Gangnam Festival K-Pop Concert
I would really, REALLY like to rant and rave and tell you guys all about how awesome the boys looked and how well they performed, etc.
I want to. Really, I do. And it's not even that any of that is necessarily untrue. It's just that, well, I didn't really get to witness any of it. *sighs*
So the day started off on a hiccup first thing. I was supposed to get up at 7:30 so I could get ready, grab some breakfast, and get on the subway by 8:30ish so I could be at Coex by 9:30-10ish (yes, it takes me that long to get down to that area). Woke up, rolled over to look at my clock, and it's flippin' 9:00 already. -_- So, I ended up not even getting there until 11-ish. Which means, yes, I rushed my getting ready and completely skipped breakfast.
Met up with rennie_88 again. She'd been in line since... I'm not sure what time exactly. But way earlier than when I got there. So I kinda squeezed in next to her, talked with the SNSD fanboy sitting next to us. And we waited. And waited. And then her husband brought us lunch around 1:00, so we had some kimbap and waited some more. Around 2:30 or so, they finally had us move from the line on the sidewalk onto the gated off street where the concert was being held. Some more waiting, sitting literally in the middle of the street.
At that point, we weren't really sure if we'd be in the stage area or not. They had it set up kind of weird; the stage was set up with standing room around it for... I'm not even sure how many people ended up in the area. A few hundred, I guess. No more than 1000, I don't think. And then, behind the rear standing area was another big structure with a giant screen on it. Anyone who couldn't get into the stage area got to stay behind and just watch the screen. Which, now that I've had the experience, would have been much preferable.
The concert organizers/staff eventually came around to hand out bracelets to designate where you would be. Standing Room A! We were in~!! So we got super excited. And then waited for another 2 hours. During which we got to hear SuJu's sound check, which I must admit was pretty freakin' cool. XD Finally, at 5:30, they started letting people from the street into the stage area. BUT! There was approximately zero organization for this. Forget that when we first got onto the street, they carefully organized us into rows of 8 across, sitting one behind the other. No, when it was time to go to the stage, they just said, "Go for it!" and everyone basically ran like their lives depended on it. Which led to much pushing and shoving and squishing and other unpleasantness. XP Luckily, as at the Fan Sign, I am a big girl. With 3 brothers. I can stand my ground pretty well, and I used that to the full extent, both during this part and later during the actual concert.
Soooo, finally got into the standing area. We were in the big area in front of the end stage, not the smaller squares on the sides. And we actually got in there pretty quickly, so we were only maybe 8 rows or so from the back. We thought it would be great. And then we waited some more. Another hour, 7:00 finally rolls around, and the concert starts.
And this is where I say: Never, ever again - I don't care WHAT artist it's for. Not even a DB5K reunion concert could get me into standing room/general admission like that again. It was just ridiculous. Thought we'd be able to see at least okay since we were close-ish and the stage was pretty high up, but as soon as the concert started, the crowd condensed into a squished mass of limbs and arms/cameras went up in the air. Couldn't see a freakin' thing. Not even the vid screen at the back of the stage.
SNSD was first. I have to admit, I'm not a fan. I think their music is catchy, but I'm just not a fan of them for the most part. And having my first exposure to them be the 2008 KMF in LA didn't help much. They weren't impressive. I will admit, though, that they have improved. And if I weren't so focused on getting the ahjusshi next to me's elbow out of my face, I maybe could have almost enjoyed it. But, as it was, he was a douche and continued to be so throughout the rest of my stay at the concert, so it's a moot point. So they did a few songs, then SuJu came out.
I actually made a concerted effort to enjoy them. Because they were my 2nd Kpop group ever and one of the only currently active groups with members older than me. Only 2, but I take what I can get. XD And they even sang some of my favorite songs, so I was thrilled. Still couldn't see much, but they sounded awesome.
Finally it was DBSK's turn~~~! They started with 'Maximum' then did 'KYHD', so I was on pretty familiar ground there since I got to see that at SMTown LA (the first one XD). Again, would've been nice to have visuals, but the vocals were solid. Unlike SNSD and SuJu, though, who both did like 4-5 songs for their first sets, HoMin only did those two before heading off.
SNSD came back on, and this is were it gets REALLY messy. Because rather than staying on the far stage or the middle runway part, they came to the end stage right in front of us. Which would have been really cool if it hadn't induced mass hysteria. And due to said mass hysteria/pushing/shoving/lack of room, I ended up literally on the ground in a full-out asthma attack. Like, feet and hands went tingly-numb kind of attack. Security and paramedics had to make a path through the crowd and assist me out.
There was a really sweet girl there from Spain who helped me when the attack first started, helped me get to my inhaler and everything, then actually followed me out and sat with me in the first aid tent the whole time. She totally didn't have to - there was still plenty more concert after that - but she did. So nice~~~ We got to talking once I recovered a bit in the tent about our favorite groups. She asked mine, and of course I replied with DBSK. And then she said something along the lines of, "Me, too! All 5 though, of course." Kindred spirit, right there. ^___^
Anyway, that was pretty much it for me. Got to listen to the rest of the concert while sitting in a first aid tent covered in a thick blanket while periodically getting my blood pressure and other such vitals checked. Good times, really. So, sorry for anyone who was looking forward to an epic fan account from me. This day was just determined not to work out all around for me... T_T
I want to. Really, I do. And it's not even that any of that is necessarily untrue. It's just that, well, I didn't really get to witness any of it. *sighs*
So the day started off on a hiccup first thing. I was supposed to get up at 7:30 so I could get ready, grab some breakfast, and get on the subway by 8:30ish so I could be at Coex by 9:30-10ish (yes, it takes me that long to get down to that area). Woke up, rolled over to look at my clock, and it's flippin' 9:00 already. -_- So, I ended up not even getting there until 11-ish. Which means, yes, I rushed my getting ready and completely skipped breakfast.
