an unhinged, unstructured, unfiltered deep dive into 'AAA Live'

I have so much to say about ‘AAA Live’ that I don’t know where to start. I was so excited about this album that I was simply going to journal about everything I thought about it. Then I remembered I have a music blog where I should start being more unhinged and unfiltered. So here is my journal entry about ‘AAA Live.’

I can’t even begin to explain the thrill in my heart when I saw people posting that a live version of ‘AAA’ had been released. Having Haoting as your favourite Sunset Rollercoaster member gives you the advantage of watching every fancam he was tagged in, since he reposts all of them without exception to his story, giving you a wonderful snapshot into whatever concert he played the night before. This, however, comes at the cost of intense FOMO and wishing you were also there at every single show. Spending days tapping through 30 angles of his solo in ‘My Jinji’ and 20 of his mind-blowing interlude on ‘Kite War,’ I often felt so disappointed that I would never be able to experience the once-in-a-lifetime project that ‘AAA’ is live in concert. I already mentioned what a feat I think it is that two bands managed to arrange not only new compositions, but also their respective existing songs, for two drums, two basses, two guitars and so on; that HYUKOH decided to add in a saxophone wherever it felt right; that Sunset Rollercoaster pivoted from cosy jazz to accompanying the punchier rock sounds HYUKOH typically plays. There is so much novelty and creativity in everything about the live versions played by the bands together that goes beyond the original songs, and that was the experience I felt I was missing.

And then came ‘AAA Live,’ providing me with that very experience, with perfect sound quality, on my phone, whenever I wanted to hear it. It was everything I had ever wanted, basically. And every single song on that album exceeded my expectations in every way. I actually was not familiar with a large part of the setlist because I don’t keep up with HYUKOH outside of the collaborative album with SR (although, after this, I’m about to start). And as I said earlier, I have not heard a lot of SR deep cuts – nonetheless, every song, even those I was hearing for the first time, was arranged so masterfully I was listening to them mouth agape on public transport where I was playing the album XD. 

The opening of the concert is definitely, definitely my favourite part! ‘Clair de Lune’ blew my mind completely (after wondering why the same drum pattern with nothing else was playing for 5 minutes lmao). The first 5 minutes build so much anticipation, though, and once the intro starts, it is just amazing to listen to. It was so rousing and beautiful, and I could listen to that saxophone part for the rest of my life. I would absolutely have started ascending if I had got to experience that as the opening of the concert! The transition from ‘Kite War’ into ‘Burgundy Red’ is honestly the best part of the entire setlist. It was so smooth, and since I love both songs so much, I was just so thrilled to hear them both one after the other! One wouldn’t even expect ‘Kite War’ to flow so well into ‘Burgundy Red,’ but weirdly, it does, and I wouldn’t have it any other way. Honestly, the transition between every song on the setlist is so seamless and beautiful. As I kept listening, I thought so often that it would be literally impossible to listen to ‘AAA Live’ out of order. Every smooth transition to the next song made me so excited and happy. I love all the different moods that are set throughout the setlist, opening with upbeat and punchy sounds and then transitioning into more chill and slow songs, before ending with a unique encore (which I will get into later!). HYUKOH and SR provide the complete experience of attending one of their shows with this album. 

Here are the HIGHLIGHTS of this entire experience for me:

1. BURGUNDY RED!!!! – I’m totally not biased towards this song in any way at all! I love it a normal, regular, sane amount (I am lying). I watched a few videos of this being played live, and it sounds so amazing and makes me feel like ascending. And it sounds doubly amazing when HYUKOH is also accompanying this number I love so much – OHHYUK’s harmonies were such a beautiful addition to Kuo’s voice! Not to be dramatic, but hearing both HYUKOH and SR playing a live version of my favourite song in HD quality that I could now listen to whenever I wanted was probably one of the happiest moments of my life. It’s up there with hearing wave to earth play ‘ride’ live in concert. I am filled with so much joy every time I hear this version of the song!

2. Young Man – ‘Young Man’ is, as always, such a fun song to listen to and sing along to, despite the more grim themes of its lyrics. I think standing in a crowd singing ‘every day is yesterday, we don’t look back’ would heal me completely and the live version came pretty close to free therapy (10/10 recommend). My favourite part is when you think the song has ended, and then the bands repeat the chorus one more time before finishing the song. Any (additional) time spent ‘every day is yesterday’ing is time well spent!

3. Flat Dog -> Wanli -> Citizen Kane – These three in this exact order were probably the best introduction I could receive to HYUKOH’s music. The first song I heard by them was ‘Ohio,’ which is so wistful, sad and sweet. But these showed me a completely different side of HYUKOH. ‘Flat Dog’ has such a groovy and fun bass line, and I really love the melody and rhythms so much. I think it builds up perfectly into ‘Wanli’ and ‘Citizen Kane!’ ‘Wanli’ sounds so majestic and makes me feel so powerful and cool. It was also very SE SO NEON-coded, and I love SE SO NEON! I also thought it was so cool that HYUKOH made a song in Mandarin. ‘Citizen Kane’ had me ascending, it was so energetic, and I loved going “oooooohhhhhooooohhhh” before the insane guitar riff in each chorus. I can’t wait to keep discovering HYUKOH – amongst all their songs on the setlist, these stood out to me, and I can’t wait to hear more!

4. Hogi Hogi LaLa Jo – I was literally shocked to find out this song was by Sunset Rollercoaster? I am not sure if it was rearranged to be played live with HYUKOH, but the way they build up the crescendo in this song is so cool and hypes you up so much! I also love how spooky and jazzy the melodies sound. I lost my mind when Haoting played his solo during the introduction of the members, by the way, I will never be normal about that man and his saxophone skills. This song is just so much fun to listen to, and I honestly think it’s amazing!!!! 

