Night one of TWICE's mesmerizing two-night Chicago show

Tonight (as of writing this), April 6, 2026, I had the opportunity to go to the United Center and be part of TWICE's first night in Chicago. To be completely honest, I had no clue what to expect. While I had heard of TWICE, I wasn't the most familiar with their music. I wanted to be surprised and to experience them without any real predisposed notion of who they were.. like listening to a band/artist for the first time - and I wanted to do it live.

From the get-go, I knew I was going to be in for a ride. It felt like just about everyone else had some sort of 'know-how' of what to expect. The crowd was going absolutely nuts before the show started - as they were showcasing other K-pop artists on this huge floating, cage-like, LED screen. The style of stage was pretty unique, too. There were two catwalks that connected a large middle stage to two other, smaller, rectangular stages.

Even if you were distracted before they got on stage, it was hard to miss the intro. The LED screen lit up, slowly lowering to the floor, and eventually you could see silhouettes of all of the TWICE members as they were backlit by another, smaller, inner LED cage. Honestly, I could talk all day about the details of their setup; it truly set a high bar for overall stage design, and you can tell it was all carefully thought out... Did I mention that there were grids within the main middle stage that also raised? Yea, it was that cool..

The performance was split into multiple different 'acts,' in which they would chant "This is for once.." and the crowd would chant "This is for TWICE." That would signal the end of one act and they would move into the next - which would also signal a stage change (change the layout of the raising grids). With each act came new outfits. This was one of the most impressive parts of the whole setup and performance. As they would leave the stage, I tried to guess where they would end up, but I never got it right. If they were on the middle stage, they would get down, and within 5 seconds, they would be on one of the side stages - fully in formation with the rest of their crew of dancers... in brand new outfits.

To tell you the truth, I was smiling ear to ear most of the show. Everything was executed so well; everything flowed so seamlessly. Truthfully, the production made me feel like I was watching an animated video or video game - or that I was part of a live video. The choreography was everything, and it really did make the whole night feel like an experience.

Even as someone who hasn't really delved into the world of K-pop, TWICE - and this performance - was nothing short of exceptional. If you have the opportunity/option to see them live, I couldn't recommend it enough.

I'm happy I got to them once.... but I can't wait to see them TWICE!!