The Big Show 04: "Hey....this ain't Lotte World!..D8"
2ND CONCERT DAY: Saturday, January 31, 2009 - the day of the 6PM concert
We woke up early to get ready for another full day. Anne woke up first because she had to get ready to go back to Incheon. =( I think we ate some snacks that they had bought the last night at a convenience store and also the FREE brownies we got after the concert that I forgot to mention - they were just giving them out after the concert. So good~ Of course I should mention them, they were good & free! lol 8D
Me and Anne, Anne and I~ lol
When we got to the lobby, we saw life-sized card board cut outs of Big Bang in front. Things like that really made me appreciate the tour service because they always liked to put a little Big Bang touch into everything.
After we took pictures with them, we said our goodbyes to Anne before going on our bus. I was really sad that we didn't get to spend much time together but I did appreciate the fact that I could even meet her at all. We live so far away from each other, even though of course I always wanted to meet her, I didn't think it could ever happen, at least not so soon. Sometimes I do this thing, where I have to look at the person I'm saying goodbye to and who I know I won't be seeing for a very long time. I have to really take that last mental picture, so their image is with me for a long time. Take the person in with my eyes..lol ToT And now I so clearly remember the last time I saw Anne, and hopefully it won't be the last. It was wonderful just hanging out with her for a bit. I'm happy to have finally met her forreal in my life. Anne, I miss you~!
When we got on the bus, we were excited for the day ahead of us because this day we were scheduled to go to Lotte, and then seeing Big Bang during a rehearsal and then the concert again. To my surprise, we ended up being taken to lunch at some restaurant. We had to go upstairs and the whole floor was reserved for us. We took off our shoes and ate sitting on the floor. We had bibimbap! And all the banchan that comes with it. It was so good, of course out of all the bibimbap I ever had, it would taste the best in Korea..lol. xP
We even got to know some of our tour mates while having lunch with them, Susana having to translate between us all but it was really nice finally getting to talk to a few of the Japanese fans.^^ We found out that the two of them were fans of SOL and V.I and went to the first concert separately as well.
After that we got back on the bus again to go to Lotte World! ...or so we thought. lol. When we got to the building, I had to laugh to myself, because we weren't at Lotte WORLD, instead we were at Lotte DUTY FREE department store! LOL. XD Awww. In my head, I was srsly like, "Wait a minute, this isn't Lotte World!! DX" I didn't really have the money to spend on anything here but they ended up giving us these duty free coupons so I think two of them were worth a certain amount of money and therefore, everyone could get something if it was under the limit of the coupons! I ended up getting cell-phone charms for some friends back home and cute souvinier magnets for my grandparents. They actually cost more than the coupons so I paid the difference anyways.^^ After getting my items, we ended up checking up on different floors (this place was fancyy!!) and found a convenience store in the underground floor. I had my YB sign that I took from the previous day but I needed scissors so that I could cut out the 'stalker' part of the sign..lol. The two young workers were busy talking to each other behind the counter when I came up to one of them and said, "Excuse me, do you have scissors?" Immediately, this girl just stares at me as if she did not expect to be hearing English so early in the morning or something..lol. (I don't blame her, I was getting used to being stared at like a leper whenever I spoke English so whatevz) I was already used to freaking people out with my English usage so I just thought it was cute.. I had to make the scissor hand gesture though and ask again, and she gave me one and even helped me to cut the poster by holding the other end. I know she probably read the poster and thought I was weird in the first place for having something that says "youngbae stalker" but whatever, at least I cut off the stalker part right?! lol XD
lol darn, wish we went to Lotte WORLD instead..xP
Back on the bus and here's my rehearsal pass/lanyard!
When we arrived at Olympic Park, the tour guides let us know we had some time to look around and shop and stuff before we would meet up again to get into the rehearsals. It was really early, it must have been before 3pm or 4pm. There were the merchandise booths, a Cyon booth, NII, and a Baskin Robbins..all with very long lines and apparently all with free goodies/posters. There was also the LookKorea one we went to the first day and later I found out there were tents where people could pay the staff to watch after their belongings like merchandise while they were at the concert.The first tent we went to was the FILA one..they had posters and diary calendars and all the BB FILA merch. Ooh~Ahh~ lol All the tents had Big Bang's faces all over them. If only I stole them..lol jk I really wanted to film some VIP fanclub fansite groups that we often see from the DVDs..so after the FILA booth and because my battery was dying I went off on my own.
