C'est Si Bon members wow LA fans

Singers Cho Young-nam, center, Kim Se-hwan, left, and Yoon Hyung-ju - regular performers at C'est Si Bon, the legendary Korean live music cafe in the 1960s and 1970s - perform at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, Saturday. / Korea Times

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By Chung Ah-young

Singers Cho Young-nam, Yoon Hyung-ju and Kim Se-hwan ― regular performers at C'est Si Bon, the legendary Korean live music cafe in the 1960s and 1970s ― wowed their fans at the Shrine Auditorium in Los Angeles, Saturday.

The auditorium is the oldest venue in the western United States, which hosts prestigious cultural events such as the Academy Awards, operas, musicals and concerts of high-profile musicians including the late Michael Jackson and Madonna.
Some 6,000 fans packed the auditorium and indulged in a nostalgic musical journey of songs which were popular in the 1960s and 1970s in Korea.

"We held the concert 25 years ago here. Now back here 25 years later, I think we were fearless at that time", said Yoon. "I stood for a long time, recalling that time before starting the concert today. The reaction of Korean fans was as fierce as it was 25 years ago", he said.

"Our fans who were in their 30-40s at that time are now in their 50s-60s. We have much sympathy with our fans these days as we are getting old together", said Kim. Cho also expressed his feelings after the show, saying "Our fans seem to be able to afford to enjoy the concert now".

The members held a concert Friday at the San Jose Performing Arts Center and over the weekend at the Los Angeles Shrine Auditorium.

Their popularity was reignited after Cho, Yoon, Kim and Song Chang-shik appeared in a special episode last year of MBC's variety show "Come and Play" called "C'est Si Bon Concert". Their television performance featuring acoustic guitar sounds captivated the viewers ― not only middle-aged fans but also creating a new following of those in their 20s and 30s.

Located in Mugyo-dong in the 1960s, the cafe was home to numerous legendary singers such as Cho, Yoon, Song, Kim and Lee Jang-hee, Kim Min-ki who performed together there and spent their youth amid the politically and socially hard times as the nation was developing.