BOOM SHAKALAKA
Saturday was great! I went to Big Bang's ALIVE concert at Yokohama Arena! Since I was already going to be in Yokohama, Leslie and I decided to spend the day hanging out there. We grabbed lunch in Yokohama Chinatown and then walked around by the bay. It was nice, but a little hot and sticky. (No, Japan! I'm not ready for your summer weather!) After that it was time for us to part ways so I could head to the concert.
My concert outfit.
I took the subway to Shin Yokohama. When I arrived at the arena, the first thing I did was find the line for goods. The line moved fairly quickly, but some of the best stuff was already sold out by the time I was able to buy my goods (like the Fantaschips). I did buy myself the tour tote bag and shirt (even though it's a bit big because they were sold out of smalls) and I bought Greta a poster set. Then I went to figure out where I needed to wait for the arena doors to open. I people watched and ate onigiri while I waited. Let me tell you, VIPs have some awesome funky fashion. There were also a number of fans emulating the band's recent looks. It was neat. I didn't have to wait for long though. It was getting close to doors, so I made my way to the line for stand seating. We were some of the first ones let into the arena.
The stage before the show.
My seat was in the back of the arena, in the second row of the stands. The stands in Yokohama Arena aren't quite as far back as the seats in Saitama Super Arena, so I had a better view than at the YG Family concert. It was a pretty decent view all things considered. Once I was seated, I think it was about half an hour until the concert started. In the meantime, they played Big Bang videos on the screens at the front of the stage. When it was time for the concert to begin, they played the "Fantastic Baby" PV, pumped up the music, and turned down the lights. Everyone was immediately on their feet with their lightsticks, waiting for the show to start.
An intro video with an English voice-over (and Japanese subtitles) began playing. It showed images of a ship flying through space, while the voice-over told us that millions of years ago Big Bang had been cryogenically frozen and sent into orbit. Then it said that music needed Big Bang now and showed the band's capsules being sent to Earth. Then the curtain dropped down to reveal the capsules on stage, while the "ALIVE" intro played. The capsules opened to reveal Big Bang, here to save the world with their music! XD
The boys kicked off the show with "Tonight". They were looking good in their new black and silver outfits that remind me of some pimped-out cross between military and marching band uniforms. G-Dragon had his new red and black hair and TOP's hair was back to brown. (Not that I didn't like the blue hair, but I think the brown hair suits him really well.) Taeyang, Daesung, and Seungri still have the same hair from their ALIVE promotions. After "Tonight" they went right into "Hands Up" and then it was time for everyone's favorite, "Fantastic Baby"! Seriously, the audience already had a ton of energy and when the boys launched into "Fantastic Baby" everyone went crazy. "Fantastic Baby" is one of my favorite Big Bang songs, so I was excited. I love the silly dance they do during the song, too. <3
The next song was "How Gee". During this song, GD and TOP came out riding orange Segways that had been pimped out with rhinestones, and Taeyang appeared riding a tricked out bike. They then proceeded to drive around the stage during the song. Only this band, I swear. XD
"Stupid Liar" was the next song. Then, Seungri, Taeyang, and Daesung did an MC. Seungri did a lot of the talking because his Japanese has gotten really good. If I remember correctly, the main part of this MC consisted of the boys singing "Yokohama" in various silly ways. Then, on of them made a comment wondering why there were only three of them on stage. Taeyang then introduced his "favorite Korean singers" and started singing "Knockout".
It was time for my favorite GD&TOP to take the stage! (Eeeee.) They made their entrance on a moving pyramid of multi-colored lights, while they sang "Knockout". So much swag. I dare you to find a group in K-pop who has as much swag as GD&TOP (other than 2NE1). After "Knockout", they performed "High High". We jumped around and did the hand motions during the chorus with them. Then their stage was over.
Next up was Seungri's stage. A helicopter appeared on the screen and dancers appeared. They were sneaking around in the dark, ducking and rolling to avoid pretend gunfire on the stage. There were some pyrotechnics and Seungri appeared on a raised platform. He was dressed in military garb which showed off his arms and was holding a large (fake) gun. It's not usually the kind of look that I go for, but I've never been more attracted to Ri then during that set. "Strong Baby" started playing and Seungri pointed the gun into the audience, revealing that it had a green laser pointer on the end. He performed "What Can I Do" after "Strong Baby".
The whole group returned to the stage in their hip-hop clothes to sing "ガラガラGO!", one of my favorite Big Bang songs. It has a special place in my heart because it was the first Big Bang song I heard, as well as the first song that I heard the first time I was in Japan. This segued into "Number 1", one of Big Bang's handful of English songs. After that, they performed "Cafe", which is one of my favorite rainy day songs. TOP's rapping is so smooth and I love the vocals.