btw, I was really amused at seeing this cardboard display.. I noticed there were 6 bodies and one was missing a head! YoungBae was missing his head..but then there was already a YoungBae in the display so lol..idk..I guess for the fanboys? xD It's a male body..lol.. I would have taken a picture in that if it was any body else's body but YB's..lol.. I want to be with him not BE him! xD
^yes, I am blocking Jingyo! scandalous~
As I was filming the area, a fan with a red bow on her head came up to me and randomly gave me a Cyon Edge poster of G-Dragon! I greeted her when she came up to me and then she just put it in my hands and I thanked her. When I peeked into the rolled up tube and saw that it was really a poster, I just had to go over and thank them and mingle more because that was ncredibly niceof them. I turned off my camera right away and went to go talk with them. We took pictures!~^^* I turned off the camera and went over to thank all the fans and take pictures with them. The group I went up to had 'big bang IRIS' signs and signs for Seungri, and a lot of them had the red bows. We exchanged emails because one of the pictures was on the other girl's camera. It was funny because all of the girls surrounded me and asked for my name and when I said Jerilyn, they all started cheering my name..lol..like..a mini...celebration..lol I told them I was from America, and they were all very pleasant and cute and surprised and when I wrote down down my email which is: yb-heartsicles@hotmail.com, one of the girls pointed and was like, "Oh! Omo! Youngbae-yah???" and I answered, "Yes! Young Bae! My favorite!" and everyone spazzed, "Ah Young Bae!" And saying things like "she likes Young Bae" in korean to each other with the chowayo, etc. I kind of asked, in Korean if anyone knew how to speak English, and one of the girls with the red bow on her head and glasses was like, "Ah Eengggurishhuu?? Ah, sohree no Engggrurisshu~!" And I was like, "Ah ok.." So then I just told everyone to have fun at the concert and had to leave. I waved goodbye and they were all waving goodbye and saying random engrish things like "Goodbye!~! I love you!!" whilst doing the 'heart signs' with their hands! My gosh, it was so cute, that I returned the heart sign and said "Saranghaeyo VIP!" and they all cheered again and were really excited. XDD It was such a change from yesterday's hot mess in the standing area, meeting these sweet SWEET V.I.P.~ They reminded me of the good side of the fandom and how all fans have the good and the bad and these girls were definitely the nice and friendly ones~ I'll never forget them and their friendly smiles! ..also it helps that they all had little red bows on their heads..lol.^^
lol I love how oblivous I look here.,and not even at the right camera..lol. XD Apparently I didn't get the 'let's hide' memo. This was the picture one of the IRIS girls emailed to me..they blurred out their faces. =/ Note to self: these frames make me look extra goofy..lol I was walking around with them on like it was my birthday..xD
mwuaha this is from my camera~ ;D
In the video montage thingy:
- Me wandering around, just showing how the venue looks like
- You get to see random Big Bang fans
- I have bad camera(wo)man skills
- Found Big Bang maxipads on the ground..lol..wtf O_o
- I randomly get a Cyon Edge GD poster from some V.I.P. (they were a Seungri fanclub!)
^this old yet swagtastic Japanese fan was geared up in that expensive jacket that TOP and GD have and in a hat that GD has also. *O* Every time she passed by I would just be like..WOW! BALLIN'!!!!
And there was another fan with a bowl cut that I didn't catch on video, but she came up to me and gave me a card from their fanclub dedicated to Daesung and she was really spazzy and loud and was like, "This is KANG.DAE.SUNG!" and I was nodding and letting her know I knew who he was..lol. I also said, "Yess! Smile boy~!" (I think I meant to say Smile Angel..lol) And she went all "AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" in a crazed fangirly scream..lol. I crack up when I think about that moment because it caught me off guard and it was really funny. Those Daesung fans were seriously hyped up and were cheering around the area..I could even hear them from afar..lol.
The Rehearsal
After roaming around the venue, we met up with all the JVIP and were organized by our bus #s and followed everyone to the side where we had stood in line for the standing area. Our bus was the last ones to enter the stadium and it was pretty much the same entrance from yesterday except we didn't pass under the stage walkway, instead all the fans were on the outter side of the stage. It was pretty surreal stepping in, because Big Bang were already there rehearsing on the main stage. So yes, my eyes did go O_O. They even had the screens from the left and right sides on so that we could see them on it as well. I wasn't so close to them but I could see them just fine from where I stood on the side.
At first I thought we'd get to watch them go through a full rehearsal but by the time we got in, they were rehearsing "With U/Number 1" so we watched them run through those multiple times. And when I say multiple, I mean, YB and GD had to keep going up the stairs and down those two polls on either sides of the stage several times, probably trying to time each other correctly. I didn't mind at all though, because the green laser lights were cool and I liked the way 'With U' intro sounds in that version. AND, I've said before that 'Number 1' is one of my most favorite Big Bang songs so I was all "HAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYY 8D" every time they finally got to the point where YB and GD are done with their short solo dances and then meet up in the middle with the rest of the boys for the song. All of us fans would sing and dance along and be moded when the music stops right in the middle of us singing..lol.
From what I remember, YB was wearing a hat (as usual) and GD was wearing a yellow jacket (which he eventually takes off) and was sucking on a lollipop. I think TOP was wearing a blue jacket.. When I looked to the big screens, I could see that they were all bare-face/no make up on. And it was especially evident with Daesung...>_<" We all aready know that Daesung has skin problems..but wow, really, when I was looking at his face, it was very very acne..ish! @_@" I think they must have the best make-up artists because I didn't think it was that bad... it's okay though he was still a cutie. Especially since during the times where there was no music on and people were talking to each other, he'd make a "tok tok tok" sound into the mic and all the Japanese fans were all "Kawaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii~~" LOL. He even did his "brrrppppp" sounds he does when he is warming up his lips/voice!!! I remember always reading and then seeing sometimes that he does do that but hearing it in person, it's me making a big deal out of such a small thing but YES, Daesung REALLY does do a lot of that "brrrrrppppp" raspberry noises during rehearsal. XD
I love the way the fans behaved during the rehearsal, because they only really made noise when the music was on or doing cute moments like that. So it was mostly quiet (I think its cos' everyone wants to hear Big Bang talking lol) and the boys were very serious while rehearsing, and when they listened to staff members directing them and then them inputting something. I noticed that sometimes Seungri would look at his phone and I was wondering if he was texting.
