The Maniac World Tour, officially Stray Kids 2nd World Tour "Maniac", is the ongoing second

concert tour A concert tour (or simply tour) is a series of concerts by an artist or group of artists in different cities, countries or locations. Often concert tours are named to differentiate different tours by the same artist and to associate a specific to ...

by South Korean boy band

Stray Kids Stray Kids (; often abbreviated as SKZ) is a South Korean boy band formed by JYP Entertainment through the 2017 reality show of the same name. The group is composed of eight members: Bang Chan, Lee Know, Changbin, Hyunjin, Han, Felix, Seungmi ...

in support of their 2022 extended plays (EPs), ''

Oddinary ''Oddinary'' is the sixth extended play and recorded by South Korean boy band Stray Kids. It was released on March 18, 2022, through JYP Entertainment and Republic Records, seven months after the band's second studio album '' Noeasy'' (2021). The ...

'', ''

Circus A circus is a company of performers who put on diverse entertainment shows that may include clowns, acrobats, trained animals, trapeze acts, musicians, dancers, hoopers, tightrope walkers, jugglers, magicians, ventriloquists, and unicyclis ...

'' and ''

Maxident ''Maxident'' is the seventh Korean-language extended play and by South Korean boy band Stray Kids. It was released on October 7, 2022, through JYP Entertainment and Republic Records, seven months after the release of their preceding EP, '' Oddin ...

'', and 2023 album '' The Sound''. The group traveled to several cities in Asia, North America, and Australia, beginning from April 29 to May 1, 2022, at Jamsil Arena,

Seoul Seoul (; ; ), officially known as the Seoul Special City, is the capital and largest metropolis of South Korea.Before 1972, Seoul was the ''de jure'' capital of the Democratic People's Republic of Korea (North Korea) as stated iArticle 103 of ...

, South Korea, and concluding on April 2 at BMO Stadium,

Los Angeles Los Angeles ( ; es, Los Ángeles, link=no , ), often referred to by its initials L.A., is the List of municipalities in California, largest city in the U.S. state, state of California and the List of United States cities by population, sec ...

, the United States, comprising 42 shows. This is the group's first in-person concert tour in about two years since their first tour District 9: Unlock in 2019–2020.

Background and overview

Stray Kids held their first world tour, District 9: Unlock, in 2019–2020 with 24 shows across Asia, the United States, and Europe, but most shows were canceled or postponed due to the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic, also known as the coronavirus pandemic, is an ongoing global pandemic of coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The novel virus was first identi ...

. On November 22, 2020, the group held their first online concert, titled Unlock: Go Live In Life via Beyond Live and was considered as a continuation of their District 9: Unlock. On February 13, 2022, Stray Kids announced their sixth EP ''

'', scheduled for release on March 18. While teasing the EP, they announced their second world tour, titled Maniac. It is scheduled to begin on April 30 – May 1 in Seoul, South Korea, and travel to several cities in Japan and the United States, comprising 15 shows so far. Avenues and additional shows will be announced soon. The tour is named after the EP's lead single "

Maniac Maniac (from Greek μανιακός, ''maniakos'') is a pejorative for an individual who experiences the mood known as mania. In common usage, it is also an insult for someone involved in reckless behavior. Maniac may also refer to: Film * ' ...

". On March 28, the group announced that the Seoul shows would be held at Jamsil Indoor Stadium, adding an additional date in Seoul on April 29, and the last day of the Seoul shows would be broadcast online via Beyond Live. On April 15, the venues in Japan were announced, holding at

World Memorial Hall or World Hall is a multi-purpose arena located in the Chūō-ku Ward of Kobe, Japan. It has a maximum capacity of 8,000 people and is optimized for large-scale meetings, sport events, trade shows and concerts. It is located on the artificial isl ...

