121024 - BIG BANG ALIVE TOUR 2012 in MANILA
i was supposed to be working today and i was... in the morning. call me a lucky girl, but i had my worries because i almost didn't get to do as planned --- because of work. fortunately, i got off by mid-day and went as planned.
at 5:45pm, i arrived at the venue (while i waited for my BFF), SM Mall of Asia Arena, Pasay City --- Big Bang's Philippine leg of their Alive Tour.
i chanced a look at the venue itself and happened upon a group of very tall, bulky bouncers who were trying to herd the concert-goers to lining up where they were supposed to be... that's when i saw the big crowd just behind the fire trucks --- normal scenario for kpop concerts --- huge crowd and very very very long lines.
since i wasn't with my friend yet, i went back to the mall to look for a place to eat dinner --- a good thing too since i haven't had anything to eat and said friend just arrived.
the sad part of this however, started the moment we decided to go to the venue itself to get in:
1) there was no order or organization at all
2) the event organizers keep telling us that there was only ONE line for everyone --- unlike araneta who has 4 entrances, concert-goers get to line up according to their tickets: VIP, Lower Box, Upper Box and General Admission --- but with SM Arena, there was none
3) fans were lined up since morning but they only started letting everyone inside at around 7pm when normally they should've started 2 hours before the time of the concert (which was 8pm by the way)
4) a lot of us, my friend and i included, didn't get to see the opening number because of the stupid line outside
5) when we finally did get inside the venue, there were no ushers/guides to help us to our seats, plus the fans were all jam-packed and we couldn't really get to our section without using brute force --- which we had to literally do if we wanted to see anything of the concert at all and get to sit down
6) i had forgotten to add this bit too --- the sound system wasn't really something to be proud of. yes, we can hear them sing... but there were times (a lot of them too, especially during their ments) that we couldn't understand them even amidst all the screaming which shouldn't be the case.
***sorry the photos are crap. ipod touch photo-taking is not really ideal for concerts but i didn't bring my camera... plus, YG had warned all concert-goers that cameras, especially DSLRs aren't allowed and will be confiscated upon entry to the concert venue***
so after literally elbowing our way to our seats (we actually got our seats wrong but we couldn't move to our proper ones because of all the fans blocking the way), we finally had the chance to focus on the concert itself.
BigBang Alive Tour 2012 Set List
1. Still Alive
2. Tonight
3. Hands Up
4. Fantastic Baby
5. How Gee
6. Stupid Liar
7. Knock Out + High High (GD&TOP)
8. Strong Baby + What Can I Do (Seungri)
9. Gara Gara Go
10. Number 1
11. Cafe
12. Bad Boy
13. Blue
14. Love Song
15. Monster
16. Feeling
17. Only Look at Me + Wedding Dress (Taeyang)
18. Wings (Daesung)
19. Haru Haru
20. Lies
21. Last Farewell
Encore:
Heaven
Bad Boy
Fantastic Baby
(like i said, because of the utter stupidity and total lack of preparation of the organizers a lot of the fans, me and my friend included, didn't get to see the opening of the concert so i'll just put in the songs that we did get to see performed)
so i just found out that BB performed Fantastic Baby twice. LOL. anyway, after we elbowed our way inside to our seats --- we were in the wrong section by the way but there were too many fans and non-existent ushers to show us where we should have been seated --- and we finally got to start enjoying BB's concert.
we happened upon the second half of How Gee when we got in... then listened to Stupid Liar as we were elbowing our way in... when we finally got to our (wrong) seats, Taeyang, Daesung and Seungri were already having their ment. Surprisingly, there was no translator present, all three guys can hold their own, especially Taeyang who was good at speaking english~^^ they also started singing a medley of songs in a capella + beatboxing --- a bit of Knock Out and then GD's latest One of a Kind.