The only other thing we saw them rehearse afterwards was the How Gee/VIP part of the medley. They acknowledged the fans, and Seungri especially did when he would walk over to the side where the fans up front are and wave to them.^^ It was cool getting to see them during their rehearsal, again..it was very surreal to me. I had to sneak in a pinch to my arm, just in case, but it was very real. I love watching Big Bang be all...candid and in their serious biz practicing modes~
During one of the non-music times I noticed a camera man on the walkway stage in front of us, filming the fans so I took out my USA iVIP sign and called out to him "chogiyo!" and pointed to my sign and he turned on his camera and filmed me!!! I'm not sure if he just humored me by pretending to film me or if he filmed me for real, but either way, that was one of the only times I saw a walk-around camera man filming fans and I wanted to try and get in that! You never know~ He was filming the Japanese fans but I wanted to make it known that I came all the way from America! XD Although, part of me is okay if I never see footage of that because I was wearing my friend Tammy's purple no-frame specs and probably looked ridiculous..lol..but whatever!~ XD I tried. =/
The rehearsal wasn't as long as I imagined it would be but it was such a bonus! The fact that I got to see them keep going through Number 1 already made my day. If I was on the computer, I'd be doing the same thing, pause and rewind, pause and rewind..xD restart restart~
Seeing G-Dragon's umma walking
Later we were hearded back outside, where we still had more time to kill before the concert was to start. I think at this time, Susana and I went to go buy some Big Show merch! On this day I think it was mostly the shirts, hoodies and blankets that we bought. When I went to buy them, I once again, freaked out the staff because I was asking for 13s and 14s of EACH (I said this in Korean, but the staff guy repeated to me in English just to make sure I guess..lol). It's funny cos' they give each other those 'looks' you know that..'o..ok'..and send some guy to get a box to put everything inside. I had to make use of the large laundry bag I had and somehow managed to carry that and the big box to at least in front of the barriers of the Goods, booths. While I was standing there, obviously I was getting weird and curious looks from people wondering what I was..doing, and I think some lady thought I was selling stuff cos' she was ll "bbmoya?" and I was like "It's for my friends..." and then scared her off cos' she kinda flinched at my English. I forgot where Susana was..I think she was buying something elsewhere, so I was waiting for her.
When she came back we went to sit near our entrance and I got to get some hot and fresh dokkbokki from one of the food stands! How awesome is that..that they have dokkbokki as a freaking concert snack!? lol... So Susana watched after our stuff when I went and then she needed to go to the restroom so I sat there with my stuff, enjoying my dokkbokki and of course, it tastes so much better in Korea! Man, I'm jealous..lol.
So while I'm sitting there, being the people watcher that I am, I just sat and ate and looked around at everyone and the people walking past me. I really wanted to see those fans in funky costumes to be honest..lol. I didn't think much of anyone until I saw these two ahjummas walking slowly and I especially noticed the one nearest to my side. I was looking at her face just for a moment until I started wondering why she looked so familiar to me. I mean obviously I don't personally know any old ladies in Korea so it was really odd that I felt she stood out to all the other ahjummas I had seen on my stay. And then it hit me as I was about to stick another dokkbokki into my mouth and stopped midway, holding that toothpick. O_O It was G-Dragon's mom! Kwon Ji-friggin-yong's mother right in front of me! Don't ask me HOW I know what she looks like, because I'll sound like a stalker..lol..but I KNOW what she looks like from a lot of pictures and not to mention GD looks so much like his mother so it only took me quickly thinking about a Big Bang member to match up the facial features to this woman. I think my mouth just dropped when I realized it was GD's mom, because she looked my way like she knows that I know, who she IS, and I just nodded politely as she and her friend passed by and she did a slight nod back and then looked straight. I continued watching her walk away, and that's when I noticed these other fans sitting a little further away from me looking at GD's mom also and then when she passed by them, one of the girls watched her walk away the way the same way I did in that 'awe'ed expression. Two of the girls looked at each other immediately and started spazzing out and jumping and then I reallyyyy knew that I wasn't the only one who noticed her. When Susana returned, I went over to those fans and asked something like, "Excuse me, but was that G-Dragon's umma that passed by? Was that G-Dragon's mom?" and the 3 girls there all shook their head knowingly and were like, "Yeah!! Jiyong's umma! Jiyong's mom!" @_@" So we were all excited for a bit and then I thanked them and returned to Susana. Now every time I eat dokkbokki, it reminds me of GD's mom. So weird! So random! Gee, the way I reacted though was if I was seeing the friggin Queen of England..lol..that much of a presence. @_@"
The 2nd Day Concert
Anyways, when it was almost time for the concert to start, we went inside and found our seats at section 7, with the Japanese fans. I was really surprised that the seats were so up front to the stage. Like, the first day, that was all on the main standing area, so on this day we were just on that next level up, on the left side of the stage, just a few ascending rows away on that first section I think. It was a fantastic view and I couldn't wait to see Big Bang especially at the front of the extended stage that I knew they would go to.
The concert started exactly the way the first one did and the only difference in this one was that they didn't sing, Remember, Ban jjak Ban jjak, and Foolish Love.. It was nice for once to be sitting down, not having to deal with the crazy fans, but I soon found out that the only setback was not being able to stand up when I wanted to unless everyone else was standing up. But seriously, if it wasn't a requirement to sit down with everyone, I'd be standing up THE WHOLE TIME! T_T Because it was my first time in the sitting section, I was tapped on the shoulder a few times to sit down when I'd jump up excitedly during a performance or when Big Bang were on the extended stage right in front of us. I could see how it would be annoying to other people (and it doesn't help that I'm tall as hell) but I tell ya' I could not control the jumping ups..lol.. ugh, especially during 'Lady'...oh how I wanted to be that lucky fan to be picked to go on stage with Big Bang!!!
