Finally typing up my fan account. Again, I forgot my camera at home, so I only have a few pictures that I took with my phone.
The actual fan account of the concert is way down at the bottom of the entry since I recounted everything my roommates and I did beforehand. The pictures are in the middle.
I got to LAX (Los Angeles International Airport) around 11PM PST and called Steven to tell him that I had arrived. He didn't pick up his phone, so I started to get worried. I exited the airport and waited for a Super Shuttle that would take me to the Wilshire Grand Hotel. I got there around midnight and tried calling Steven again; still no answer. I went to the main desk and asked the employee if someone named Steven Kung had made a reservation there, and he said yes, that he had already checked in. I told him that I was supposed to stay with Steven, but that he wasn't picking up his phone. The employee said that I could make a call to his hotel room and see if he answered, so I did, and still no one picked up. But he called me back on his cell phone soon after, and told me to go up to room 773. Took the elevator to the seventh floor, knocked on #773's door, and a girl opened it. I went inside and put my stuff down, then went into the bathroom to change into my pajamas and take my contacts out.
The hotel room was really nice. Two big beds, a sofa, two soft chairs, a desk, and not one, but two bathrooms. The bathrooms were stocked with these good-smelling bath products, like soap, shampoo, conditioner, and also had shower caps and mouthwash.
I came back out and sat down on the chair by the desk. It was quiet, and I didn't know what to say. I decided to introduce myself, so I said, "Um, I'm Cristy." The guy sitting closest to the door said he was Kevin, the girl said her name was Eva, and Steven was like, "Hi, I'm Steven," so I said, "Psh, I already know you." There was another girl named Kim there, and three other girls who were sleeping in the beds. Kevin and Eva asked where I was from, so I told them New York City. I was really tired since it was already past 3AM EST. We all talked for a while, and around 2:20AM, Kevin, Eva, Kim, and I decided to walk around the hotel. We took the elevator down to the main floor, walked to the ballroom floor (some high school's prom was going to be held there), and went to the pool area, which was nice. We went back up to our hotel room, and by then it was about 2:35. We all went to sleep around 2:45, or 5:45 EST--I had been up for almost 24 hours at that point. Kim set her phone's alarm to go off at 6:30 so that we could get up early and stalk the singers. (I had eight roommates total: Steven, Kevin, Eva, Liz, Christina, Chantel, Kim, and Anita [as in `ANITA on Soompi, if you've ever seen her post]).
Sleep sleep sleep. I woke up when "Gee" started playing on Kim's phone, but didn't get off the sofa. We all stayed in our spots till 6:45 or so, when some of us got up and took a shower. I changed into my S♥NE shirt, and everyone but Liz, Christina, and Chantel went to Denny's for breakfast. Steven had to go back to the hotel to get Chantel since she didn't know where Denny's was. I had pancakes, an English muffin, hash browns, and sausages. After we all finished eating, we went to Rite Aid, where my roommates had seen a few of the SNSD members last night; but none of them was there this time.
My stomach started to hurt, to the point where I couldn't walk standing up straight, so I asked Steven if he could take me back to the hotel. Once we reached our room, I curled up on the sofa with a pillow and blanket. I wasn't sure if it was cramps (I had gotten my period while I was sleeping) or a stomachache that was making my stomach hurt, but it felt more like the latter. Maybe the sausages at Denny's were undercooked. I asked Steven if he could go and buy Pepto-Bismol for me, so he went down to the hotel's gift shop and found some. I drank 30 milliliters of the medicine like the directions said to, and felt better about 15 minutes later. Yay for Pepto-Bismol.
So then we all went downstairs and waited by the escalators and elevators. An elderly man in a red trench coat, bright pants (I think they were yellow, but I can't remember anymore), a hat, and I think Converse shoes came and sat in the lounge area. I found out that it was Tae Jina, Eru's dad, and went over to get his autograph. He made a thumbs-up sign when he took pictures with the girls ahead of me; it was cute. He wrote "ERU APPA" (Eru's dad; the "appa" part is in Korean) above the date and his name, which he wrote as "TAE JIN A."
After that, we sat on the floor and played poker, which I lost at. I suck at poker, haha. We hadn't sat down for long when we heard screaming, so we got up to see who had come down. It was SHINee! I followed the screaming fangirls outside, to the back of the hotel, where SHINee was waiting for their car. I think they were going to rehearsal.
I could hardly see Jonghyun, but that's him on the left.
Walking to their car.
Getting in.