It was time for another MC. During this one, Seungri asked all the others members about their favorite of Big Bang's Japanese songs. GD's was "Hands Up". I missed something, but this somehow led to a conversation about GD liking babies. I'm not really sure why though! Daesung's favorite was "声をきかせて" and he asked us to sing the chorus, so we did. TOP's favorite was "ガラガラGO!", which then prompted him to break it down ChoomTOP style and do the dance from the song. Lol, I love you, Tabi! Each of the members were then asked in turn to do their version of the dance. Dae not only did the dance, but also sang a hilarious enka version of the chorus. It was then Taeyang's turn to reveal his favorite song, which was "Bad Boy". The boys then performed "Bad Boy", while the audience bobbed along.
After a quick costume change and an icy intro video, it was time for the boys to sing "Blue". During the intro most of the audience pulled out blue glowsticks, which we had prepared especially for this song. I'd seen word about this online before the concert, so the day before I made sure to stop at the 100 Yen Store to pick up a glowstick. The arena looked like a lovely sea of blue lights. The boys performed "Blue" beautifully, too. I definitely think it's the most beautiful song on the new album. Afterwards the boys performed "Love Song" and then "Feeling". During "Feeling", lyrics appeared on the screen so we could sing along with the band during the chorus.
Then, there were some more solo sets. First up was Taeyang. The screen showed images of a dragon and a night scene in the background. Tae performed "Look Only At Me", "Wedding Dress", and "Where U At". This set was as much about showing off Taeyang's dancing as it was about him singing. He didn't even sing "Where U At". He just danced to an awesome down and dirty remix of it. And of course, since this is Taeyang we're talking about, he had to end his set by ripping his shirt in half. XD
Daesung's stage was next. He performed "Wings", which is my favorite of all his songs. It's a really uplifting song. Considering all that happened last year, I thought it was a great song for him to sing on the new album. Near the end of the song, they actually put wings on him and lifted him up into the air above the audience. Normally I find that kind of thing cheesy as hell, but it somehow seemed fitting for the moment. At the end of the song, Dae and his wings were silhouetted by stage lights and he actually did look pretty angelic.
Everyone came back on stage for the acoustic performance of "Haru Haru". "Haru Haru", especially the acoustic version, is always such a beautiful song. Then it was time for the last MC. The boys all took turns thanking us for coming to the show. TOP was the most adorable. He's never been good at Japanese, but he said what were probably the longest Japanese sentences I've ever heard him say. Stuff about thanking us for coming and about how he'd work hard to try and speak Japanese. His pronunciation was a bit off, but it was very thoughtful (like TOP usually is). After he spoke, Seungri remarked that you couldn't help thinking that TOP's Japanese was cute. He then mentioned that if he spoke Japanese like that, no one would think it was cute. GD told Seungri that he'd say it was cute. (Ah, the leader and the maknae. XD) Then, TOP told Seungri that he was cute. My boys are all adorable.
They, of course, closed the show with "Lies". It's not a proper Big Bang show if they don't perform "Lies"! The boys then said their goodbyes and left the stage. We weren't going to let them go so easily though. Instead of the usual calls for encore, the audience sang to the band to get them to come back out. We sang the chorus to "My Heaven" over and over until the boys reappeared! It sounded lovely.
The boys appeared on stage decked out in tour goods. (TOP was still wearing his fantastic hat.) The first song of the encore was "声をきかせて". Giant balloons were released into the audience for people to toss around. As usual, the boys were extra playful during the encore, sitting on the edge of the stage to sing to the nearby fans, goofing around with each other, and throwing their tour merch into the audience. TOP walked down to the barrier in front of the stage and serenaded one lucky girl with his rap during "声をきかせて"! I was le jealous. The next song was "My Heaven". Of course, we continued to sing along with the boys. Somewhere in all this Taeyang took off his shirt because it's Taeyang. God knows the boy can't get through a concert without taking his shirt off. (Not that I'm complaining, because his body is great.) He had some of the silver confetti stuck to his abs because he was all sweaty and Seungri stopped him to remove it. Lol. I thought that "My Heaven" was probably going to be the last encore song. Then the boys started talking to us and asked it we wanted to see "Fantastic Baby" one more time. Of course we did! The audience was so excited to hear the song again and we gave all of our energy to sing and dance along. The boys got even sillier with it than usual because it was the encore. It was so much fun! Then the show was sadly over and the lights came up as the boys waved goodbye to us.