So in this Lady performance, again, Big Bang go around with that camera and I'm all jumpy and shit, and it killed me that they ended up stopping on the left side but down to where the standing area fans were at. This one was funny because GD would be pointing to the lucky fan in the middle of the other fans and you could tell the other fans were trying to take her place when GD would disagree playfully and shake his head and waving his hand like telling them to part to each side. That "no no not you, not you" way. XD So cute. Again they did the whole dancing around her thing and Daesung puts his arms around her..@_@" The girl ended up picking TOP, obviously, because she goes and directly hugs him! XD Her present is a big red scarf that he wraps around her neck awkwardly and that scarf is hella long so he made it go around a lot so that her head is like..buried in there almost..lol. He then walks her back to her section carefully~
During GD's solo, yes I did jump up AGAIN like an idiot. Dude, we walks and runs around the whole extended stage, you would too if he stops briefly right in front of your section and sings! @_@" Again, I must say, our seats were quite good, and getting this perspective of the concert was wonderful because you see their whole human sized bodies..lol.. I think, with me, the feeling of these seats compared to the standing area is like, even though the standing area you get to see them up close as they walk by, you're being crushed by other people behind you as it happens and you have to look up all the time but when sitting section, it was perfect because you look straight and see them in full form and for longer because they interact with the sitting sections near the extended stage a lot more. Plus, it feels like, when you're standing from your seat, you could almost jump right at them if you were that insane..LOL. You're view of them is just..so much clearer and better~ Because it was my first time sitting in that section, it was kind of more overwhelming when you see how close they are to your section.
During 'Always' since we were on the side closest to where TOP stands, he was the one who flew directly over us during that song! It was crazy! In the standing area, no one really flew over us..lol..but on this day, we got to experience that^^ He was all smiles and waved at everyone below him~ At one point, when they get back down on the stage and they are all standing in the front part of the extended stage, TOP is literally like RIGHT THERE in front of us, and I was REALLY excited because he was there for awhile and I couldn't help but jump up with my 'USA iVIP' sign and yell out "TOP! TOP!" so many times (embarrassingly so..>_>) and I SWEAR to bob, at one point of my jumping and shouting frenzy, TOP looks my way, like right at me and does that smirk/laugh as he turns his head away! @_@" Yes, yes, I know that at concerts, sometimes it MAY seem like artists are looking at you but they could be looking at anyone but..I feel like, and really like to think that maybe JUST MAYBE, for a moment, that he saw me, with my sign and how I jumped up and shouted and plopped down on my seat, embarassed. Especially, because (like I told you) everyone would be sitting down, like everyone! So those times when I jumped up and especially that last time with TOP looking at our direction for the longest time, I really think that it's not impossible for him to notice the girl who jumped up suddenly calling out his name and standing for a bit before sitting back down. >_<" Aaahh, we'll never really know but from the way he smirked and laughed that time (at me?!), it seemed like a plausible reaction to my dumbass self..! LOL! Even Susana turned to me and thought he had seen my USA sign! So..phew... that was crazy. @_@
Ohh, during Stylish, once again TOP was in front of our side and at the part where it goes "everybody to the left, everybody to the right just jump jump jump" he motions for everyone to get up and then I got up..lol. See, it was these times were I was kinda bummed out that people sat down most of the time so when TOP had to tell people to get up, it's like I didn't want him to think no one was into the concert, cos' I'm sure everyone was, but I wished they coulda showed it by being more more hyped up from the get-go so that poor TOP wouldn't have to tell people... =/
It was the same performances but stuff that stood out I guess, other than the special inbetween clips coming on at different parts of the concert:
Make Love - Once again, since we were on 'TOP's side', he came out from the left upper extended stage and catered to the fans over there~
A Fool's Only Tear - This is the first time I noticed that TOP seriously looked like he was about to fall when he came down..@_@" His foot slipped off and I gasped.
OAO - lol The first time I saw Daesung struggling with his bike and moving slowly. He almost falls off of that himself and eventually gives up and drops his bike down and walks the rest of the way to meet the others on the main stage. xD
Lies - GD's so lanky..lol..when he was on the right upper extended stage he was walking tiredly down the ramp. I mentioned this in another post but I think it was during this song (I think..O_o) that I was watching GD go up to the higher extended side stage on the left and just squats down at his fans in an admiring way for a LONG TIME. He was just there, learning on the palm of his hand and staring at them. He even extends his mic out close to them for the fans to sing along. I was gushing at the sight of that. GD is too cute for his own good. You know that expression 'lady killer'? Well GD is like a fan killer. I'm sure those fans were having heart attacks in front of GD. He was there for awhile, looking straight at them, those who were on that 2nd level. lucky lucky~
In my notes, I wrote these things in an odd part of my notes cos' it was between the 1/31 show or the 2/1 but maybe it was this one..1/31..but at the end of one of the songs, most likely Sunset Glow, TOP hugs Daesung while on their way back to the main stage.^^ And at the end end end as the curtains finally go down, TOP yells out in his mic, "SARANGHAEYO~!" ^^ <3 Actually, maybe that is on 2/1 cos when I'm picturing this I'm sitting on the other side..lol! xD Oh well.
Besides the whole sitting down thing, this concert was just as much fun as the first one, if not more!^^ Well, maybe more..lol..I had more jump-around space going on this time around, and plenty of memorable TOP moments!
