Epik High performed at The Warfield in San Francisco on May 28 to a sold out crowd as part of their 2015 North American tour, and it was a homecoming of sorts for the group’s leader Daniel Lee, better known as Tablo. Tablo is no stranger to the Bay Area, having attended Stanford University which was where he first got his start as an underground hip hop artist. Also in the group are fellow rapper Mithra Jin and DJ Tukutz, who both provided lots of comic relief to keep the audience laughing and entertained. The setlist consisted of mostly newer songs from their current YG era, including fan favorites such as “Up”, “Happen Ending”, “Don’t Hate Me”, “It’s Cold”, and “Born Hater” (sans the guest artists). I half expected to see a guest appearance from BigBang’s Taeyang during Tablo’s solo of “Eyes, Nose, Lips”, but alas that was not the case. Still, the group kept the audience engaged with lots of fan service and shout outs. Mithra Jin reluctantly caved in to a request to see his “aegyo”, and Tablo even attempted to FaceTime his daughter Haru during the show, who is arguably just as popular as the group these days. You could really tell that the audience was having fun, and in fact (based on my keen sense of smell) some people were actually getting “epically high” from the comfort of their seats. Overall, it was a fun night of laughs and good music from one of Korea’s biggest names in hip hop. With such overwhelming support from fans and a sold out show, Tablo said that the group will be making a return to the Bay Area in the future so look out for that if you want more Epik High or missed out on this tour.

Written by: JNDrama