It was probably about 9:40 when SHINee's car finally drove away. I can't believe I saw SHINee in real life; I felt like I was in a dream with them standing less than 15 feet away from me.
Went back into the hotel and saw Kim Taewoo (former g.o.d. member) sitting in the lounge, so I went over to get an autograph. The girl in front of me took a picture with him, and then Son Hoyoung came over. He and Taewoo did that handshake that guys do, and I think Hoyoung asked Taewoo, "How are you?" I was standing RIGHT NEXT TO SON HOYOUNG for several seconds--there were less than three inches of space between his arm and mine. I was surprised at how short he is in real life; he's no taller than 5'8" to 5'10". I couldn't stop smiling after that, and told Steven so. I stood next to Son Hoyoung. I probably could have touched him if I had shifted my weight to my left foot, or just moved over a bit. Anyway, Kim Taewoo said, "Sorry, I gotta go" (I didn't know that he could speak English) and got up to leave just before I could get his autograph. Oh, well. Here's a picture of him walking away:
He's the one in black.
Some time later Yuri came downstairs. She went one way, then came back and exited the hotel a different way. I only got a picture of her back:
Eventually my roommates and I all went to the Grove, which is a popular shopping area that KMF performers like to go to. We got there via a Mexican taxi that Liz called. We thought it would cost $25 to take it, but when we got there, the driver said $45. Kevin was like, "We thought it was $25," so the driver said $30, and we only had to pay $30. Yay for Kevin's bargaining skills, haha.
We went to Abercrombie & Fitch since Korean celebrities seem to like that store a lot, but we didn't see anyone there. One of the girls working there told us that some of the performers had shopped there yesterday, and that SS501(?) was there in the morning. We fail at stalking celebrities. :( We also went to Nordstrom, then to the Farmers Market. The others were buying funnel cake when my stomach started to hurt again, this time lower down, so I was pretty sure it was menstrual cramps causing the pain. I hadn't brought the Pepto-Bismol with me. Christina suggested that I buy Midol, and Kevin went off in search of a pharmacy. He came back and told us that there was a CVS across the street, so Eva took me there. We walked down two long blocks and saw no CVS anywhere, so we walked back to the Farmers Market. Turns out that we had gone in the wrong direction. Kevin had already bought the Midol, so I took some. I asked him how much it was so I could pay him back, but he told me not to worry about it. ;_; ♥ I also bought water to drink, and felt much better soon after. I love Kevin and Eva for taking care of me. Haha, Eva bought pads, and Kevin took them out of the CVS bag and was just holding them as we walked back to the Farmers Market; I don't know why. He's weird.
We walked to the movie theater (it was big and pretty) and just sat down on the seats. By this time it was already 3PM, and Eva and I needed to pick up the SHINee items we had bought by 4. Liz called up the same taxi company from before. We went back to CVS to buy snacks for the concert since buying food at the Hollywood Bowl is expensive. French Onion SunChips, barbecue chips, and more Aquafina water for me. While waiting for the taxi to arrive, Kevin sat in one of the shopping carts and I pushed him around a bit. I wouldn't let him push me when I sat down in one. The taxi (which wasn't a real taxi; it was a van) arrived, and we drove to the Bowl. The driver had to take a detour to avoid the police since (1) we weren't wearing seatbelts, and (2) we had nine people in a vehicle meant for seven. I'm not sure how much money we paid this time; I think it was $30 again.
There were a lot of other people there when we entered the Bowl, or rather, the area just outside it. There were freebies to be obtained, so we went around to the different booths to see what there was. I got chocolate-covered soybeans, two bags, a helium-filled balloon (asked Steven to tie it to my wrist so I wouldn't lose it; Kevin had to retie it), coffee (McDonald's McCafe), two lightsticks (one from Korean Air, another from some other company), and thundersticks (inflatable noisemakers that you clap together). Then we got in line to have our bags checked so that we could enter the Bowl itself and find our seats.
Once in my seat, I put my stuff down and found Dessa
g0tn00dles. We talked for a few minutes, and then I went back to my seat. Stephanie
x-ebolarama tried to find me, but couldn't. I didn't get to meet Kristine
tin-yuu-11 or see Vicky
ainokisu again this year. :\ But there's always a next time! Steph, I'll hopefully meet you at the Epik High concert.