in Kobe, and Yoyogi National Stadium 1st Gymnasium in Tokyo. Additionally, the June 18, and July 27 shows were broadcast exclusively at several movie theaters in Japan through Live Viewing Japan on the same date as the concert, alongside airing as a pay-per-view livestream of June 12 and July 26 shows through several Japanese livestream services. The July 27 show was broadcast through Beyond Live outside Japan. The US leg venues were announced on April 18. On April 23, two US shows were added: one in Newark, and one in Los Angeles, due to overwhelming demand. New three shows in the US: one in Seattle, and two in Anaheim, were additionally added on May 4. On July 3,

JYP Entertainment JYP Entertainment Corporation () is a South Korean multinational entertainment and record label conglomerate founded in 1997 by J. Y. Park. It is one of the largest entertainment companies in South Korea, and operates as a record label, tale ...

announced that the members, Lee Know, Felix, and I.N, tested positive for

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by a virus, the severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2). The first known case was identified in Wuhan, China, in December 2019. The disease quickly ...

, resulting in the shows on July 3 and 6 having been postponed. On July 12, before the show began,

Oakland Police Department The Oakland Police Department (OPD) is a law enforcement agency responsible for policing the city of Oakland, California, United States. As of May 2021, the department employed 709 sworn officers and 371 civilian employees. The department is div ...

announced through

Twitter Twitter is an online social media and social networking service owned and operated by American company Twitter, Inc., on which users post and interact with 280-character-long messages known as "tweets". Registered users can post, like, and ...

about awareness of threats concerning and additional police officers would be present at the event due to a series of tweets, showing threats to shoot and otherwise harm the group, were found, but later not appear to have been disrupted in the show. On July 14, JYP announced that Hyunjin injured his right hand minorly before the Oakland show and would therefore only be partially participating in the rest of the remaining tour. On August 5, Stray Kids announced the two additional Seoul shows, titled Stray Kids 2nd World Tour "Maniac" Seoul Special (Unveil 11). It is scheduled for holding on September 17–18 at

KSPO Dome The Olympic Gymnastics Arena (), also known as the KSPO Dome since 2018, is an indoor arena located within the Olympic Park in Seoul, South Korea. It has a capacity of 15,000 and can be extended upto 20,000. It was constructed between 31 Aug ...

. Songs of their upcoming EP ''

''–"3Racha", "Taste", "Can't Stop", "Circus" (Korean version)–were performed for the first time, alongside " Mixtape: Time Out", and the unreleased Korean version of "Fam" from their Japanese EP '' All In''. On September 29, Stray Kids announced the additional eleven shows in 2023 in Indonesia, Thailand, Singapore, and Australia, including Atlanta and Fort Worth, which postponed from July. On October 4, they announced two additional Melbourne and Sydney shows due to popular demand. On November 4, they announced the two Manila shows, holding on March 11–12, 2023, and encore shows at Saitama and

Osaka is a designated city in the Kansai region of Honshu in Japan. It is the capital of and most populous city in Osaka Prefecture, and the third most populous city in Japan, following Special wards of Tokyo and Yokohama. With a population of ...

in February, and

in April.

Concert synopsis

The concert began with the overture called "SKZ Anthem". After that, Stray Kids appeared on the stage in all-black outfits, adding

spider web A spider web, spiderweb, spider's web, or cobweb (from the archaic word '' coppe'', meaning "spider") is a structure created by a spider out of proteinaceous spider silk extruded from its spinnerets, generally meant to catch its prey. Spi ...

-like silver accessories to perform six songs: "

", "Venom", "Red Lights", "Easy", "All In" (Korean version), and "District 9". "Red Lights", initially performed by Bang Chan and Hyunjin, was shown by whole members, using the black cloth hanging from the ceiling. The show continued with the group wearing student-like costumes to perform "Back Door", "Charmer", "B Me", "Lonely St.", and "Side Effects". In the second half of the concert, the members wore

hanbok The (; term used in South Korea), also called () n North Korea and China, is an umbrella term which is used to refer to traditional ethnic Korean clothes, including the traditional clothing of the (Korean Chinese), an officially recognized ...

to perform "

Thunderous "Thunderous" (, "Singer" (of ''Pansori'')) is a song recorded by South Korean boy band Stray Kids. It was released as the second track of their second studio album ''Noeasy'', and serves as its lead single on August 23, 2021, through JYP Enterta ...