then GD&TOP came out singing their duet which, of course, had everyone on their feet and singing-shouting along with them. it was a good thing that i brought my foldable binoculars (bought from the last super junior concert - SS2) and i could freely oggle GD's sweaty yet still beautiful face and TOP's aakljdfhaksdjhalkdfjahfdkj!!! gorgeous face and eyes (sorry, he's my bias and he's just... OMG!). TOP in person is just something else... the charisma rolling off of him is just... every time he walks out, raps or sings the crowd goes crazy wild screaming their lungs out. then there's GD. GD is GD and he's such a crowd pleaser and he always talks to the fans. i was wowed by both him and Taeyang when they conversed in ENGLISH to everyone.
then Seungri's solo is up. i gotta tell you, Seungri isn't my bias and apart from me liking him dancing (tho i really like Taeyang dancing more~) he totally just blew me away. Seungri in person is totally different. yes, he does look the same as when i've seen him on tv or posters but looking at him in person is just wow... there was this one magical (to me at least) moment where he was performing his solo and he looked directly at the camera and just... smiled. the fangirl in me just melted and all i could think about was aaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwweeeeeeeeee how cute! <3<3<3 Seungri's smile is just flak;djfladkfka!!!
Gara Gara Go and Number 1 were next and i think both my friend and i remained standing for most of the two-and-a-half-hour concert... the energy didn't die out at all and when TOP's intro for Cafe was heard we went wild again... TOP's deep voice just sends shivers (of the good kind) up my arms... Bad Boy and Blue had the fans singing along while Taeyang added his adlibs.
Love Song came on and the fans never seemed to run out of energy let alone their voices. and then Monster which meant more screaming and singing and just scream-singing in general~ LOL.
sadly i wasn't familiar with Feeling when they sang this but i still joined the fans in trying to sing along~^^ *goestohideherself*
Taeyang's solo was just... i really can't think of a right word for this... the only word that comes to my mind is... sexy. LOL cause he was performing and his voice was just wonderful and then he was dancing and then HE TORE HIS SHIRT OFF and well... we were all screaming incoherently by then... then he started singing Wedding Dress... and it's my favorite of his solo songs and just... kladhgkljhadkajdghkajgh!!! Taeyang i love you!
i've always looked at Daesung as the clown of the group... but one with such impressive vocals when it comes to singing and belting out notes... he did not disappoint at all. 날개 (Wings) was just an impressive showcase of his vocals and now i love the song more and it's been on repeat in my head since. ^^
in white outfits, they sat in chairs and sang one of my favorite BB songs of all time. 하루하루 Haru Haru. they sang it in acoustic-orchestra-ish version and just... i was so happy to finally hear this song sung LIVE! everyone was singing along and the boys were just enjoying it and towards the end they let the fans sing the chorus just before belting out one last time~
the fans were on high energy once again once Lies and Last Farewell came on and we were scream-singing once again waving light sticks and just wishing for the concert to never end~
when Taeyang said that they were gonna say goodbye there were very very loud protests. the boys just smiled and waved and thanked the fans and told us we had a beautiful voice and they loved the philippines~^^ they said 'Salamat' (thank you in english) and then 'Mahal Ko Kayo' (i love you in english) and then TOP said it again and just... screaming fans again (of course i was screaming along with them~XDDDDDDD)... then they went backstage and the lights went out.
we weren't worried of course cause we all knew there was still the encore. we waited, screaming WE WANT MORE! WE WANT MORE! over and over again until we heard GD's and Taeyang's voices.
they came out dressed in black, GD was holding a light stick, Taeyang was swinging a towel around, TOP wore his big pilot's hat, Daesung was running around and Seungri carried a panda. LOL they sang their encore songs... i'm really fuzzy about which came first but from what i remember, Heaven and then Seungri sat the panda plushie down right on the front of the stage and then there was Fantastic Baby again and everyone was crazy scream-singing again and the boys were running around the stage and their dancers came out and were taking photos of each other and the boys as well... then i think they sang Bad Boy again, then Seungri came back to the front of the stage and took a picture of the panda, the panda with TOP's legs and then included himself... then Taeyang once again took his shirt off and threw it to the crowd and everyone was screaming again... then GD threw his jacket to the fans too... more screaming... then Seungri took his jacket off and crouched on the left side (facing the audience) of the stage and handed it out in exchange for a stuffed toy (i think this was a panda too) and then there was even more screaming... then the unsuspecting Daesung got doused with mineral water... by Taeyang or Seungri... i don't really remember the first pouring of water but TOP was the one i remember clearly cause while Daesung was singing he took a towel from the stack then a water bottle and opened it and snuck up behind Daesung and just poured the whole bottle on him... Daesung was such a good sport about it that he went and took a bottle for himself and sprayed the nearest fans with water. LOL
the boys also introduced their band and then there was a part too that they were about to exit but then the doors to the backstage wouldn't open so they were 'forced' to face the fans again... to our utter amusement and delight.