From there, we got on the bus with our tour group and headed back to the hotel and KTFO. DX
We woke up early to get ready for another full day. Anne woke up first because she had to get ready to go back to Incheon. =( I think we ate some snacks that they had bought the last night at a convenience store and also the FREE brownies we got after the concert that I forgot to mention - they were just giving them out after the concert. So good~ Of course I should mention them, they were good & free! lol 8D
Me and Anne, Anne and I~ lol
When we got to the lobby, we saw life-sized card board cut outs of Big Bang in front. Things like that really made me appreciate the tour service because they always liked to put a little Big Bang touch into everything.
After we took pictures with them, we said our goodbyes to Anne before going on our bus. I was really sad that we didn't get to spend much time together but I did appreciate the fact that I could even meet her at all. We live so far away from each other, even though of course I always wanted to meet her, I didn't think it could ever happen, at least not so soon. Sometimes I do this thing, where I have to look at the person I'm saying goodbye to and who I know I won't be seeing for a very long time. I have to really take that last mental picture, so their image is with me for a long time. Take the person in with my eyes..lol ToT And now I so clearly remember the last time I saw Anne, and hopefully it won't be the last. It was wonderful just hanging out with her for a bit. I'm happy to have finally met her forreal in my life. Anne, I miss you~!
When we got on the bus, we were excited for the day ahead of us because this day we were scheduled to go to Lotte, and then seeing Big Bang during a rehearsal and then the concert again. To my surprise, we ended up being taken to lunch at some restaurant. We had to go upstairs and the whole floor was reserved for us. We took off our shoes and ate sitting on the floor. We had bibimbap! And all the banchan that comes with it. It was so good, of course out of all the bibimbap I ever had, it would taste the best in Korea..lol. xP
We even got to know some of our tour mates while having lunch with them, Susana having to translate between us all but it was really nice finally getting to talk to a few of the Japanese fans.^^ We found out that the two of them were fans of SOL and V.I and went to the first concert separately as well.
After that we got back on the bus again to go to Lotte World! ...or so we thought. lol. When we got to the building, I had to laugh to myself, because we weren't at Lotte WORLD, instead we were at Lotte DUTY FREE department store! LOL. XD Awww. In my head, I was srsly like, "Wait a minute, this isn't Lotte World!! DX" I didn't really have the money to spend on anything here but they ended up giving us these duty free coupons so I think two of them were worth a certain amount of money and therefore, everyone could get something if it was under the limit of the coupons! I ended up getting cell-phone charms for some friends back home and cute souvinier magnets for my grandparents. They actually cost more than the coupons so I paid the difference anyways.^^ After getting my items, we ended up checking up on different floors (this place was fancyy!!) and found a convenience store in the underground floor. I had my YB sign that I took from the previous day but I needed scissors so that I could cut out the 'stalker' part of the sign..lol. The two young workers were busy talking to each other behind the counter when I came up to one of them and said, "Excuse me, do you have scissors?" Immediately, this girl just stares at me as if she did not expect to be hearing English so early in the morning or something..lol. (I don't blame her, I was getting used to being stared at like a leper whenever I spoke English so whatevz) I was already used to freaking people out with my English usage so I just thought it was cute.. I had to make the scissor hand gesture though and ask again, and she gave me one and even helped me to cut the poster by holding the other end. I know she probably read the poster and thought I was weird in the first place for having something that says "youngbae stalker" but whatever, at least I cut off the stalker part right?! lol XD
lol darn, wish we went to Lotte WORLD instead..xP
Back on the bus and here's my rehearsal pass/lanyard!
When we arrived at Olympic Park, the tour guides let us know we had some time to look around and shop and stuff before we would meet up again to get into the rehearsals. It was really early, it must have been before 3pm or 4pm. There were the merchandise booths, a Cyon booth, NII, and a Baskin Robbins..all with very long lines and apparently all with free goodies/posters. There was also the LookKorea one we went to the first day and later I found out there were tents where people could pay the staff to watch after their belongings like merchandise while they were at the concert.The first tent we went to was the FILA one..they had posters and diary calendars and all the BB FILA merch. Ooh~Ahh~ lol All the tents had Big Bang's faces all over them. If only I stole them..lol jk I really wanted to film some VIP fanclub fansite groups that we often see from the DVDs..so after the FILA booth and because my battery was dying I went off on my own.