", "Domino", and "God's Menu", and continued with "Cheese" and "Yayaya + Rock". All songs in this part were performed with live band. Following this, the group showcased the sub-unit songs from ''Oddinary''. Bang Chan, Lee Know, Seungmin, and I.N performed "Waiting for Us", appearing in pastel outfits and stand microphone covered by flowers. Sang "Muddy Water", Changbin, Hyunjin, Han, and Felix are clad in black leather jackets. In the final part, the members in white tweed jackets performed "Silent Cry", "Hellevator", "Double Knot", "

Top A spinning top, or simply a top, is a toy with a squat body and a sharp point at the bottom, designed to be spun on its vertical axis, balancing on the tip due to the gyroscopic effect. Once set in motion, a top will usually wobble for a few ...

" and "Victory Song". For

encore An encore is an additional performance given by performers after the planned show has ended, usually in response to extended applause from the audience.Lalange Cochrane, in ''Oxford Companion to Music'', Alison Latham, ed., Oxford University Pre ...

, the group appeared with t-shirts with the word "Maniac" on them. The first song to perform is different each day: "Astronaut" on day 1, "My Pace" on day 2, "Ta" on day 3, and followed by "Miroh", "Star Lost", and "Haven" before the show end.

Critical reception

Todd Inoue from the ''Datebook'' section of ''

San Francisco Chronicle The ''San Francisco Chronicle'' is a newspaper serving primarily the San Francisco Bay Area of Northern California. It was founded in 1865 as ''The Daily Dramatic Chronicle'' by teenage brothers Charles de Young and Michael H. de Young. The ...

'' praised the concert in Oakland as "a glorious evening of reconnection and restoration," and compares the spider motif on the stage to the resemblance of

David Bowie David Robert Jones (8 January 194710 January 2016), known professionally as David Bowie ( ), was an English singer-songwriter and actor. A leading figure in the music industry, he is regarded as one of the most influential musicians of the ...

's 1987

Glass Spider Tour The Glass Spider Tour was a 1987 worldwide concert tour by English musician David Bowie, launched in support of his album '' Never Let Me Down'' and named for that album's track "Glass Spider". It began in May 1987 and was preceded by a two-wee ...

. Writing for ''

NME ''New Musical Express'' (''NME'') is a British music, film, gaming, and culture website and brand. Founded as a newspaper in 1952, with the publication being referred to as a 'rock inkie', the NME would become a magazine that ended up as a f ...

'', Daly Rhian gave five out of five stars for the first day of Anaheim shows, saying that the concert is "anything but ordinary". Crystal Bell from '' Teen Vogue'' called the performances "electrifying" and "relentlessly hype", describing how the group's presence "ignited entire arenas, no words needed". Writing for Sanook.com, Jurairat N. praised the concert as "the best K-pop show in Thailand in 2023 so far". ''The AU Review''s Anastasia Giggins gave four and half out of five stars for the show at Melbourne.

Set list

Shows

Personnel

;Stray Kids * Bang Chan * Lee Know * Changbin * Hyunjin * Han * Felix * Seungmin * I.N ;Band * Bang In-jae – guitarist * Kim Seung-ho – drummer * Ku Bon-am – bassist * Moon Sang-soon – keyboardist

Notes

References

External links

* {{Stray Kids 2022 concert tours 2023 concert tours Beyond Live Concert tours of Australia Concert tours of Indonesia Concert tours of Japan Concert tours of Singapore Concert tours of South Korea Concert tours of Thailand Concert tours of the United States