I talked to the two girls sitting next to me, both of whom were wearing S♥NE shirts also. One of them had the foam heart that Soshified was giving out to people who had purchased a shirt, but they ran out when Steven picked up his and my shirts. The girl was nice and asked me if I wanted one since she had an extra one back at the hotel. So I got a foam heart after all~ She also gave me a necklace of pink beads that she had bought separately. There are always such kind people at KMF. Steven went and got the SHINee stuff that Eva and I didn't get to pick up. The SHINee lightstick was pretty! There was also an unofficial SHINee balloon. I already had an official one that Soy (Soshified's founder) gave me at the hotel earlier that day.
Finally, it was 6:30, time for the concert to start. Son Hoyoung came out onstage and talked a little bit, and I blew up my thundersticks. I couldn't really see Hoyoung even though I had bought Bench D seats so that I could have a better view of him. :\ He was wearing a black-and-white checkered shirt, and his hair looked good.
KOREAN NATIONAL ANTHEM: Kim Taewoo came out to sing the Korean national anthem, and he did it well. I really like his voice.
AMERICAN NATIONAL ANTHEM: A woman came out to sing the American national anthem. She had a powerful voice, and could go really high at some parts. I'm not sure if she was Korean or white, but I read on Soompi that she was the former.
KOREAN AIR: Some Korean Air flight attendants and maybe a pilot sang a few songs. Not much to say about them since they weren't actually singers.
KIM HEUNGGOOK: Kim Heunggook was the first one to perform. His songs were okay, and he had some funny dance moves.
MIN HAEKYUNG: I didn't really like the first two songs that she sang, but I liked her last song, which was slower/a ballad.
TENOR UM JUNGHAENG: He was probably the most traditional artist to perform, since he sang opera. He was all right, but opera isn't really my thing. He is talented, though.
LEE JUK: This guy was really good! He sang one or two slow songs, and then a rock song. He was the first of the performers to walk on the extended stage to interact with the concertgoers. Taeyeon came out and sang a duet with him, and it sounded really nice. I liked his performance a lot, and need to look up his songs later.
BAEK JIYOUNG: The first song she sang was "Like Being Hit by a Bullet," which is the only song of hers that I actually know. She also sang "Give Your Lips" and one or two other songs. I enjoyed her performance. She's pretty.
KIM CHANGWAN BAND: Their songs were okay, but they performed for way too long! They got to sing at least five songs. I started to get bored after the third or fourth one. Not really my kind of music.
TAE JINA: He came out in a white hat and sparkly, light-blue jacket. I didn't know the songs that he sang, but I liked them anyway. He's an entertaining guy. At one point he took a sign from an audience member and held it up for a little while. It said, "Eru oppa is the best," or maybe it was "Eru appa is the best."
LENA PARK: I didn't like Lena's voice when I looked her up on YouTube, and I thought it was okay at the concert. Not to say that she can't sing, but her voice is just too high for my liking. Jessica came out and sang "You Raise Me Up" with her, and it sounded lovely. Their voices go well together.
SPRING SUMMER FALL WINTER: Like the Kim Changwan Band, this group had too many songs. Their first one was instrumental, and so was their second. I don't remember if their other few songs had words. They were okay, but I was glad when they left the stage.
KIM TAEWOO: Yay, Kim Taewoo~ First he sang "Words I Want to Say," which is the only song of his that I know. I liked it a lot. The second song he sang was "I Love U Oh Thank U," which originally features MC Mong as the rapper, but Issac rapped instead. Then...
SON HOYOUNG: Son Hoyoung came out! I started screaming and clapping my thundersticks together like crazy. I think that the guy sitting next to me might have looked at me like I needed to calm down, but I didn't care since I knew that SHY's performance would be awesome. First he sang a remix of "I Know," and I was singing along with the "I know" parts. Hoi was wearing light-up shades. He was so full of energy and got the entire place jumping up and down, just like last year. I couldn't jump since I was standing in a way to hold my balloon down, but I waved my lightstick extra-vigorously to make up for it. Then another man came out to join him; it was Park Joonhyung, a former g.o.d. member, so it was like a semi-g.o.d. reunion! It was so awesome. They are all phenomenal performers; it makes me wonder how popular they used to be back when they were together. The songs they sang together were "To My Mother," "Friday Night," "One Candle," and "0%." Son Hoyoung owned everyone else with his performance. ♥ I screamed, "Son Hoyoung, I love you!" when they were done.
