In December 2019 we bought tickets to ATEEZ which was scheduled for April 2020. It was postponed... not cancelled. So these past two years we wondered if that concert would actually ever happen. But it did! On January 30, 2022! (Two years to the day of the last time we went to LA for a concert!) It was SO AMAZING to be back going to a concert again. I seriously have no words.
We drove to LA for that weekend, doing our normal routine. To Barstow one day (with a pit stop in Cedar) and then to LA the rest of the way on day 2... concert day. Before the concert it was fun to meet up with kpop friends. Then we braved the traffic (there was a football game going on right next door... same place the super bowl was at last week) and the parking (it cost $45 just to park!) and stood in line and not so patiently waited to get in. But finally it was time! After waiting for two years!
And the concert itself? PERFECT! We ended up having pretty good seats (not on the floor but in the lower bowl) and seriously could have listened to those boys sing and dance for so many more hours than just the 3 we got. They are just so good and so much fun.
Then after a very very late night, we had to drive ALL the way home on day three. This is our normal "go to LA for a concert" routine, when we drive anyway. If we were to fly, it would be two days, and one less hotel stay. Usually. Not even that always. It's crazy. But so much fun.
Here's our vlog of the experience:
Eric Nam
Then just about a week later we got to see Eric Nam, right here in our very own city! This is the first time that's happened and I'm still not over that fact. So amazing. And there's more coming! (I will be out of town for one of them.. so sad!) So hopefully this is just a start of things to come. It would be so awesome if the word got out and they realized they can come here and we will show up!
Anyway, Eric is a Korean American solo artist who sings both English and Korean... lots of mellow stuff. But dance-y stuff too. And he's just the best and so fun... so down to earth and personable and funny and... all the things. It was great to be able to finally see him live. We paid a little extra to have seats in a "standing only" venue. I am starting to learn there are ways to get around the system. And this was the best thing I've ever done for a concert pretty sure. But we did not have true VIP which is when you got to go take a picture with Eric afterwards. Maybe next time. Ha.
Here's our vlog of this experience:
Anyway, I am so glad concerts are back, even though it also brings back a lot of stress about... to go or not to go. We have to pick and choose or else we'd seriously be driving to LA every weekend. There are FOUR (at least) concerts I'm missing in these couple of months that I would LOVE to be to. But oh well. I will be grateful for the ones I do get to see. And keep hoping for more to come locally.
This concert happened back in March and I talked about it all over Twitter and YouTube, but never here. I decided I needed to write it down still, just to have for my own records since I print my blogs out as a sort of journal, so. Here goes....
Big breath....
Okay, so I fell in love with this new awesome cute pie, amazing kpop group back in October when they first debuted. But I didn't take the time to actually learn who they were until their comeback (remember comeback in kpop terms just means new release/album/song) in January and was BLOWN AWAY again about how good they are. So Toto and I sat down and learned their names and put faces to names and truly fell in love.
And then they up and announced their world tour! At a mere four months old! And only ten songs released! This was crazy!
So Kathy and I decided to go for it. (Kathy had since also fallen in love.) Toto would be in Korea by that time, so it was just me and Kathy trying to get tickets. Kathy had a presale code so we could buy them before the general public. And so we did... barely. We felt very lucky because they sold out fast during the PRE sale. But we got them... VIP tickets which meant that we would be let in the venue before everyone else and get a good spot near the stage... there would be no seats... it would be all pit/GA standing. But with VIP tickets we thought we'd be okay. Yeah. We also got hi touch (high fiving the dudes after the concert and actually "meeting" them and looking into their eyes.)
Much anticipation looking forward to this concert. I couldn't wait. This would be their very first concert EVER... our LA concert. They hadn't (and still haven't) even done a concert in Korea. Only a showcase here and there. So we knew this was going to be so fun and historic and all that.
So the day finally arrives. Kathy and I are doing a 24 hour trip. Fly there, see the concert, sleep, fly home. Literally nothing else.. not even time to eat really. It's SO CRAZY!
We got to the airport and the plane was delayed nearly an hour. We still had time, but that just added to our anxiety! We got to LA about 4 pm, shuttled to the hotel, ran in went to the bathroom, dropped off our stuff, and called a Lyft. I think it was less than 15 min.
We got to the venue... The Globe Theater in downtown LA, with plenty of time, and in fact we found our line of VIP people and proceeded to stand in it for two hours.
Oh, I forgot to say that they thought they'd come up with a great system to avoid the standing in line and fighting for a spot. On a certain day and time about five days before the concert, we had to log onto the computer and submit a form and depending on the time stamp of the form we got a number which determined our spot in line. We did that, submitted it right on the dot of the time, and got the numbers of 349 and 350. This is when we started to realize that having a VIP ticket actually meant nothing.
So when we got there, we got in the VIP line with all the HUNDREDS of other people with VIP tickets and ordered ourselves according to our number.. and waited to be let in. There were WAY more people with VIP than even the regular GA I think, and having a spot up close looked very dim. In the end, they never even looked at our number or checked or anything. We could have lied and jumped ahead of all those people, if we had been that sort of concert goer!