btw, I was really amused at seeing this cardboard display.. I noticed there were 6 bodies and one was missing a head! YoungBae was missing his head..but then there was already a YoungBae in the display so lol..idk..I guess for the fanboys? xD It's a male body..lol.. I would have taken a picture in that if it was any body else's body but YB's..lol.. I want to be with him not BE him! xD
^yes, I am blocking Jingyo! scandalous~
As I was filming the area, a fan with a red bow on her head came up to me and randomly gave me a Cyon Edge poster of G-Dragon! I greeted her when she came up to me and then she just put it in my hands and I thanked her. When I peeked into the rolled up tube and saw that it was really a poster, I just had to go over and thank them and mingle more because that was ncredibly niceof them. I turned off my camera right away and went to go talk with them. We took pictures!~^^* I turned off the camera and went over to thank all the fans and take pictures with them. The group I went up to had 'big bang IRIS' signs and signs for Seungri, and a lot of them had the red bows. We exchanged emails because one of the pictures was on the other girl's camera. It was funny because all of the girls surrounded me and asked for my name and when I said Jerilyn, they all started cheering my name..lol..like..a mini...celebration..lol I told them I was from America, and they were all very pleasant and cute and surprised and when I wrote down down my email which is: yb-heartsicles@hotmail.com, one of the girls pointed and was like, "Oh! Omo! Youngbae-yah???" and I answered, "Yes! Young Bae! My favorite!" and everyone spazzed, "Ah Young Bae!" And saying things like "she likes Young Bae" in korean to each other with the chowayo, etc. I kind of asked, in Korean if anyone knew how to speak English, and one of the girls with the red bow on her head and glasses was like, "Ah Eengggurishhuu?? Ah, sohree no Engggrurisshu~!" And I was like, "Ah ok.." So then I just told everyone to have fun at the concert and had to leave. I waved goodbye and they were all waving goodbye and saying random engrish things like "Goodbye!~! I love you!!" whilst doing the 'heart signs' with their hands! My gosh, it was so cute, that I returned the heart sign and said "Saranghaeyo VIP!" and they all cheered again and were really excited. XDD It was such a change from yesterday's hot mess in the standing area, meeting these sweet SWEET V.I.P.~ They reminded me of the good side of the fandom and how all fans have the good and the bad and these girls were definitely the nice and friendly ones~ I'll never forget them and their friendly smiles! ..also it helps that they all had little red bows on their heads..lol.^^
lol I love how oblivous I look here.,and not even at the right camera..lol. XD Apparently I didn't get the 'let's hide' memo. This was the picture one of the IRIS girls emailed to me..they blurred out their faces. =/ Note to self: these frames make me look extra goofy..lol I was walking around with them on like it was my birthday..xD
mwuaha this is from my camera~ ;D
In the video montage thingy:
- Me wandering around, just showing how the venue looks like
- You get to see random Big Bang fans
- I have bad camera(wo)man skills
- Found Big Bang maxipads on the ground..lol..wtf O_o
- I randomly get a Cyon Edge GD poster from some V.I.P. (they were a Seungri fanclub!)
Click to view^this old yet swagtastic Japanese fan was geared up in that expensive jacket that TOP and GD have and in a hat that GD has also. *O* Every time she passed by I would just be like..WOW! BALLIN'!!!!
And there was another fan with a bowl cut that I didn't catch on video, but she came up to me and gave me a card from their fanclub dedicated to Daesung and she was really spazzy and loud and was like, "This is KANG.DAE.SUNG!" and I was nodding and letting her know I knew who he was..lol. I also said, "Yess! Smile boy~!" (I think I meant to say Smile Angel..lol) And she went all "AAAHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH!!!" in a crazed fangirly scream..lol. I crack up when I think about that moment because it caught me off guard and it was really funny. Those Daesung fans were seriously hyped up and were cheering around the area..I could even hear them from afar..lol.
The Rehearsal
After roaming around the venue, we met up with all the JVIP and were organized by our bus #s and followed everyone to the side where we had stood in line for the standing area. Our bus was the last ones to enter the stadium and it was pretty much the same entrance from yesterday except we didn't pass under the stage walkway, instead all the fans were on the outter side of the stage. It was pretty surreal stepping in, because Big Bang were already there rehearsing on the main stage. So yes, my eyes did go O_O. They even had the screens from the left and right sides on so that we could see them on it as well. I wasn't so close to them but I could see them just fine from where I stood on the side.
At first I thought we'd get to watch them go through a full rehearsal but by the time we got in, they were rehearsing "With U/Number 1" so we watched them run through those multiple times. And when I say multiple, I mean, YB and GD had to keep going up the stairs and down those two polls on either sides of the stage several times, probably trying to time each other correctly. I didn't mind at all though, because the green laser lights were cool and I liked the way 'With U' intro sounds in that version. AND, I've said before that 'Number 1' is one of my most favorite Big Bang songs so I was all "HAAAAAAAAAYYYYYYY 8D" every time they finally got to the point where YB and GD are done with their short solo dances and then meet up in the middle with the rest of the boys for the song. All of us fans would sing and dance along and be moded when the music stops right in the middle of us singing..lol.
From what I remember, YB was wearing a hat (as usual) and GD was wearing a yellow jacket (which he eventually takes off) and was sucking on a lollipop. I think TOP was wearing a blue jacket.. When I looked to the big screens, I could see that they were all bare-face/no make up on. And it was especially evident with Daesung...>_<" We all aready know that Daesung has skin problems..but wow, really, when I was looking at his face, it was very very acne..ish! @_@" I think they must have the best make-up artists because I didn't think it was that bad... it's okay though he was still a cutie. Especially since during the times where there was no music on and people were talking to each other, he'd make a "tok tok tok" sound into the mic and all the Japanese fans were all "Kawaiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiiii~~" LOL. He even did his "brrrppppp" sounds he does when he is warming up his lips/voice!!! I remember always reading and then seeing sometimes that he does do that but hearing it in person, it's me making a big deal out of such a small thing but YES, Daesung REALLY does do a lot of that "brrrrrppppp" raspberry noises during rehearsal. XD
I love the way the fans behaved during the rehearsal, because they only really made noise when the music was on or doing cute moments like that. So it was mostly quiet (I think its cos' everyone wants to hear Big Bang talking lol) and the boys were very serious while rehearsing, and when they listened to staff members directing them and then them inputting something. I noticed that sometimes Seungri would look at his phone and I was wondering if he was texting.
