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I had a day off on Tuesday to make up for working at the school festival on Saturday. It ended up working out perfectly because on Tuesday night I went to 2NE1's New Evolution concert at Yokohama Arena! It was an awesome show~
I went to the concert with Kaille and Kate. Originally, just Kaille and I were going to go together and we had tickets up in the stands. A couple days before the show, I found out that Kate had 2 extra tickets to the show because her friends bailed on her. These were Blackjack (2NE1's fanclub) tickets and better seats than Kaille and I had. Kate ended up offering them to us free of charge and it worked out quite nicely. Kate got to go to the concert and Kaille and I got much better seats!
On the day of the concert Kate and I met up in Yokohama around mid-afternoon, since she had to take the shinkansen up from Osaka. After we met, we headed to the arena to stand in line for goods. We were in line for goods (sweating in the gross summer heat) for around an hour and a half.
While we were standing in line I saw two of my students from last year. There was a moment where the girls and I both stood staring at each other until the mutual look of recognition passed over our faces, then they had a great time giggling over how cute I was in my concert outfit and the fact that I was also a 2NE1 fan. They were cute in their matching concert outfits, too.
After a lot of waiting in line, we were finally able to buy our goods. I got 2NE1's lightstick (which is a really cute heart with wings), the mismatched earrings, and the chain bracelet. After getting out of the goods line, my students found me again and asked to take a picture with me. After talking with them for a couple minutes, Kate and I went in search of food. Doors didn't open for another hour, so we had time.
We ended up eating at Johnathan's. It was busy because of the concert, so at first we were a little worried if we'd get seated in time to eat before the show, but right around the time we were thinking of leaving we were seated. After eating a decent dinner, we headed back to the arena to wait for Kaille. She was coming from work to meet up with us. In a matter of exceedingly perfect timing, she arrived 10 minutes before the scheduled start of the concert and we hustled our way inside.
I'm grateful to Kate for giving us the Blackjack tickets. Instead of being up in the stands, we were on the floor in the stadium seating. We were off to the right side of the stage, which gave us a really nice view! The show got started literally minutes after we were seated. The screen at the front of the arena was playing the video for "I Love You". Mid-way through the song they pumped up the volume and turned down the lights to let us know it was time for the show to start.
2NE1's intro started playing and then the girls appeared! They kicked off the show with "I Am the Best". They were looking fierce! Each of the girls was standing on a piece of a moving staircase as the dancers pushed them around the stage. It was definitely a good show opener because the audience was really into it, dancing and singing along. (Even if it was the Japanese version of the song. The Japanese parts of the song are fine, but I find the lyrics to the English raps in the Japanese version to be really cheesy.) The girls kept that energy going by launching into "Fire" next, complete with actual flames on the stage. They then sang "Clap Your Hands" and encouraged us to clap along. They ended that portion of the show by slowing down a bit and singing the reggae version of "I Don't Care".
Next up was the first of the girls' solo stages. CL stepped onto a DJ platform that then rose above the stage. She then performed a solo DJ set starting with "Girls Just Wanna Have Fun" and Rihanna's "We Found Love". I have no illusions that CL was actually DJing, but damn if she wasn't cute and sexy doing it anyways.
Bom's solo stage was next. She came on stage in drapey, glittery robes that looked a bit like butterfly wings. She stood on top of a flight of stairs (the stairs will be important later) and sang a medley of "You & I" and "Don't Cry". Sometimes Bom's voice can be a bit shaky because she overdoes it, but I thought her set was pretty good. Bom finished singing and the thump of a drum could be heard in the background. Bom walked over to the stairs an pulled off a curtain that had been covering the bottom. Under the curtain there was a giant see-through bass drum and inside of it were the Kwon twins (YG's adorable twin dancers), looking sexy and shirtless! They began beating the drum to start the next set.
The rest of the girls reappeared on stage in 2NE1 style cheerleader outfits complete with pompoms! These girls were definitely the most badass cheerleaders I've seen. Bom had a more typical cheerleader outfit, but CL's outfit was more like a jersey with a long tail on the back and a letterman jacket. Minzy had on a cheerleader outfit with pants and half a skirt on the back, while Dara had a cute short-sleeved hoodie on. Their back-up dancers were also dressed in cheer uniforms for the girls and letterman jackets for the guys.
First they performed "Follow Me', which is just a badass song. Then CL & Minzy climbed into a rollercoaster car on stage. They sang "Please Don't Go" while the screens behind and below them showed footage of rollercoaster tracks to make it look like they were on a rollercoaster. They then slid down firemen poles to get back to the bottom of the stage.
