Gakusei Travels

Psychic Fever at Howard Theater

Today I went to a concert!

One of my favorite music groups is a Japanese boy group called Psychic Fever from Exile Tribe (or Psyfe for short!) The group consists of seven members: Tsurugi, Ryoga, Ryushin, Ren, Jimmy, Kokoro, and Weesa. I believe the group was established in 2019, but their official major debut wasn’t until 2022. This year, 2025, they are going on their first ever American tour, and when I saw that they were going to Washington D.C. while I’d be there, I desperately wanted to go.

I waited to finalize all the details with my job and getting settled at work before I bought my ticket. I actually have not been to many concerts before. Actually, only two. In 2018 I saw BTS in Chicago and in 2023, I saw KARD, another Kpop group, while I was in LA. Concerts tend to be super expensive, and while I’d love to go see more groups I like, it’s just not cost effective for me. Buying Kpop concert tickets is also like competing in the Hunger Games…if you do manage to beat out the other fans, the tickets are often several hundred dollars. Most of the time, these groups don’t even come to my state, which means I have to travel to Chicago. The concert ticket, gas, and a hotel for the night make going to concerts too difficult. When I find myself in a city and there’s a group I want to see, I take full advantage of the opportunity.

The concert was at The Howard Theater. Given that the concert was on a Sunday, I knew it would be rough since I have to work the next day. I tried my best to plan ahead. I ironed my clothes for the next day, packed my lunch, and I made dinner early so that when I got back, I could eat, shower and go to bed. I actually had to run to Target to pick up an item I forgot. On my way, I ran into another one of the interns. When I mentioned I’d be going to a concert that night she says “you know you’re going to be tired tomorrow, right?”

…

DUH!

I already know I’m setting myself up. I’m still going （；＿；）not only did I already buy the ticket, but I was beyond excited to see the groups. Nothing was going to stop me.

The show wasn’t until 7PM but the venue doors opened at 6. I arrived about 5:45ish and the line to get in was already wrapped around the block. It was kinda crazy cause I was seriously wondering when the people at the front of the line arrived. I was also kinda glad to see that so many people were coming to see Psychic Fever. I feel like they’re popular to a niche group of fans, so I was happy to see that many people in the area loved their music.

The Howard Theatre kind of gave me the vibe of a club. There was limited booth seating and a bar. Unless you paid for the table, you had to stand in the center of the room in front of the stage. I didn’t particularly mind. I was kinda towards the side and back. I wish I could’ve gotten closer to the stage for a better view cause I’m short and it was really hard to see the performance. Especially with people holding their phones up to video tape and this girl in front of me had some sort of fan sign. Unpopular opinion but I think holding signs should be banned from concerts. You are literally blocking so many people and it’s pretty annoying. But that’s just me.

I still did have a good time though. I don’t really like to be that person who’s videotaping the whole time, but I was literally using my phone to see some of the time. (If only I were a couple inches taller). I don’t even really plan to post the videos I did take cause most people probably wouldn’t care nor watch them lol. I think I just took it to remember the energy and atmosphere. At one point I ran out of storage on my phone. I deleted games so quickly to make more room (￣∇￣)

The performance itself was amazing and honestly, the vibes were club-like but fun. The group had so much energy and the vocals were so much better in person. One of the best parts about music is how it transcends language. Though the songs were in Japanese, everyone knew all the lyrics and could sing along together. My favorite member of the group has always been Jimmy, with Weesa being a close second. Jimmy is half Nigerian and half Japanese, and I just always loved seeing someone black in the J-pop scene. Plus he’s such a talented musician, and his two songs with Weesa, Shotgun and Perfect, are probably my top favorites.

I think maybe Psychic Fever’s most popular song would be Just like Dat. It blew up like crazy when it first came out, and that’s actually what got me into them. Their most recent song, What’s Happenin’, might be in the running now for my favorite. I don’t know. Whenever they drop something new I switch up hahaha. After the concert though I realized that I haven’t listened to their entire discography yet. Some songs I weren’t familiar with so for the next week as I make Psychic Fever my next hyper fixation, I will listen to their older songs.

The concert actually wrapped up about 8:30. I had heard there was an after party or something, and as cool as it would’ve been to go, I had to be a responsible adult and go home to get ready for work the next day lol.

I did get a couple things of merchandise, a keychain and a tshirt. Strangely, they didn’t sell any of the clothes in person. You had to order it online and ship it to yourself, which was fine. I just wanted my concert shirt. I took the metro to the show to save money, but I took an Uber home. I wanted to make sure I stayed safe since I was by myself and didn’t want to try to navigate the subway at night.

In the end I actually got home at 9 o’clock. Not as late as I thought. Overall, I had a good time and was so glad I got to see the group. I definitely can’t hear after tonight lol. I may look to see if there’s any other performers I like that are coming to D.C. I have to see all that I can while I’m here and make the most of this experience!

anyway

Listen to Psychic Fever! The group is so versatile in their music from hip hop to pop to R&B. There’s something out there for everyone to enjoy!