The show itself didn't get out that late, but it was a bit late by the time I got home because in my post-Big Bang haze I made some stupid train decisions, like accidentally taking a local instead of a limited express. It was all totally worth it though! The show was so much fun! I love those boys and I'm looking forward to their next concert. They're going to be doing their first Tokyo Dome show in December, so Greta and I might try to get tickets. \o/
My concert outfit.
I took the subway to Shin Yokohama. When I arrived at the arena, the first thing I did was find the line for goods. The line moved fairly quickly, but some of the best stuff was already sold out by the time I was able to buy my goods (like the Fantaschips). I did buy myself the tour tote bag and shirt (even though it's a bit big because they were sold out of smalls) and I bought Greta a poster set. Then I went to figure out where I needed to wait for the arena doors to open. I people watched and ate onigiri while I waited. Let me tell you, VIPs have some awesome funky fashion. There were also a number of fans emulating the band's recent looks. It was neat. I didn't have to wait for long though. It was getting close to doors, so I made my way to the line for stand seating. We were some of the first ones let into the arena.
The stage before the show.
My seat was in the back of the arena, in the second row of the stands. The stands in Yokohama Arena aren't quite as far back as the seats in Saitama Super Arena, so I had a better view than at the YG Family concert. It was a pretty decent view all things considered. Once I was seated, I think it was about half an hour until the concert started. In the meantime, they played Big Bang videos on the screens at the front of the stage. When it was time for the concert to begin, they played the "Fantastic Baby" PV, pumped up the music, and turned down the lights. Everyone was immediately on their feet with their lightsticks, waiting for the show to start.
An intro video with an English voice-over (and Japanese subtitles) began playing. It showed images of a ship flying through space, while the voice-over told us that millions of years ago Big Bang had been cryogenically frozen and sent into orbit. Then it said that music needed Big Bang now and showed the band's capsules being sent to Earth. Then the curtain dropped down to reveal the capsules on stage, while the "ALIVE" intro played. The capsules opened to reveal Big Bang, here to save the world with their music! XD
The boys kicked off the show with "Tonight". They were looking good in their new black and silver outfits that remind me of some pimped-out cross between military and marching band uniforms. G-Dragon had his new red and black hair and TOP's hair was back to brown. (Not that I didn't like the blue hair, but I think the brown hair suits him really well.) Taeyang, Daesung, and Seungri still have the same hair from their ALIVE promotions. After "Tonight" they went right into "Hands Up" and then it was time for everyone's favorite, "Fantastic Baby"! Seriously, the audience already had a ton of energy and when the boys launched into "Fantastic Baby" everyone went crazy. "Fantastic Baby" is one of my favorite Big Bang songs, so I was excited. I love the silly dance they do during the song, too. <3
The next song was "How Gee". During this song, GD and TOP came out riding orange Segways that had been pimped out with rhinestones, and Taeyang appeared riding a tricked out bike. They then proceeded to drive around the stage during the song. Only this band, I swear. XD
"Stupid Liar" was the next song. Then, Seungri, Taeyang, and Daesung did an MC. Seungri did a lot of the talking because his Japanese has gotten really good. If I remember correctly, the main part of this MC consisted of the boys singing "Yokohama" in various silly ways. Then, on of them made a comment wondering why there were only three of them on stage. Taeyang then introduced his "favorite Korean singers" and started singing "Knockout".
It was time for my favorite GD&TOP to take the stage! (Eeeee.) They made their entrance on a moving pyramid of multi-colored lights, while they sang "Knockout". So much swag. I dare you to find a group in K-pop who has as much swag as GD&TOP (other than 2NE1). After "Knockout", they performed "High High". We jumped around and did the hand motions during the chorus with them. Then their stage was over.
Next up was Seungri's stage. A helicopter appeared on the screen and dancers appeared. They were sneaking around in the dark, ducking and rolling to avoid pretend gunfire on the stage. There were some pyrotechnics and Seungri appeared on a raised platform. He was dressed in military garb which showed off his arms and was holding a large (fake) gun. It's not usually the kind of look that I go for, but I've never been more attracted to Ri then during that set. "Strong Baby" started playing and Seungri pointed the gun into the audience, revealing that it had a green laser pointer on the end. He performed "What Can I Do" after "Strong Baby".
The whole group returned to the stage in their hip-hop clothes to sing "ガラガラGO!", one of my favorite Big Bang songs. It has a special place in my heart because it was the first Big Bang song I heard, as well as the first song that I heard the first time I was in Japan. This segued into "Number 1", one of Big Bang's handful of English songs. After that, they performed "Cafe", which is one of my favorite rainy day songs. TOP's rapping is so smooth and I love the vocals.