Next up was "Pretty Boy", which was one of my favorite parts of the show. All of the male back-up dancers came on stage and took their shirts off. (Pretty girls and pretty shirtless boys on stage? Oh yes, please!) The boys kept trying to get flirty with the girls while they were singing, but the girls would inevitably push them away. Then at one point during the song two of the male dancers came out on stage inside giant inflatable hamster balls. They prowled around stage for a bit during the song. I'm not quite sure what the point of it was, but it was amusing nonetheless!
Minzy then performed her solo dance stage. She danced to a hip-hop song with some of the male back-up dancers, but my attention was all on her. Minzy is so naturally sexy when she dances. Unf.
After Minzy, it was Dara's turn for her solo stage. She appeared in her cheerleader outfit, with the addition of some bright red lipstick. Two of the female dancers brought a chair out on stage. Dara took off her hoodie to reveal an actual cheerleader outfit underneath. She then chose one lucky guy from the front of the audience to be brought up on stage during the song. Dara then sang "Kiss". The song started off at it's normal pace, but during the first verse she dropped it down low and sexy, and then picked it back up again. Near the end of the song, the lucky guy Dara had chosen was brought on stage. The two dancers sat him in the chair and held his arms, while Dara slunk over to him. She sat on his lap, gave him a kiss on the cheek, and cheerfully danced away! I don't usually find Dara sexy. Cute, yes, but not sexy. With her new haircut (half of her head is shaved short, while the other side is still really long) and now this performance I've started to find her a lot sexier.
There was then a small interlude, which featured Dara's Kiss and Dance Cam. The cameras went into the audience and showed couples on the big screens on stage.The couples were then encouraged to kiss for the camera. Let me tell you, if there's one way to embarass shy Japanese couples, this is it. Lol. Most of the couples were pretty good sports about it though. The cameras even focused on a couple guys (who I don't think were a couple) and without hesitation they planted a big kiss on each others lips. It was great. XD
Next up was a small set of slow songs. There was a mike stand on stage for the girls that looked like a small lighted tree. The girls then appeared in beige trenchcoat dresses. Yes, trenchcoat dresses. I wasn't a big fan of the dresses, but the girls still did a lovely set. They sang "Slow" and "Lonely". ("Lonely" is the 2NE1 song that has been known to make me cry if I'm in the right mood.)
After that lovely little set, it was time for another costume change. The girls changed into cute and sexy outfits that looked like they were made from a light purple satin. They sang "In the Club", "Stay Together", and then "I Love You". I had definitely been looking forward to their "I Love You" performance. The song is great and a love the dance the girls do with the scarves tied to their wrists. They performed the Japanese version of the song, since they'll be releasing it as a single here soon.
The girls changed outfits again for the next set. Honestly, these outfits are beyond describing. I'm just going to show what they looked like.
...Yeah. Dear, Jeremy Scott. Please stop designing 2NE1's clothes. I understand that they were wearing these outfits to perform "Ugly", but I just..can't. Dara looks like she's weaing Cookie Monster, CL's top half is being eaten by a monster, Minzy is wearing a pelt made from dead Muppets, and I don't even know what Bom's wearing. The outfits actually kind of distracted me from their performance of "Ugly", which is a fantastic song.
A pole was then brought out for the performance of "I Hate You". The girls took turns hanging on it while they sang the song. CL and Minzy did a little bit of sexy dancing on the pole, while Dara and Bom just sort of hung onto it. CL and Minzy were just bringing out all of their sexy moves for the concert.
The last three songs were another fun set, consisting of "Scream", "Go Away", and "Can't Nobody". "Can't Nobody" was especially fun because it was the last song and everyone was jumping and singing along. It's definitely one of my favorite 2NE1 songs.
Of course, the girls came back for an encore! For the encore, giant slides in the shape of high heels were inflated on stage. The girls slid down them and lounged on them while they sang the regular version of "I Don't Care". The last song was the Korean version of "I Am the Best". Bom and Dara had cameras and the footage was shown on stage as they filmed. Everyone was dancing around and having fun. Minzy kept shaking her butt and the audience. CL ran down to the front of the stage to sing to the front row. At the end of the song, the girls said their goodbyes and the show was over. It was a really fun concert!
Kaille, Kate, and I made our way out of the arena only to realize that it was raining. The raindrops were really cold at first, but then they felt nice because I was hot and a little sweaty. Then it was time to begin the long train ride back from Yokohama. Kate came back and spent the night at my place because she wasn't leaving for Osaka until the next morning. It took a little while, but my adrenaline finally died down and I was able to get some sleep.
It was definitely worth going to the concert. I'm really happy that we were able to have good seats, too. I only wish that Kaille and I had been able to find someone to take our original tickets to the show. I want to share the 2NE1 love!