i really think they sang one more song but i was too focused on TOP wearing a sparkly pink bow-headband while he walked around the stage singing... LOL that was such a cute, dorky sight... LOL and then they were walking backstage but then Taeyang dragged him back and then TOP did this adorable dancing-shuffling while still wearing the sparkly headband and we were screaming (i was scream-laughing at the cuteness and just... LOL) again. then he turned to the audience one last time and said 'Mahal Ko Kayo' in this deep slightly shy voice that had everyone screaming again~^^
so the concert is over and we sat down for a bit to just gather ourselves... and just breathe... this was my third kpop concert and so far, this kind of tops my list (my complaints earlier aside) because the entire thing was LIVE and BIG BANG was just so full of energy (even tho both my friend and i noticed that Taeyang's voice sounded exhausted) and they had a LIVE BAND and just... wow...
i'm really hoping they come back next year... i'll watch them again... but hopefully for the organizers who will be handling them next time they're here, they better be WELL PREPARED for EVERYTHING. i'm sure i'm not the only fan who would be complaining about their lack of preparations and organization outside of the venue when it came to falling in line and letting us in. seriously, they should have known better and they're going to suffer and receive a lot of complaints because of what had happened last night.
all they needed was just to organize lines for every ticket --- VIP, Lower Box, Upper Box and General Admission --- it's actually a simple thing to do, since they have this hug entrance with several doors... sadly, they didn't do it last night and that resulted in frustrated jam-packed fans who weren't lucky enough to catch the opening of the concert.
at 5:45pm, i arrived at the venue (while i waited for my BFF), SM Mall of Asia Arena, Pasay City --- Big Bang's Philippine leg of their Alive Tour.
i chanced a look at the venue itself and happened upon a group of very tall, bulky bouncers who were trying to herd the concert-goers to lining up where they were supposed to be... that's when i saw the big crowd just behind the fire trucks --- normal scenario for kpop concerts --- huge crowd and very very very long lines.
since i wasn't with my friend yet, i went back to the mall to look for a place to eat dinner --- a good thing too since i haven't had anything to eat and said friend just arrived.
the sad part of this however, started the moment we decided to go to the venue itself to get in:
1) there was no order or organization at all
2) the event organizers keep telling us that there was only ONE line for everyone --- unlike araneta who has 4 entrances, concert-goers get to line up according to their tickets: VIP, Lower Box, Upper Box and General Admission --- but with SM Arena, there was none
3) fans were lined up since morning but they only started letting everyone inside at around 7pm when normally they should've started 2 hours before the time of the concert (which was 8pm by the way)
4) a lot of us, my friend and i included, didn't get to see the opening number because of the stupid line outside
5) when we finally did get inside the venue, there were no ushers/guides to help us to our seats, plus the fans were all jam-packed and we couldn't really get to our section without using brute force --- which we had to literally do if we wanted to see anything of the concert at all and get to sit down
6) i had forgotten to add this bit too --- the sound system wasn't really something to be proud of. yes, we can hear them sing... but there were times (a lot of them too, especially during their ments) that we couldn't understand them even amidst all the screaming which shouldn't be the case.
***sorry the photos are crap. ipod touch photo-taking is not really ideal for concerts but i didn't bring my camera... plus, YG had warned all concert-goers that cameras, especially DSLRs aren't allowed and will be confiscated upon entry to the concert venue***
so after literally elbowing our way to our seats (we actually got our seats wrong but we couldn't move to our proper ones because of all the fans blocking the way), we finally had the chance to focus on the concert itself.