Met up with rennie_88 again. She'd been in line since... I'm not sure what time exactly. But way earlier than when I got there. So I kinda squeezed in next to her, talked with the SNSD fanboy sitting next to us. And we waited. And waited. And then her husband brought us lunch around 1:00, so we had some kimbap and waited some more. Around 2:30 or so, they finally had us move from the line on the sidewalk onto the gated off street where the concert was being held. Some more waiting, sitting literally in the middle of the street.
At that point, we weren't really sure if we'd be in the stage area or not. They had it set up kind of weird; the stage was set up with standing room around it for... I'm not even sure how many people ended up in the area. A few hundred, I guess. No more than 1000, I don't think. And then, behind the rear standing area was another big structure with a giant screen on it. Anyone who couldn't get into the stage area got to stay behind and just watch the screen. Which, now that I've had the experience, would have been much preferable.
The concert organizers/staff eventually came around to hand out bracelets to designate where you would be. Standing Room A! We were in~!! So we got super excited. And then waited for another 2 hours. During which we got to hear SuJu's sound check, which I must admit was pretty freakin' cool. XD Finally, at 5:30, they started letting people from the street into the stage area. BUT! There was approximately zero organization for this. Forget that when we first got onto the street, they carefully organized us into rows of 8 across, sitting one behind the other. No, when it was time to go to the stage, they just said, "Go for it!" and everyone basically ran like their lives depended on it. Which led to much pushing and shoving and squishing and other unpleasantness. XP Luckily, as at the Fan Sign, I am a big girl. With 3 brothers. I can stand my ground pretty well, and I used that to the full extent, both during this part and later during the actual concert.
Soooo, finally got into the standing area. We were in the big area in front of the end stage, not the smaller squares on the sides. And we actually got in there pretty quickly, so we were only maybe 8 rows or so from the back. We thought it would be great. And then we waited some more. Another hour, 7:00 finally rolls around, and the concert starts.
And this is where I say: Never, ever again - I don't care WHAT artist it's for. Not even a DB5K reunion concert could get me into standing room/general admission like that again. It was just ridiculous. Thought we'd be able to see at least okay since we were close-ish and the stage was pretty high up, but as soon as the concert started, the crowd condensed into a squished mass of limbs and arms/cameras went up in the air. Couldn't see a freakin' thing. Not even the vid screen at the back of the stage.
SNSD was first. I have to admit, I'm not a fan. I think their music is catchy, but I'm just not a fan of them for the most part. And having my first exposure to them be the 2008 KMF in LA didn't help much. They weren't impressive. I will admit, though, that they have improved. And if I weren't so focused on getting the ahjusshi next to me's elbow out of my face, I maybe could have almost enjoyed it. But, as it was, he was a douche and continued to be so throughout the rest of my stay at the concert, so it's a moot point. So they did a few songs, then SuJu came out.
I actually made a concerted effort to enjoy them. Because they were my 2nd Kpop group ever and one of the only currently active groups with members older than me. Only 2, but I take what I can get. XD And they even sang some of my favorite songs, so I was thrilled. Still couldn't see much, but they sounded awesome.
Finally it was DBSK's turn~~~! They started with 'Maximum' then did 'KYHD', so I was on pretty familiar ground there since I got to see that at SMTown LA (the first one XD). Again, would've been nice to have visuals, but the vocals were solid. Unlike SNSD and SuJu, though, who both did like 4-5 songs for their first sets, HoMin only did those two before heading off.
SNSD came back on, and this is were it gets REALLY messy. Because rather than staying on the far stage or the middle runway part, they came to the end stage right in front of us. Which would have been really cool if it hadn't induced mass hysteria. And due to said mass hysteria/pushing/shoving/lack of room, I ended up literally on the ground in a full-out asthma attack. Like, feet and hands went tingly-numb kind of attack. Security and paramedics had to make a path through the crowd and assist me out.
There was a really sweet girl there from Spain who helped me when the attack first started, helped me get to my inhaler and everything, then actually followed me out and sat with me in the first aid tent the whole time. She totally didn't have to - there was still plenty more concert after that - but she did. So nice~~~ We got to talking once I recovered a bit in the tent about our favorite groups. She asked mine, and of course I replied with DBSK. And then she said something along the lines of, "Me, too! All 5 though, of course." Kindred spirit, right there. ^___^
Anyway, that was pretty much it for me. Got to listen to the rest of the concert while sitting in a first aid tent covered in a thick blanket while periodically getting my blood pressure and other such vitals checked. Good times, really. So, sorry for anyone who was looking forward to an epic fan account from me. This day was just determined not to work out all around for me... T_T