SHINee: I didn't even notice that SHINee came onstage until SHY said, "SHINee!" Everyone went crazy screaming and clapping either their hands or thundersticks together, myself included. It was just...surreal when "Noona Is So Pretty" started playing. I was finally seeing this song, which I had been listening to for the past year, being performed live. I sang along with all of the parts that I knew. Then they sang "AMIGO," and I got so excited when I heard the "cold eyes, baby" line. Chanting the "AMIGO!" and singing the "hajiman sexy" parts was so much fun; it sounded like everyone was doing it together. I thought that they would sing another song, like "Love like Oxygen," but they didn't. They didn't introduce themselves, either. Their time on stage was way too short. :( But they did well. Oh, and all of the members except for Onew wore their hats! I couldn't believe it; I thought that they would take them off during the perf, but they kept them on. I wish their comeback had already happened so that I could see their hair. Here's a fancam that Anita took; it's nice and steady:
noona neomu yeppeo~.
SNSD: Next was SNSD. They came out looking cute in their colorful jeans. Their first song was "Girls' Generation," which surprised me since they sang it last year. But I like it, so I didn't mind. They started to introduce themselves, but then "Gee" started playing. They looked like they were caught off-guard, but were able to sing anyway. Some of the members had problems with their mics; I could hardly hear Taeyeon, and I think Sooyoung. The background music was too loud, practically drowning their voices out. I was able to hear them better during "Himnae!" but Taeyeon's mic still wasn't working right. Then they introduced themselves. Tiffany spoke in English, and Sooyoung did a lot of talking.
SS501: SS501 was the last group to perform. They started off with "A Song Calling for You," I think. Then I heard the opening notes of "Because I'm Stupid," one of the Boys Before Flowers songs, and screamed and thundersticked (new verb) like crazy again; I was so happy that they got to sing it! jasd;fa ♥ The other two songs they sang were "Bye Bye" and "Deja Vu" (I liked this one a lot). Their dancing for the last one was hot, and the fact that they were all dressed in black suits = :Q___. I'm happy that I got to see Hyunjoong in real life. All of the other members are hot, too!
FINALE: Only Son Hoyoung, Kim Taewoo, Park Joonhyung, Issac, SS501, and one of the older bands sang during the finale. I was waiting for SHINee, SNSD, and everyone else to come out and join them, but they didn't. It was kind of weird since last year, all of the artists sang during the finale. I was hoping to see SHINee and/or SNSD interact with the other performers, especially Son Hoyoung. I heard that SHINee and SNSD left immediately after their performances to go eat or shop. Anyway, Hoyoung was all, "Peace! Bye!" and the "Above and Beyond" sign above the stage lit up, and there were fireworks.
Kevin, Eva, and I (we were all in Bench D) left the Bowl. We waited for the others to join us, and then we took a shuttle bus to a Metro station. It was chilly when we got off, so I ended up linking arms with Steven to keep warm since I hadn't brought my jacket. His arm was warm. I thought that we were lost since I didn't see a Metro station, but we reached it eventually, and bought tickets. It turns out that we didn't even really need to since you don't need to swipe it or get it checked before getting on the Metro. Oh well. Kevin started talking to these girls sitting across from us, and found out that they had a mutual friend/went to the same school(?). We reached our stop and got off.
Walked back to the hotel and stood around for a bit. SS501 came back while we were there; I got to wave at one of the members as the elevator door closed. :D I'm not sure which one it was, but it wasn't Hyunjoong. I think it might have been Jungmin or Kyujong. We went back up to our hotel room, dropped our things off, and went to Subway for food. I ate near the escalators and elevators while waiting for more celebrities to come back, but none did. Apparently SHINee and SNSD had come back around midnight or 1AM, but it was past that time already.
I slept around 3AM again. Woke up around 7:30, packed, and went downstairs around 8. The Super Shuttle that I had reserved the day before wasn't there, so I called the company and asked why. The lady who picked up told me that it had been there at 7:30, even though I had requested for it to arrive at 8. So they sent another one that got there at 8:40. One of the doormen (who was cute) asked me where I was headed to after getting to LAX, so I told him, and he asked why I was in LA, so I told him because of the concert. He said that he knew of SHINee and SNSD since he'd heard SHINee's music playing from someone's phone the day before.
My shuttle arrived, so I got on, and waved bye to Eva. I got to the airport late since one of the other passengers arrived 15 minutes late and caused us to be delayed. I missed my 9:50AM flight, so I had to be re-booked for a 10:37 one. I got back to New York around 10, and got home at 10:30. Tired, jet-lagged, and was considerably more tan.
I don't think I've ever written such a long post. Thank you if you read everything, and thanks if you just read the part about the concert itself. I am so long-winded.
My fan account of last year's KMF is
here if you want to read it. It's the year that DBSK came and performed.