Following his Los Angeles and San Jose shows, Dean came to San Francisco’s Origin SF nightclub on Saturday, February 23 as a part of Creative Digital Agency’s Confidential w/ DEANTRBL.
Opening up the night, DJs GGZ and Kepik took turns hyping up the crowd with remixes of both American and Korean songs. They played mainstream classics like Soulja Boy Tell’em’s “Crank That (Soulja Boy)” and Ed Sheeran’s “Shape of You.” But it was Blackpink’s “Ddu Du Ddu Du” and BTS’ “Fake Love” that excited the crowd, leading to familiar fan chants heard on music shows. After two hours of anticipation, Dean finally emerged to host the rest of the night.
Dean kicked off his portion of the show with “Put Your Hands on Me,” and he grooved around the DJ table and jumped on speakers throughout the show so he could connect with all sections of the audience. He built up the next song, “Fanxy Child,” by instructing the crowd to say “ge ge ge get” whenever he said “fanxy child” and vice-versa. Although Fanxy Child members Zico and Crush were not present, Dean made the song amazing with the help of the audience.
After a quick water break, Dean spoke to the crowd in English explaining how he was only supposed to have a show in Los Angeles, but he specifically told his manager that he wanted to come to the Bay Area. Beyond pleased, the crowd cheered.
Next was “love” with its catchy “I know, I know” chorus. The music cut out and Dean stood on the DJ table speaker to sing the provocative pre-chorus acapella. Then, he urged the ladies of the audience to make some noise, followed by the gentlemen before launching into the up-tempo “21.” Dean whipped out his black baseball cap in rhythm, which lead into the beat drop and rap.
Dean took a step back to quiet down the audience for the mellow “D (Half Moon).” He smiled lovingly when he realized the crowd knew every lyric of the song. Dean rapped the part usually done by Gaeko and ended the song with of his signature falsetto ad-libs.
He then asked the crowd energetically “Are you guys ready to turn up?” and the crowd screamed excitedly in reply. However, when the DJ started the next song, it was the chill and mellow “Instagram” instrumental that came on. Dean immediately became shy and laughed at his own mistake as his DJ playfully pinched him on the cheeks and restarted the song.
“I’m Not Sorry,” his United States debut song, was next. He performed the entire song in his ever-improving English and moved close to the crowd, even letting one girl in the front row hold his hand. At the climax of the song, he even sprayed water on the audience and then took a short break to sip some alcohol before going into what was supposedly the last song of the night.
Dean performed another Fanxy Child track, “Bermuda Triangle,” and took turns singing the song with the audience who shouted along to every word. Instead of Zico’s rap, he did his own verse and maintained a fiery energy throughout.
After “Bermuda Triangle,” the audience begged for another song and Dean happily obliged them with “Pour Up,” perhaps the most fitting song to close out a show at a nightclub. He made sure to cater to all sides of the stage and when it came time for Zico’s rap, he did it justice and again stood up on the highest point on the stage to engage with his fans.
Origin SF was a great venue for the kind of intimate, authentically live performances like this one that Dean is known for. Apart from his flawless vocals, he made sure that the crowd never grew tired or bored. Here’s hoping to Dean returning with new music and tours soon!