SE SO NEON recently transformed the 9:30 Club into a vivid soundscape, drawing heavily from their latest album NOW while reaching back through their catalog to keep the set unpredictable and dynamic.
Micaela Cerball was there to photograph the show.
ChatGPT produced the following article to accompany original photographs by Micaela Cerball.
The live trio — which is actually now a solo project by Hwang So-yoon — made every song feel like a scene shift on Sept. 5, threading moments of quiet vulnerability into bursts of raw urgency.
Early in the night, “New Romantic” shimmered with its uneasy balance of tension and beauty, So-yoon’s vocals floating just above wiry guitar lines. It gave way to the stark pulse of “Secret Police,” where the band flexed their knack for groove-driven catharsis — bass and drums moving in hypnotic lockstep as the crowd nodded along. Later, “NOW” provided one of the evening’s most affecting turns, its expansive melodies swelling into a chorus that landed with both weight and lift, leaving the audience caught between reflection and release.
Watch the official music video for “NOW” by Se So Neon on YouTube:
![새소년 (SE SO NEON) - NOW [Official Music Video]](https://i.ytimg.com/vi/NTbyFhbTDcA/hqdefault.jpg)
Other standouts included the propulsive drive of “Go Back,” which crackled with kinetic energy, and “Stranger,” whose spacious arrangement let the band stretch into a wide-open atmosphere before snapping back into sharp focus. Each track carried its own architecture, but SE SO NEON’s real magic was how they bound them together into a seamless narrative. The set’s pacing trusted the crowd — long builds of simmering tension that suddenly broke into thunderous crescendos, and then back into hushed passages where silence felt as charged as sound.
Visually, the staging echoed the music’s ebb and flow. Cool washes of blue and violet drenched the quieter moments, while bright flares of magenta and white lit the climaxes. The mix was pristine — loud enough to rattle the balcony rails, yet sharp enough to let every guitar texture and rhythmic detail cut through cleanly.
Throughout the night, So-yoon was the quiet center of gravity. She didn’t overplay her presence between songs, but when she leaned into a line, the room responded — sometimes swaying gently, sometimes surging in unison. That balance of intimacy and intensity defined the performance.
Here are some photos of Se So Neon performing live at 9:30 Club on Sept. 5, 2025. All pictures copyright and courtesy of Micaela Cerball.
