EXO PLANET #3: The EXO'rDIUM in New York (Fan Account) ー Final Thoughts
EXO PLANET #3: The EXO'rDIUM
Tuesday, April 25, 2017 (7:30pm)
Newark, NJ
PRE-CONCERT ー CONCERT ー SETLIST ANALYSIS ー FINAL THOUGHTS
FINAL THOUGHTS
My eyes are glazing over a bit at the thought of having to squeeze out yet more commentary about a concert that has already been analyzed to the death. I didn’t have as many feelings this year and my reaction to the concert has been quite grounded, well, at least relative to my psycho self from last year.
Firstly, to recap some thoughts about the concert logistics:
The attendance was pretty dismal. I'd say the venue was about 3/5 full and the pit was only 1/3 full. I don't know if the boys could tell how empty it actually was, but I hope they are not discouraged by this and that they come again :(
One benefit of having a smaller audience was that they didn't have to pause the concert to talk about safety. There were still empty seats in my section (the 6 seats in front of me were empty) and I think overall, everyone had the space they needed no matter where they were. People seemed at peace.
At first, the smaller crowd felt a little empty and cold, but over time, I could feel us coming together. We weren't are large or loud as last year, but we all tried so hard to make up for the difference and to create the same warm and excited atmosphere that they deserved. And there was extra appreciation between all of us for having actually come on a weekday night.
Ahh, now for MMT, my most favorite friend. Thankfully, I wasn't affected as much by MMT's incompetence compared to those who had decided on GA, but that doesn't mean I won't rant on their behalf.
Last year, MMT erred on the side of information overload. Fast turnaround with answers that weren't completely thought through that then led to backtracking which then created two streams of official information for people who didn't see the correction afterwards and just MASS CONFUSION EVERYWHERE. They did, however, have their shit together enough to offer online merch to purchase and then pick up the day of.
This year, it was the complete opposite problem. Maybe they were playing it safe and making sure everything was 14851795% confirmed before sharing it, but they left us in the dark for months after announcing the ticket sales date and didn't release anything about ticketing details until a week out(what time they would be released, the prices for each section, GA ticketing policy, etc.). The complete lack of information was incredibly frustrating, especially for those with GA--since they needed to figure out when to arrive and when to book hotels and transportation for depending on if FCFS or by ticket number. Deciding on all on such short notice is STRESSFUL. Even when they finally did release the information, there were no accurate venue price maps. MMT had their price breakdown by alphabetical sections, but Prud Center goes by numerical sections as does ticketing. I used last year's map to figure out what tickets to get, but can you imagine a first timer's?
(Personally, I thought GA worked fine when going by ticket number so why did they change it to FCFS?)
In terms of merchandise, there was no pre-order like last year, and they were silent about if there was going to be any merch until a week before the actual concert date. Is that a little too late, MMT? When they finally do share this, the much anticipated new lightstick is FCFS and the tent opened in the afternoon on concert day which pretty much prevented ANYONE with a good GA spot to get one. That's just fuckin stupid. This late notice also doesn’t help anyone who needed to save up money for things or would have rather gotten them online if the merch they wanted wasn't offered or was too expensive.
Maybe third time's the charm, since now they've been on both ends of the spectrum. Otherwise, EXO should find another North American partner. EXO deserves better, we deserve better.
Next, some observations on about the concert content.
My favorite stages were:
1. MAMA & Monster - loved how they arranged the opening and introduced the boys with so much strength and glory
2. Wolf Remix - music was so nicely remixed!, really impressive and creative graphics. I could actually listen to this version of Wolf on repeat (unlike the original)
3. Transformer Remix - choreography was AMAZING, so much hard work must have gone into it to maintain synchronicity, which is not their forte ahem. When I first heard the remix (audio-only), I thought it was too fast-paced, but paired with the choreography, it is juuuuuust right.
And some comments about each member, in no particular order:
DO - a silly little goober with his dorky laugh and his head bobbing, albeit so such a sophisticate for going to MOMA and Sleep No More while in New York
Sehun - didn't speak much at all, or ever but he has such a beautiful long, slinky body. (I hate objectifying bodies, but what can I do here??)
Chen - AMAZING vocals with some crazy high notes and his random aggressive shouts to hype us up I CANNOT HANDLE HIM
Baekhyun - being such a flirty twerp in the first half of the concert I MISS HIM SO MUCH
Chanyeol - gawd, his guitar skills are sexy
Xiumin - did not leave much of an impression other than always making me second guess myself when I think I'm looking at Baekhyun
Suho - his English is so good, and I will say this again that I LOVE his effort and appreciate his hard work so much. He's the only one who spoke complete (and lengthy!) English sentences. English is not easy and it speaks volumes to how much he cares for us and wants to communicate directly with his international fans.
Kai - he is such a beautiful dancer UGHHHH watching him dance is so therapeutic
Lay - he's absent again. I still have never seen him in the flesh (isn't that so weird? …at this rate, will I ever?) But the very few times that he did appear on screen, we screamed so hard
And now for the unscientific popularity contest purely based on screams from the first VCR from where I was standing:
(from most to least)
Kai - Chanyeol - Baekhyun - Sehun - DO - Lay - Suho - Xiumin - Chen
No large surprises this year, except that people LOVED DO.