BigBang Alive Tour 2012 Set List
1. Still Alive
2. Tonight
3. Hands Up
4. Fantastic Baby
5. How Gee
6. Stupid Liar
7. Knock Out + High High (GD&TOP)
8. Strong Baby + What Can I Do (Seungri)
9. Gara Gara Go
10. Number 1
11. Cafe
12. Bad Boy
13. Blue
14. Love Song
15. Monster
16. Feeling
17. Only Look at Me + Wedding Dress (Taeyang)
18. Wings (Daesung)
19. Haru Haru
20. Lies
21. Last Farewell
Encore:
Heaven
Bad Boy
Fantastic Baby
(like i said, because of the utter stupidity and total lack of preparation of the organizers a lot of the fans, me and my friend included, didn't get to see the opening of the concert so i'll just put in the songs that we did get to see performed)
so i just found out that BB performed Fantastic Baby twice. LOL. anyway, after we elbowed our way inside to our seats --- we were in the wrong section by the way but there were too many fans and non-existent ushers to show us where we should have been seated --- and we finally got to start enjoying BB's concert.
we happened upon the second half of How Gee when we got in... then listened to Stupid Liar as we were elbowing our way in... when we finally got to our (wrong) seats, Taeyang, Daesung and Seungri were already having their ment. Surprisingly, there was no translator present, all three guys can hold their own, especially Taeyang who was good at speaking english~^^ they also started singing a medley of songs in a capella + beatboxing --- a bit of Knock Out and then GD's latest One of a Kind.
then GD&TOP came out singing their duet which, of course, had everyone on their feet and singing-shouting along with them. it was a good thing that i brought my foldable binoculars (bought from the last super junior concert - SS2) and i could freely oggle GD's sweaty yet still beautiful face and TOP's aakljdfhaksdjhalkdfjahfdkj!!! gorgeous face and eyes (sorry, he's my bias and he's just... OMG!). TOP in person is just something else... the charisma rolling off of him is just... every time he walks out, raps or sings the crowd goes crazy wild screaming their lungs out. then there's GD. GD is GD and he's such a crowd pleaser and he always talks to the fans. i was wowed by both him and Taeyang when they conversed in ENGLISH to everyone.
then Seungri's solo is up. i gotta tell you, Seungri isn't my bias and apart from me liking him dancing (tho i really like Taeyang dancing more~) he totally just blew me away. Seungri in person is totally different. yes, he does look the same as when i've seen him on tv or posters but looking at him in person is just wow... there was this one magical (to me at least) moment where he was performing his solo and he looked directly at the camera and just... smiled. the fangirl in me just melted and all i could think about was aaaaaaawwwwwwwwwwweeeeeeeeee how cute! <3<3<3 Seungri's smile is just flak;djfladkfka!!!
Gara Gara Go and Number 1 were next and i think both my friend and i remained standing for most of the two-and-a-half-hour concert... the energy didn't die out at all and when TOP's intro for Cafe was heard we went wild again... TOP's deep voice just sends shivers (of the good kind) up my arms... Bad Boy and Blue had the fans singing along while Taeyang added his adlibs.
Love Song came on and the fans never seemed to run out of energy let alone their voices. and then Monster which meant more screaming and singing and just scream-singing in general~ LOL.
sadly i wasn't familiar with Feeling when they sang this but i still joined the fans in trying to sing along~^^ *goestohideherself*
Taeyang's solo was just... i really can't think of a right word for this... the only word that comes to my mind is... sexy. LOL cause he was performing and his voice was just wonderful and then he was dancing and then HE TORE HIS SHIRT OFF and well... we were all screaming incoherently by then... then he started singing Wedding Dress... and it's my favorite of his solo songs and just... kladhgkljhadkajdghkajgh!!! Taeyang i love you!
