Macy’s San Francisco Union Square: Far East Movement – Interview & Concert

00:00 – 03:00 – Welcome & Intro by Nicki Sun
03:00 – 17:45 – Interview with Far East Movement (FM)
17:45 – 19:50 – FM’s opening remarks
19:50 – 22:55 – Beastie Boys tribute
22:55 – 24:50 – Additional remarks by FM – from interns to artists
24:50 – 28:50 – Girls on the Dancefloor
28:50 – 30:40 – Additional remarks by FM – hitting number one on Billboard
30:40 – 35:05 – Like a G6
35:05 – 36:58 – Additional remarks by FM – being a dreamer
36:58 – 40:25 – Rocketeer
40:25 – 41:25 – Additional remarks by FM – on persistence and being positive
41:25 – 42:40 – Rhyme on FM’s journey
42:40 – 47:30 – Live My Life
47:30 – 48:50 – Additional remarks by FM – thanks and intro on Turn on the Love
48:50 – 55:20 – Turn on the Love
55:20 – 56:03 – Thank you by FM and closing remarks by Nicki Sun

As you may or may not have heard, as part of the celebration for Asian-Pacific American Heritage Month, Macy’s announced the hosting of Far East Movement (“FM”) for a series of performances and appearances  across the country “geared toward highlighting and celebrating the unique influence of Asian-Pacific Americans on American culture and pop music.”

Macy’s San Francisco Union Square store, 3rd Floor, prior to Far East Movement’s arrival. Click to expand photo to full size.

I had the great pleasure of dropping by Far East Movement’s Macy’s San Francisco Union Square performance on Saturday, May 11th. Prior to their performance, Nicki Sun (who also previously help host a Verizon-sponsored Lunar New Year Union Square performance back in February) asked the members of Far East Movement (FM) about how they got started and other interesting questions.

What I found most interesting is how Far East Movement took inspiration from the Beastie Boys, who helped break down the hip hop racial barrier. Far East Movement could be described as the Jeremy Lin of the hip hop world, except that FM’s “Like a G6” hit number one on the Billboard Hot 100 Chart and on iTunes in late October 2010 (where LINSANITY happened in February 2012) -making them the first Asian-American group to earn a #1 hit on the Billboard Hot 100 in the United States.

Far East Movement wound up performing for around 30+ minutes. The performance was energetic and LOUD, and at times, when the crowd was jumping up and down, I was wondering about the structural integrity of the 3rd floor. I especially liked their last performance of Turn Up the Love, since it’s that song is in the latest HTC commercial promoting the HTC One.

When the performance was over, my hearing took some time to get back to normal. If you bought $50 worth of merchandise from some of the departments Macy’s specified, you could get a photo taken with Far East Movement (as well as a $10 gift card).

The other upcoming performances for Macy’s location are as follows:

• Macy’s First Colony – Houston, TX – Sunday, May 19 at 2 p.m.
• Macy’s South Coast Plaza – Costa Mesa, CA – Wednesday, May 22 at 6 p.m.
• Macy’s Herald Square – New York, NY – Thursday, May 23 at 6 p.m.
• Macy’s on State Street – Chicago, IL – Thursday, May 30 at Noon

Besides FM’s performance, in between the interview and the performance, there was a 13-year old kid by the stage name of B-BOY BAILROK (Bailey Munoz) did an 8-minute impressive dance routine. The 13-year-old describes himself as “the youngest member of the legendary ROCK STEADY CREW and also a part of THE PRODIGY of Las Vegas. You may have seen him on America’s Got Talent Season 5 as a Semi-Finalist, NBA All Star Game and Slam Dunk, Dancing with the Stars, Ubisoft Just Dance Kids 2 Video Game, Disney’s Shake It Up and Nick Jr.’s Fresh Beat Band and more.”