It was time for another MC. During this one, Seungri asked all the others members about their favorite of Big Bang's Japanese songs. GD's was "Hands Up". I missed something, but this somehow led to a conversation about GD liking babies. I'm not really sure why though! Daesung's favorite was "声をきかせて" and he asked us to sing the chorus, so we did. TOP's favorite was "ガラガラGO!", which then prompted him to break it down ChoomTOP style and do the dance from the song. Lol, I love you, Tabi! Each of the members were then asked in turn to do their version of the dance. Dae not only did the dance, but also sang a hilarious enka version of the chorus. It was then Taeyang's turn to reveal his favorite song, which was "Bad Boy". The boys then performed "Bad Boy", while the audience bobbed along.
After a quick costume change and an icy intro video, it was time for the boys to sing "Blue". During the intro most of the audience pulled out blue glowsticks, which we had prepared especially for this song. I'd seen word about this online before the concert, so the day before I made sure to stop at the 100 Yen Store to pick up a glowstick. The arena looked like a lovely sea of blue lights. The boys performed "Blue" beautifully, too. I definitely think it's the most beautiful song on the new album. Afterwards the boys performed "Love Song" and then "Feeling". During "Feeling", lyrics appeared on the screen so we could sing along with the band during the chorus.
Then, there were some more solo sets. First up was Taeyang. The screen showed images of a dragon and a night scene in the background. Tae performed "Look Only At Me", "Wedding Dress", and "Where U At". This set was as much about showing off Taeyang's dancing as it was about him singing. He didn't even sing "Where U At". He just danced to an awesome down and dirty remix of it. And of course, since this is Taeyang we're talking about, he had to end his set by ripping his shirt in half. XD
Daesung's stage was next. He performed "Wings", which is my favorite of all his songs. It's a really uplifting song. Considering all that happened last year, I thought it was a great song for him to sing on the new album. Near the end of the song, they actually put wings on him and lifted him up into the air above the audience. Normally I find that kind of thing cheesy as hell, but it somehow seemed fitting for the moment. At the end of the song, Dae and his wings were silhouetted by stage lights and he actually did look pretty angelic.
Everyone came back on stage for the acoustic performance of "Haru Haru". "Haru Haru", especially the acoustic version, is always such a beautiful song. Then it was time for the last MC. The boys all took turns thanking us for coming to the show. TOP was the most adorable. He's never been good at Japanese, but he said what were probably the longest Japanese sentences I've ever heard him say. Stuff about thanking us for coming and about how he'd work hard to try and speak Japanese. His pronunciation was a bit off, but it was very thoughtful (like TOP usually is). After he spoke, Seungri remarked that you couldn't help thinking that TOP's Japanese was cute. He then mentioned that if he spoke Japanese like that, no one would think it was cute. GD told Seungri that he'd say it was cute. (Ah, the leader and the maknae. XD) Then, TOP told Seungri that he was cute. My boys are all adorable.
They, of course, closed the show with "Lies". It's not a proper Big Bang show if they don't perform "Lies"! The boys then said their goodbyes and left the stage. We weren't going to let them go so easily though. Instead of the usual calls for encore, the audience sang to the band to get them to come back out. We sang the chorus to "My Heaven" over and over until the boys reappeared! It sounded lovely.
The boys appeared on stage decked out in tour goods. (TOP was still wearing his fantastic hat.) The first song of the encore was "声をきかせて". Giant balloons were released into the audience for people to toss around. As usual, the boys were extra playful during the encore, sitting on the edge of the stage to sing to the nearby fans, goofing around with each other, and throwing their tour merch into the audience. TOP walked down to the barrier in front of the stage and serenaded one lucky girl with his rap during "声をきかせて"! I was le jealous. The next song was "My Heaven". Of course, we continued to sing along with the boys. Somewhere in all this Taeyang took off his shirt because it's Taeyang. God knows the boy can't get through a concert without taking his shirt off. (Not that I'm complaining, because his body is great.) He had some of the silver confetti stuck to his abs because he was all sweaty and Seungri stopped him to remove it. Lol. I thought that "My Heaven" was probably going to be the last encore song. Then the boys started talking to us and asked it we wanted to see "Fantastic Baby" one more time. Of course we did! The audience was so excited to hear the song again and we gave all of our energy to sing and dance along. The boys got even sillier with it than usual because it was the encore. It was so much fun! Then the show was sadly over and the lights came up as the boys waved goodbye to us.
The show itself didn't get out that late, but it was a bit late by the time I got home because in my post-Big Bang haze I made some stupid train decisions, like accidentally taking a local instead of a limited express. It was all totally worth it though! The show was so much fun! I love those boys and I'm looking forward to their next concert. They're going to be doing their first Tokyo Dome show in December, so Greta and I might try to get tickets. \o/