Stray Kids is for listeners with short attention spans, a fun, wholesome, cultural hybrid of Latin-influenced hip hop, taut hyper-modern pop, punchy rock, reggaeton, trap, and blue-eyed boy band soul.John Nacion/Getty Images
Do you suffer from mild to moderate dopamine addiction? Stray Kids might be right for you.
The superstar K-pop boy band christened the brand new Rogers Stadium at the former Downsview Airport in north Toronto on Sunday with an exhibition of overstimulating songs with multiple melodies, mid-tune genre switches and more tempo changes than you could shake a metronome at.
K-pop is short for Korean popular music. “SKZ” is short for Stray Kids. And Stray Kids is for listeners with short attention spans. The band’s music – like K-pop in general – is a fun, wholesome, cultural hybrid of Latin-influenced hip hop, taut hyper-modern pop, punchy rock, reggaeton, trap, and blue-eyed boy band soul.
The eight singer/rappers didn’t stay still for a second onstage, and neither did the music. This isn’t your grandfather’s Gangnam Style K-pop novelty. Rather, it is a restless, exported sound, built for the Adderall generation.
A look inside Rogers Stadium, the 50,000-person concert venue built in nine months
It’s not for everyone, but it was more than agreeable to the young, predominantly female crowd of almost 50,000 at Rogers Stadium. They shrieked, danced and literally rocked the grandstands. Some held tiny battery-powered fans, most held extravagant light sticks, and Stray Kids held its own with a flashy, earnest show.
The often-uplifting lyrics were mostly in Korean, but sprinkled with simple, catchy phrases in English. Performing their 2024 song Chk Chk Boom, one of the members rapped, “Hit you like a truck, I’ma make you fly.” It wasn’t a reference to vehicular manslaughter, but a boastful metaphor in the bombastic hip hop tradition.
Stray Kids members addressed their fans in English − the charismatic leader of the group, Bang Chan, who was raised in Australia, did most of the talking. The fluency of the others varied. Apparently “Toronto, make some noise!” is taught on the first day of English courses in Korea.
The sound wasn’t pristine, but Rogers Stadium is a wide open venue built on a former airport runway.Sammy Kogan/The Globe and Mail
Haven, the night’s final song, is about breaking moulds: “Do whatever you want.” Breaking the mould, though? This ultra-choreographed band is so prefabricated it makes the Monkees look like the Beatles.
Rap is a big part of the Stray Kids sound, with a vibe that is more upbeat than typical North American hip hop. Lyrics are neither hedonistic nor political, and diss tracks are not part of the formula. The band is too busy singing to put anybody down.
The performance was the final concert in the group’s North American leg of its Dominate World Tour, which stopped in ballparks and football stadiums in New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Chicago, Los Angeles and four other U.S. cities.
Downtown Toronto has the Rogers Centre for stadium shows, but it is often occupied in the summer by the Toronto Blue Jays. So, promoter Live Nation Canada built Rogers Stadium, a temporary, seasonal facility that allows them to route blockbuster acts to Toronto even if Rogers Centre is occupied.
Summer concerts at the venue are booked for Coldplay, Chris Brown, Oasis, Hozier, System of a Down and Deftones, and K-pop girl group Blackpink.
The stadium is aesthetically uninteresting − it is a place to park people. The two grandstands flanking the ground seating are the work of modern scaffolding. The bleachers, stretching up to 54 rows high, swayed uncomfortably when fans grooved to the music en masse.
Because there is no parking on-site, fans were encouraged to use public transit. Downsview Park Station is a relatively convenient 12-minute walk from the stadium. I was able to get out easily enough, and quickly onto a train.
Live Nation President of Music Erik Hoffman discusses Toronto’s newest music venue during a media preview and explains what fans can expect this summer when it hosts huge acts like Coldplay and Oasis. The open-air stadium can fit 50,000 people.
The Canadian Press
The hundreds of bathroom pods with flushing toilets were located outside the stadium in a plaza. In fact, most everything except the band and the seats were outside the stadium − inconvenient, but a product of the building’s simple infrastructure.
The sound wasn’t pristine, but then again, it’s a wide open venue built on a former airport runway.
For a band on its third world tour, Stray Kids has a lot to learn about pacing. At times, dead air between songs left the venue so quiet you could hear a heart rate drop. The pre-planned banter among band members was boring and often interminable.
The band left its fans with the Haven finale, but the new facility does not match that description. Rogers Stadium is a solution to a problem, not a haven.
This is an age of concert venue innovation. The game-changing Thunder Ridge Nature Arena in Ridgedale, Mo., and the ultra-high-tech Sphere in Las Vegas are the future. Makeshift will no longer do, and Live Nation Canada knows this. Its History club in Toronto − and one to come in Ottawa − is an excellent, fan-first facility. More of that thinking, please.