The only other thing we saw them rehearse afterwards was the How Gee/VIP part of the medley. They acknowledged the fans, and Seungri especially did when he would walk over to the side where the fans up front are and wave to them.^^ It was cool getting to see them during their rehearsal, again..it was very surreal to me. I had to sneak in a pinch to my arm, just in case, but it was very real. I love watching Big Bang be all...candid and in their serious biz practicing modes~
During one of the non-music times I noticed a camera man on the walkway stage in front of us, filming the fans so I took out my USA iVIP sign and called out to him "chogiyo!" and pointed to my sign and he turned on his camera and filmed me!!! I'm not sure if he just humored me by pretending to film me or if he filmed me for real, but either way, that was one of the only times I saw a walk-around camera man filming fans and I wanted to try and get in that! You never know~ He was filming the Japanese fans but I wanted to make it known that I came all the way from America! XD Although, part of me is okay if I never see footage of that because I was wearing my friend Tammy's purple no-frame specs and probably looked ridiculous..lol..but whatever!~ XD I tried. =/
The rehearsal wasn't as long as I imagined it would be but it was such a bonus! The fact that I got to see them keep going through Number 1 already made my day. If I was on the computer, I'd be doing the same thing, pause and rewind, pause and rewind..xD restart restart~
Seeing G-Dragon's umma walking
Later we were hearded back outside, where we still had more time to kill before the concert was to start. I think at this time, Susana and I went to go buy some Big Show merch! On this day I think it was mostly the shirts, hoodies and blankets that we bought. When I went to buy them, I once again, freaked out the staff because I was asking for 13s and 14s of EACH (I said this in Korean, but the staff guy repeated to me in English just to make sure I guess..lol). It's funny cos' they give each other those 'looks' you know that..'o..ok'..and send some guy to get a box to put everything inside. I had to make use of the large laundry bag I had and somehow managed to carry that and the big box to at least in front of the barriers of the Goods, booths. While I was standing there, obviously I was getting weird and curious looks from people wondering what I was..doing, and I think some lady thought I was selling stuff cos' she was ll "bbmoya?" and I was like "It's for my friends..." and then scared her off cos' she kinda flinched at my English. I forgot where Susana was..I think she was buying something elsewhere, so I was waiting for her.
When she came back we went to sit near our entrance and I got to get some hot and fresh dokkbokki from one of the food stands! How awesome is that..that they have dokkbokki as a freaking concert snack!? lol... So Susana watched after our stuff when I went and then she needed to go to the restroom so I sat there with my stuff, enjoying my dokkbokki and of course, it tastes so much better in Korea! Man, I'm jealous..lol.
So while I'm sitting there, being the people watcher that I am, I just sat and ate and looked around at everyone and the people walking past me. I really wanted to see those fans in funky costumes to be honest..lol. I didn't think much of anyone until I saw these two ahjummas walking slowly and I especially noticed the one nearest to my side. I was looking at her face just for a moment until I started wondering why she looked so familiar to me. I mean obviously I don't personally know any old ladies in Korea so it was really odd that I felt she stood out to all the other ahjummas I had seen on my stay. And then it hit me as I was about to stick another dokkbokki into my mouth and stopped midway, holding that toothpick. O_O It was G-Dragon's mom! Kwon Ji-friggin-yong's mother right in front of me! Don't ask me HOW I know what she looks like, because I'll sound like a stalker..lol..but I KNOW what she looks like from a lot of pictures and not to mention GD looks so much like his mother so it only took me quickly thinking about a Big Bang member to match up the facial features to this woman. I think my mouth just dropped when I realized it was GD's mom, because she looked my way like she knows that I know, who she IS, and I just nodded politely as she and her friend passed by and she did a slight nod back and then looked straight. I continued watching her walk away, and that's when I noticed these other fans sitting a little further away from me looking at GD's mom also and then when she passed by them, one of the girls watched her walk away the way the same way I did in that 'awe'ed expression. Two of the girls looked at each other immediately and started spazzing out and jumping and then I reallyyyy knew that I wasn't the only one who noticed her. When Susana returned, I went over to those fans and asked something like, "Excuse me, but was that G-Dragon's umma that passed by? Was that G-Dragon's mom?" and the 3 girls there all shook their head knowingly and were like, "Yeah!! Jiyong's umma! Jiyong's mom!" @_@" So we were all excited for a bit and then I thanked them and returned to Susana. Now every time I eat dokkbokki, it reminds me of GD's mom. So weird! So random! Gee, the way I reacted though was if I was seeing the friggin Queen of England..lol..that much of a presence. @_@"
The 2nd Day Concert
Anyways, when it was almost time for the concert to start, we went inside and found our seats at section 7, with the Japanese fans. I was really surprised that the seats were so up front to the stage. Like, the first day, that was all on the main standing area, so on this day we were just on that next level up, on the left side of the stage, just a few ascending rows away on that first section I think. It was a fantastic view and I couldn't wait to see Big Bang especially at the front of the extended stage that I knew they would go to.
The concert started exactly the way the first one did and the only difference in this one was that they didn't sing, Remember, Ban jjak Ban jjak, and Foolish Love.. It was nice for once to be sitting down, not having to deal with the crazy fans, but I soon found out that the only setback was not being able to stand up when I wanted to unless everyone else was standing up. But seriously, if it wasn't a requirement to sit down with everyone, I'd be standing up THE WHOLE TIME! T_T Because it was my first time in the sitting section, I was tapped on the shoulder a few times to sit down when I'd jump up excitedly during a performance or when Big Bang were on the extended stage right in front of us. I could see how it would be annoying to other people (and it doesn't help that I'm tall as hell) but I tell ya' I could not control the jumping ups..lol.. ugh, especially during 'Lady'...oh how I wanted to be that lucky fan to be picked to go on stage with Big Bang!!!