5. Let There Be Light Again -> Vanilla -> Villa – This transition was so sweet to listen to! I love ‘Let There Be Light Again’ and it’s so much more refreshing and calming when played live! I also developed a new appreciation for ‘Vanilla’ when I heard the live version. Kuo sings it so emotionally, and it melted my heart! The guitar and other instruments sound so much sweeter in the live version, too. ‘Vanilla’ transitions so perfectly into ‘Villa’ and its chill tones. I love how OHHYUK’s voice fits on this and creates the call-and-response with Kuo at the start! And as always, the highlight of ‘Villa’ for me was Haoting’s saxophone solo!!!!! His saxophone always transforms every song it is included in, and I could listen to him play it forever!

6. Aaaannnnteeeeennnaaaaaa (I had to copy and paste the name of this song, I ain’t typing all of that) – Adding ‘Slow Antenna’ right before the encore is an INSANE choice that I wholeheartedly support. My favourite thing about this was that they included every song from ‘AAA’ IN FULL on the setlist. Lots of bands will skip certain songs, often slow ones or less hype ones. I absolutely love that they play BOTH versions of ‘Antenna’ – and ‘Slow Antenna’ closes off the concert super well. It’s perfect to help you regain the energy you need for the encore, especially given how long and exciting the setlist is! On an unrelated note, I was actually trying to finish off listening to this album late at night and ‘Slow Antenna’ started playing. Listening to its calming and gentle tones for 8 minutes nearly sent me to sleep, so I went to bed after the song ended and actually had the best sleep ever. Would 10/10 recommend – sleep medicine is expensive, while ‘Slow Antenna’ is free! 

Aaaaand to conclude, I just want to talk about the encore – it was AWESOME and so unique. Usually, bands have such an upbeat and energy-filled encore set, trying to engage fans and get them really hyped by playing their most popular songs. However, ‘AAA Live’s’ encore has a relaxed, open and comfortable feel more than a hyped one, which I honestly loved just as much! I particularly loved having ‘Help’ and ‘Do Nothing’ on the encore; they really put me at ease, and I had so much fun listening to them! I already like ‘LOVE YA!’ by HYUKOH a lot, but listening to it as part of this live album gave me a whole new appreciation for it – I was so so happy and excited singing it and listening to it! The ‘monk seal’ line makes zero sense to me but I think it’s so funny either way, and every time I hear it I think about OHHYUK saying he isn’t a romantic and I’m like, ‘yeah dude, we can tell, what do you mean you wouldn’t save your lover from drowning cause they’re like a monk seal.’ I used to be a ‘My Jinji’ hater (sorry guys don’t boo me off this blog) and I genuinely did not get the hype for it, especially because the same melody without any change is played for like 4 minutes at the end of the song so I was like :/… But while playing this album, I was SO EXCITED to hear the live version? And I actually loved it and sang along so loudly, even though I had never been excited about that song before. Additionally, the Haoting sax part DESERVES the hype – I used to wonder why people only ever posted him playing that solo, but it’s out of this world. I learned to love ‘My Jinji’ a little 😔Sorry ‘My Jinji,’ I was not familiar with your game!

And last but definitely not the least, ‘2F Young Man!’ ‘2F Young Man’ is honestly just the perfect ending, what else can I say? It truly embodies the spirit of connection and friendship between HYUKOH and Sunset Rollercoaster and draws the audience into it, much like the original track does by giving you a little glimpse into the bands’ process and camaraderie behind making ‘Young Man.’ Watching the fancams where the bands are hugging each other on stage, smiling and waving at the audience and overall having such a good time while letting down the facade of a ‘performance’ to just chill and jam with their fans is such a sweet way to truly connect with them before saying goodbye. I felt so wistful once the album ended, because it truly felt like I shared something special and beautiful over the 2.5 hours of the live album with the bands – something like a dream that has now ended, and I now needed to return to my mundane life without ‘AAA Live.’ I have never experienced post-concert depression from an album, but I guess there is a first time for everything!

As you can tell, I LOVE ‘AAA Live’ and I am so, so happy it was released. My only gripe with the album was that Haoting’s saxophone solos are panned to the right, so I only hear them in my right ear and not loudly in both ears as God intended. But even so, I think the production, mix, and concept of putting out this album emphasises effort, focus, creativity, and the slowness and care required to appreciate it. To truly experience the vastness and beauty of the sounds in this album, you need it to play with both your earphones in – you can’t be half-focused on something else or you’ll miss this guitar part, that bass line or that drum solo. You can’t skip a single song because the true experience is in the seamlessness of every transition and the flow between different songs on the setlist. You have to experience each song, some played for up to 9 minutes, to feel and appreciate how HYUKOH and SR have created new melodies together and reimagined their solos to sound virtuosic and memorable when played live. It requires care, attention and slowness – something that’s so rare and uncommon in this convenience-driven, fast-paced, algorithmic world. 

I want to end by saying that ‘AAA Live’ is the type of music that makes me really happy to be alive. It is so amazing that I’m alive at the same time as HYUKOH and Sunset Rollercoaster, that I’m alive when they decided to collab, to tour together and to revamp their own songs to be played by two bands instead of one. It is so amazing that I am able to absorb, experience and enjoy their music in this life of mine! 

Stream ‘AAA’ and ‘AAA Live’ for peace and happiness. Goodbye!