ARTMS
For fans of ARTMS, this gig should have been a triumphant celebration of a group who struggled to even exist; they are 5 ex-members of often lauded K-Pop stalwarts LOONA, who fragmented after they won the legal battle to leave their now defunct label in 2023. Many groups have a ‘journey’ they claim to have been on alongside their fans and thank their supporters for their continued obsession, but with ARTMS there actually is a story to follow, and the crowd were ready; many in the queue were discussing the projects of other members and their past experiences seeing Loona, with one claiming she grew up alongside them. This is a truly dedicated fanbase.
At first, it seemed unlikely many fans would even get into the Forum, with queues still snaking round Kentish Town at well past 8 with an advertised door time of half 6. Luckily, I got in just as the DJ set was ending and the lights dimmed, and the light sticks lit up.
This show was part of the group’s ‘Grand Club Icarus’ world tour on the back of their latest EP, and they fully delivered on the ‘Club’ aspect. Opening track ‘Goddess’ descended into a rave version of the track that wouldn’t feel out of place on Charli xcx’s ‘How I’m Feeling Now’. ‘BURN’, ‘Unf/air’ and a fan-voted cover of Lady Gaga’s ‘The Dead Dance’ kept the energy high throughout the first section, while highlighting just how polished they were as performers. Razor-sharp choreography and impressive live vocals combined with genuine enthusiasm and good will towards the audience made for a truly memorable experience.
One of the best feelings at a show is when you can tell the artist is fully enjoying it. A staple of the k-pop show is a ‘ment’ - a break in the performance to take an extended time to talk to the crowd compared to the standard ‘Are you having a good time (insert city) tonight?’ etc. During this you could genuinely tell how much the support was getting to the girls, perhaps enhanced even more by the typical loud UK crowd compared to overseas.
Mid-show, each of the members did a solo track; with Kim Lip, Heejin, Haseul, Jinsoul and Choerry all stepping out on their own. None of them seemed out of place solo, with Jinsoul’s ‘Ring Of Chaos’ still stuck in my head many days later, but a highlight for me (and the rest of the crowd, judging by the response) was ‘Can You Entertain?’ by Kim Lip; a Janet Jackson-esque funky, shimmery pop tune that received a chorus chant that rivalled the groups biggest hits.
A video from fans consisting of fan-art, messages of support and, most importantly, pets dressed up with ARTMS related goods played for the members pre-encore. Whether they were informed of this beforehand or not, the reactions were genuine and heartfelt. Especially to the dogs.
‘Virtual Angel’ from their debut album ‘Dall’ served as an amazing send-off. The spacy, thrilling propulsive anthem of a track being an example of what K-pop as a genre can truly be when done to such a high standard; this was a sentiment that rang true for the entire set. The track was met with a reception similar to a major hit being dropped at a festival, with the crowd chanting the melody as soon as it dropped. The EP’s title track ‘Icarus’ was the centre-piece of the set, with the theme of being ‘reborn like a phoenix wing’ being scattered throughout the evening’s visuals.
The group came back out for a high energy, more casual send off backed by their DJ to a mash-up of many tracks from throughout the night, with the girls messing around on stage and waving to as many people as possible until their wrists ached before exiting the Forum to another deafening cheer.
I have attended many shows in this genre before, including some of the big-hitters on a much larger scale, but this is the best so far. Whether it was the more intimate scale of around 2.4k compared to stadiums, or the genuine enthusiasm from a group who chose to carry on, by the time we all shuffled out onto the streets of Camden I had almost fully forgotten how long we were kept out in the rain.