At the final stop on his 2025 North American Tour, VK Blanka performed at El Cid, bringing his unique music and playful stage presence to the quaint venue. While El Cid is primarily known as a restaurant and flamenco dancing club, it transformed into a melodic getaway for VK Blanka and his fans to enjoy his music, sing, and dance together.
The concert was the definition of short and sweet, lasting just over an hour long. The brief setlist covered all of the singer’s most beloved tracks. Songs such as “Stray Cat,” “Daddy (Dying in NY),” “Lights Out,” and “Sad In Saudi Arabia,” were performed towards the first half of the show, along with “Slave of Love” and “Want You Back.” From the first half of VK Blanka’s set, the latter two songs were some of the crowd’s favorites. “Slave of Love” was also extra meaningful to the artist himself, as it was his debut song in Japan. “It feels good to play it overseas,” he shared. Prior to his performance of “Want You Back,” the singer also got the crowd up to speed for a call and response for the phrase “AHA.” The phrase is used many times during the song, and much to his delight, fans were enthusiastic and responsive, screaming it back to him in reply. “The ‘AHA’ has no meaning in this song, but the response is always so good,” he began. “It’s really funny, and it’s very great for me.”
Continuing to show off his command of the stage and humorous charm, the singer took time to speak to the crowd between songs. Even with just him, his keyboard, and equipment on stage, it never felt empty thanks to his naturally entertaining persona. At one point, VK Blanka asked the crowd for suggestions on what to perform, to which everyone stated the most obvious, “Black Rover.” To this, the singer reassured fans that it was coming, but that he also wanted to know what other songs people loved to listen to. This prompted a performance of “Sea Lion Dance.” While it was not requested by an attendee, it was mentioned on one of the singer’s Instagram live broadcasts as someone’s favorite song to listen to. This stuck with VK Blanka, and so he made sure to include it in the setlist for that fan.
Even with the performances thus far, the undeniable highlight of the show came towards the end. The last half of the show consisted of songs such as “Lucky Ending” from Fruits Basket, “Walk” from Flavors of Youth, “Bitter,” “Snake,” and, of course, “Black Rover” from Black Clover. As the audience soaked in the performer’s energy, VK Blanka also made sure to take a few moments to connect with everyone. “I’m just vibing,” he started as he sauntered across the stage. “You guys can check your emails and stuff,” he finished with a chuckle before getting serious. “I have this dream, and I want to do more North American tours and more world tours. Thankfully, I get to do this now, and I’m so happy and thrilled to see you guys and hear you cheer me on. I’m a lucky guy for sure,” he said. “But, I also want to keep doing more. I want to keep making great music and spreading Japanese culture.” With that, the intimate show approached its end, as VK Blanka and his fans sang and danced the night away.