So in this Lady performance, again, Big Bang go around with that camera and I'm all jumpy and shit, and it killed me that they ended up stopping on the left side but down to where the standing area fans were at. This one was funny because GD would be pointing to the lucky fan in the middle of the other fans and you could tell the other fans were trying to take her place when GD would disagree playfully and shake his head and waving his hand like telling them to part to each side. That "no no not you, not you" way. XD So cute. Again they did the whole dancing around her thing and Daesung puts his arms around her..@_@" The girl ended up picking TOP, obviously, because she goes and directly hugs him! XD Her present is a big red scarf that he wraps around her neck awkwardly and that scarf is hella long so he made it go around a lot so that her head is like..buried in there almost..lol. He then walks her back to her section carefully~
During GD's solo, yes I did jump up AGAIN like an idiot. Dude, we walks and runs around the whole extended stage, you would too if he stops briefly right in front of your section and sings! @_@" Again, I must say, our seats were quite good, and getting this perspective of the concert was wonderful because you see their whole human sized bodies..lol.. I think, with me, the feeling of these seats compared to the standing area is like, even though the standing area you get to see them up close as they walk by, you're being crushed by other people behind you as it happens and you have to look up all the time but when sitting section, it was perfect because you look straight and see them in full form and for longer because they interact with the sitting sections near the extended stage a lot more. Plus, it feels like, when you're standing from your seat, you could almost jump right at them if you were that insane..LOL. You're view of them is just..so much clearer and better~ Because it was my first time sitting in that section, it was kind of more overwhelming when you see how close they are to your section.
During 'Always' since we were on the side closest to where TOP stands, he was the one who flew directly over us during that song! It was crazy! In the standing area, no one really flew over us..lol..but on this day, we got to experience that^^ He was all smiles and waved at everyone below him~ At one point, when they get back down on the stage and they are all standing in the front part of the extended stage, TOP is literally like RIGHT THERE in front of us, and I was REALLY excited because he was there for awhile and I couldn't help but jump up with my 'USA iVIP' sign and yell out "TOP! TOP!" so many times (embarrassingly so..>_>) and I SWEAR to bob, at one point of my jumping and shouting frenzy, TOP looks my way, like right at me and does that smirk/laugh as he turns his head away! @_@" Yes, yes, I know that at concerts, sometimes it MAY seem like artists are looking at you but they could be looking at anyone but..I feel like, and really like to think that maybe JUST MAYBE, for a moment, that he saw me, with my sign and how I jumped up and shouted and plopped down on my seat, embarassed. Especially, because (like I told you) everyone would be sitting down, like everyone! So those times when I jumped up and especially that last time with TOP looking at our direction for the longest time, I really think that it's not impossible for him to notice the girl who jumped up suddenly calling out his name and standing for a bit before sitting back down. >_<" Aaahh, we'll never really know but from the way he smirked and laughed that time (at me?!), it seemed like a plausible reaction to my dumbass self..! LOL! Even Susana turned to me and thought he had seen my USA sign! So..phew... that was crazy. @_@
Ohh, during Stylish, once again TOP was in front of our side and at the part where it goes "everybody to the left, everybody to the right just jump jump jump" he motions for everyone to get up and then I got up..lol. See, it was these times were I was kinda bummed out that people sat down most of the time so when TOP had to tell people to get up, it's like I didn't want him to think no one was into the concert, cos' I'm sure everyone was, but I wished they coulda showed it by being more more hyped up from the get-go so that poor TOP wouldn't have to tell people... =/
It was the same performances but stuff that stood out I guess, other than the special inbetween clips coming on at different parts of the concert:
Make Love - Once again, since we were on 'TOP's side', he came out from the left upper extended stage and catered to the fans over there~
A Fool's Only Tear - This is the first time I noticed that TOP seriously looked like he was about to fall when he came down..@_@" His foot slipped off and I gasped.
OAO - lol The first time I saw Daesung struggling with his bike and moving slowly. He almost falls off of that himself and eventually gives up and drops his bike down and walks the rest of the way to meet the others on the main stage. xD
Lies - GD's so lanky..lol..when he was on the right upper extended stage he was walking tiredly down the ramp. I mentioned this in another post but I think it was during this song (I think..O_o) that I was watching GD go up to the higher extended side stage on the left and just squats down at his fans in an admiring way for a LONG TIME. He was just there, learning on the palm of his hand and staring at them. He even extends his mic out close to them for the fans to sing along. I was gushing at the sight of that. GD is too cute for his own good. You know that expression 'lady killer'? Well GD is like a fan killer. I'm sure those fans were having heart attacks in front of GD. He was there for awhile, looking straight at them, those who were on that 2nd level. lucky lucky~
In my notes, I wrote these things in an odd part of my notes cos' it was between the 1/31 show or the 2/1 but maybe it was this one..1/31..but at the end of one of the songs, most likely Sunset Glow, TOP hugs Daesung while on their way back to the main stage.^^ And at the end end end as the curtains finally go down, TOP yells out in his mic, "SARANGHAEYO~!" ^^ <3 Actually, maybe that is on 2/1 cos when I'm picturing this I'm sitting on the other side..lol! xD Oh well.
Besides the whole sitting down thing, this concert was just as much fun as the first one, if not more!^^ Well, maybe more..lol..I had more jump-around space going on this time around, and plenty of memorable TOP moments!
From there, we got on the bus with our tour group and headed back to the hotel and KTFO. DX