chaeyoung and Dahyun stepped back from their rap positions to show off their guitar and piano skills, two heart-warming performances.
Biasedly, my favourite solo performance was Nayeon’s POP!. As it's the only TWICE solo song released as a single, it was a fan favourite. Streamer explosions during the chorus, a special dance tour-only break, and powerful live vocals had the audience popping together.
TWICE's synchronisation during each concert is impressive for a group of nine girls. Their powerful vocals and fun interactions with the audience never slowed despite their minor microphone issues at Sydney day two and Melbourne day one concerts.
Of course, four days' worth of concert preparation means there are bound to be some issues outside the girls' control. Momo experienced a wardrobe malfunction in Melbourne on day one, which resulted in her leaving at the end of Moonlight Sunrise and joining back in the middle of Brave.
The translator of Melbourne day one was seemingly less prepared than the Sydney translator, having even uncertainty about the tour title, Ready to Be. Besides this, the TWICE girls still performed their best and put on a fantastic show for my mother and best friend who attended that date.
The final concert, Sunday, May 7th at Rod Laver Arena, was the best for myself and the girls on stage. I had managed to get A reserved floor seat at the last minute, so my view was more than enough. The girls had never looked so happy – fun interactions with once, a quick Stray Kids Thunderous cover – and much fewer wardrobe malfunctions and microphone issues.
After the stadium screamed ‘one more song’ as TWICE were leaving after their 2nd encore track, TT, the girls decided to perform one of their best b-side tracks one last time, Say Something. That was enough proof for me and others that these girls had just as much fun touring in Australia as we did.
Final Australia tour dates ranking:
Sunday, 7th May (Melbourne Day Two)
Wednesday, 3rd May (Sydney Day Two)
Tuesday, 2nd May (Sydney Day One)
Saturday, 6th May (Melbourne Day One)
Jade Psihogios is a 3rd year studying for a Bachelor of Media, majoring in Journalism. She consumes all forms of media, including niche Korean-pop girl group releases and Oscar-nominated feature films. You will either find her studying with ASMR no-talking in the background or trying to buy VIP concert tickets in class.