i've always looked at Daesung as the clown of the group... but one with such impressive vocals when it comes to singing and belting out notes... he did not disappoint at all. 날개 (Wings) was just an impressive showcase of his vocals and now i love the song more and it's been on repeat in my head since. ^^
in white outfits, they sat in chairs and sang one of my favorite BB songs of all time. 하루하루 Haru Haru. they sang it in acoustic-orchestra-ish version and just... i was so happy to finally hear this song sung LIVE! everyone was singing along and the boys were just enjoying it and towards the end they let the fans sing the chorus just before belting out one last time~
the fans were on high energy once again once Lies and Last Farewell came on and we were scream-singing once again waving light sticks and just wishing for the concert to never end~
when Taeyang said that they were gonna say goodbye there were very very loud protests. the boys just smiled and waved and thanked the fans and told us we had a beautiful voice and they loved the philippines~^^ they said 'Salamat' (thank you in english) and then 'Mahal Ko Kayo' (i love you in english) and then TOP said it again and just... screaming fans again (of course i was screaming along with them~XDDDDDDD)... then they went backstage and the lights went out.
we weren't worried of course cause we all knew there was still the encore. we waited, screaming WE WANT MORE! WE WANT MORE! over and over again until we heard GD's and Taeyang's voices.
they came out dressed in black, GD was holding a light stick, Taeyang was swinging a towel around, TOP wore his big pilot's hat, Daesung was running around and Seungri carried a panda. LOL they sang their encore songs... i'm really fuzzy about which came first but from what i remember, Heaven and then Seungri sat the panda plushie down right on the front of the stage and then there was Fantastic Baby again and everyone was crazy scream-singing again and the boys were running around the stage and their dancers came out and were taking photos of each other and the boys as well... then i think they sang Bad Boy again, then Seungri came back to the front of the stage and took a picture of the panda, the panda with TOP's legs and then included himself... then Taeyang once again took his shirt off and threw it to the crowd and everyone was screaming again... then GD threw his jacket to the fans too... more screaming... then Seungri took his jacket off and crouched on the left side (facing the audience) of the stage and handed it out in exchange for a stuffed toy (i think this was a panda too) and then there was even more screaming... then the unsuspecting Daesung got doused with mineral water... by Taeyang or Seungri... i don't really remember the first pouring of water but TOP was the one i remember clearly cause while Daesung was singing he took a towel from the stack then a water bottle and opened it and snuck up behind Daesung and just poured the whole bottle on him... Daesung was such a good sport about it that he went and took a bottle for himself and sprayed the nearest fans with water. LOL
the boys also introduced their band and then there was a part too that they were about to exit but then the doors to the backstage wouldn't open so they were 'forced' to face the fans again... to our utter amusement and delight.
i really think they sang one more song but i was too focused on TOP wearing a sparkly pink bow-headband while he walked around the stage singing... LOL that was such a cute, dorky sight... LOL and then they were walking backstage but then Taeyang dragged him back and then TOP did this adorable dancing-shuffling while still wearing the sparkly headband and we were screaming (i was scream-laughing at the cuteness and just... LOL) again. then he turned to the audience one last time and said 'Mahal Ko Kayo' in this deep slightly shy voice that had everyone screaming again~^^
so the concert is over and we sat down for a bit to just gather ourselves... and just breathe... this was my third kpop concert and so far, this kind of tops my list (my complaints earlier aside) because the entire thing was LIVE and BIG BANG was just so full of energy (even tho both my friend and i noticed that Taeyang's voice sounded exhausted) and they had a LIVE BAND and just... wow...
i'm really hoping they come back next year... i'll watch them again... but hopefully for the organizers who will be handling them next time they're here, they better be WELL PREPARED for EVERYTHING. i'm sure i'm not the only fan who would be complaining about their lack of preparations and organization outside of the venue when it came to falling in line and letting us in. seriously, they should have known better and they're going to suffer and receive a lot of complaints because of what had happened last night.
all they needed was just to organize lines for every ticket --- VIP, Lower Box, Upper Box and General Admission --- it's actually a simple thing to do, since they have this hug entrance with several doors... sadly, they didn't do it last night and that resulted in frustrated jam-packed fans who weren't lucky enough to catch the opening of the concert.