I wish there were more ments or breaks where they could have come out to talk to us. I wanted to see their faces more. Even if they don't have any material to talk about, they could have played games--even rock, paper, scissors would have been fine. So many of their stages were all the way in the back…I guess because the extended platform was too narrow for some dance formations. My eyes and brain hurt from squinting and trying to guess which body shape belonged to whom.
And some thoughts on Baekhyun, the light and soul of my everything. I am so proud of him for all the dance breaks he got in this concert. He works SO HARD at it and I'm just happy that he can show this off to everyone. He's gotten so skinny though :( I like my baby 통통한 and I hope he eats happily
I also wanted to hear Baek's voice more. Stronger was the only time where we could clearly hear his voice in earnest. Once is not enough. ALWAYS NEEDS MORE BAEK VOICE. I won't ever not complain about this until he has a solo concert (and he will!).
And let's just talk about how incredibly stunning he is (how they all are). Every time the camera zoomed in on his face just UGH so pretty HOW CAN YOU BE SO BEAUTIFUL ARE YOU EVEN HUMAN
There were some crazy Baekhyun fans behind me screaming for him nearly nonstop through the concert and it was hilarious. I wish I had a megaphone voice like them and the courage to express this same undying love.
My seat was at a diagonal to Baekhyun's side in the Ment lineup. Though he moved around the stage a lot (moreso than last year), he stayed on my half of the stage slightly more often, like 51% of the time. Although I was on the "right" side, he focused primarily on those in the center and on the side pit and those who were seated in the immediate right of the stage. My section was considered a VERY good spot compared to other seated areas, but I still felt detached from the boys' efforts to engage the crowd. It was not until Angel that the members actually looked in our direction. I can't tell what it looks like from the stage, but I suppose from the bright lights, anything beyond the direct front, left and right is just complete darkness.
I saw some people with light up signs which made me really bitter because I was stupid and actually followed the rules (and now I checked in September 2017, for kicks, and that fucking regulation is gone LOL MY LIFE). And even if Kai or Suho did see my sign at the very end, it doesn't get telepathically get transmitted to Baekhyun so he still doesn't know that someone in this pitch black space is thinking of him and basically I tortured myself over this sign for absolutely nothing...other than being very good at punching holes into posterboard.
After surviving two concerts (X, don't laugh at my n00bness), from pre-concert ticketing shitshow to the post-concert emotional black hole, I think it's safe to say that I'm a lifer. That I'll keep going to these concerts for as long as I reasonably can.
For next year, I will be upping my signage game--maybe even make a light up head piece so that my hands aren't occupied the entire goddamn time. And I will be bringing and extra battery pack so that my phone won't die on me for the THIRD time and I'll miss another tlist meetup. I’m also thinking about what I should wear next concert--if I should just go all out for it. I stick out anyway in a sea of Exo Planet baseball jerseys and Growl-era shirts with my business casual outfits. Going to these concerts already means that I let go of my real identity and step into some alternative universe where in the anonimity of darkness, there is no such thing as judgement. Maybe I should make a paper dress completely covered in the word, "Baekhyun". Why not?
I'm not sure if I'll go for seated or standing next concert though. I am greedy and am always looking for a closer spot so that I can see faces clearly and make sure that the ass I'm ogling belongs to the right person. GA still sounds appealing to me, even if I come out haggard afterwards. Or perhaps, more ideally, getting a ticket in the first few rows in the immediate sections surrounding the stage--which is almost impossible. Nevertheless, I don't think I'd want to sit much further away from where I was this year.
Apart from the setlist itself being a little messy, I think another part of why I felt the concert was fast was that I was in a seat and wasn't fighting for survival every single minute. I could relax in my spot without wondering how many more seconds until the song ended so that I could get a break from standing on my tiptoes? How many more seconds before the VCR started so that I can let my neck rest and not have it craned at 120 degrees.
I don't have as many flowery and overwrought feelings as last year. I think because I've succumbed to the fact that I am nothing. If people closer to him, who speak his language and live in his same society cannot get any closer, then how in the world will I be able to make any sort of impact? I won't and I don't matter, not in the selfish way that I want it to.
I was bracing myself for the intense withdrawals. Last year, even weeks later, it felt like I was going through a bad breakup. Some days, my mind would just graze over the idea of the concert and that little contact would send me spiraling into this all-consuming emptiness. WHY did I let a concert do so much psychological damage to me?
This year, I didn't remember feeling much of anything during the concert and the weeks after. I waited and waited for that despair to hit, but it never did. The hole isn't as gaping and raw and bleeding red like last time, it's more like a bad bruise. The pain is a dull numb. I miss them of course, but it doesn't dig deep into me. I just miss them a lot like I miss a good, good friend.
I was disappointed in myself for feeling so little after seeing THE EXO, especially when I knew that last year I had reacted with such an outpour of emotions. Maybe it's because my entire mental capacity had been occupied during the concert with trying to figure out where the musical arc was going so that I could plant myself into it and be carried on the journey. So much so that it prevented me from having any semblance of feeling. Only my ticket, my streamer and my phone's contents are evidence that I was even there because my body remembers very little of it.
I can't believe he's gone. I can't believe he was here. I can't believe any of it.
But this time, it's easy to let go.
PRE-CONCERT ー CONCERT ー SETLIST ANALYSIS ー FINAL THOUGHTS
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Total Word Count: 18417 (34 pages) heh