We finally get in and get our spot and stand some more waiting for it to start. Our spot wasn't good. About half way back from the stage. (This is a very small club type venue, so small is good, but also not good.) I had hopes all would be well still. But....
... it was not. As soon as they came on stage, the surge was so bad we were all smashed... and then everyone's phones went up, and I mean people holding them WAY over their heads and I quickly realized I was not going to see ANYTHING.
It was such a huge disappointment. There are no words.
The surges continued to happen and I had to concentrate on breathing and quit worrying about the concert itself. People started passing out and security had to fight their way through the throng to carry them out. It got really bad. And the boys (remember this is their very first concert) had to ask people to step back and make room. This, of course, doesn't really work. There is no way to "step back" when you are totally smashed. So finally, they left the stage and said they would come back when we all calmed down and figured it out.
It was so embarrassing. And awful. And all the terrible things.
We shuffled ourselves around and Kathy and I even debated falling back entirely or going to the side or something, just to see if we could find a better spot. But then we just said, whatever, we will just stick out. In the meantime, we had fallen back quite a bit and were now at the back of the pack. NO WHERE NEAR the front that our freaking VIP tickets were supposed to get us.
We lasted the rest of the concert praying for it to be over, trying not to cry and lose it. Trying to enjoy even a little of it. I couldn't see, hear or breath. It was hard to see the good in any of it. I wanted to see them dance so bad. I only caught a glimpse of their flopping hair now and then... and if I looked between the raised arms of everyone, in one spot, I would see first this boy and then that boy go in and out of that tiny spot.
When they talked, everyone put their phones down and I could see them a little bit. I got one picture.
At the last song, I finally pulled my phone out and joined the crowd with my phone WAY over my head (above my eye level yes) and this is what it looked like:
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Guys. We were so sad. To have paid that much and made that effort to not see them. Or even hear them really. It was the worst. I blame the stage (too low), the sound system (too crappy), the venue (too small) but mostly the company that organized this tour for WAY overselling... both the VIP and the regular tickets and cramming WAY too many people into that space. They did us so dirty. And I will never go to a concert put on by them again... and here's hoping ATEEZ and their company learned a lesson to never use them again too!
I gotta say though, the boys were fabulous. None of this was their fault. They did amazing (even though I couldn't see it I've seen clips, and their own footage) and worked so hard and put on a great show.
We hung around afterwards for the hi touch. Since pretty much everyone was a VIP there were lots of us and they actually did a pretty good job of putting us in lines that time. And finally our turn came and we filed past the boys and hi fived them all. This part was actually nice because they didn't rush us through, they spaced us apart well. Three of the boys did a two handed high ten and finger clasped our hands, so that made me happy. They were really into it. But actually I held all their hands, so it wasn't really a high five, it's more like a handshake/clasp. Some of the others were much shyer about it, but those three were great! I tried to remember to look into their eyes and I said thank you to them all, but I didn't use any of the Korean I had practiced. It's so scary (exciting scary) that all words leave your head, both English and Korean. No joke. Some people are much better at dealing with this phenomenon, but not me.
So I am happy that part turned out okay and that in the end I did SEE them, I just didn't get see them sing or dance.
Anyway. We were bummed and it was hard to shake that. We walked down the street to a Carl's Jr and had a hamburger and a drink... I was so thirsty I thought I was going to die. And then we went back to the hotel, slept, got up and flew home. All the while venting and in total disbelief that we had been so duped and scammed.
I really hope for a do-over regarding ATEEZ. Holding out hope they come to KCON in August. But they are so popular already that it will probably be a frenzy and I still probably won't ever actually see them. They are going big places and I think will rise up the ranks faster than any group has so far. It's going to be amazing to watch.
In a couple of weeks I have my next concert (Stray Kids) and I'm scared to death now that it will be the same thing. We have seats this time, so I hope that helps, but people and their phones will always be a problem. And all the screaming. I would love it everyone screamed... then stopped for the songs... then screamed at the end, the stopped for the talking, the scream at the end, then stop for the songs... etc. Not too much to ask, yeah? But people scream NON STOP and it's very frustrating.
Hoping for the best. I'm sure you'll find out how it goes down!
But you should check out ATEEZ and see what you think of them. Seriously. Here's a song called Treasure you might like:
Time to share more of my favorite gifs from off the phone!
Jonghyun from SHINee and his smiley face. He had a birthday.
I miss him. :(
Siwon from Super Junior also had a birthday!
Obsessed with Stray Kids (concert coming up in a couple of weeks!!) So I giffed a bunch of their faces from their new video this past month. Looks like I have one for everyone except Changbin! AH. His didn't turn out as good.
Seungmin looking so so serious
Hyunjin trying to kill us with the whole necklace twist move!
The amazing Han
Bang Chan doing the Huka
Lee Know front and center!
Woojin saying, "I'm okay" with his perfect voice.
I.N trying so hard to not crack up into a smile.
Felix looking amazing.
If you are interested in seeing the whole video and how they incorporate the Huka into their choreography, here it is:
