Concert Updates: ATEEZ and Eric Nam

 After two years, concerts are back! 

ATEEZ

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. 

Introducing: The Kpop Konverters, A YouTube Channel

Time to reveal the super secret project! (Gah. Scary. Be nice!)

First, a timeline of events:

A year ago: My sister Megs and I discuss and ponder how fun it would be to do a vlog together. We
live in separate states, but love all the same things, which makes for some fun texts and hangout discussions and such. Wouldn't it be fun to take it to the next level and do a vlog (Hank and John Green style perhaps?) and do videos and let people be part of the craziness?

Would it be fun? Or stupid?

Would it be too scary? Or can we get over the fear?

What would we actually talk about? Books? Writing? Movies? Music? Mom life? Single life? Teaching life? Library life? A mix of it all?

We even practice it and then die laughing at how silly it is. And give up fast. It's just too dang too hard. .

Months pass.

Five months ago: Our lives change when we discover a new genre of TV to watch and a new genre of music to obsess over. A new culture to love and a new celebrities to add to our crush list. Our ongoing hangout chat intensifies. Then one day, the light bulb goes off. We should vlog about THIS! There's a huge community out there, a huge fandom, bigger than any fandom we've ever been part of before.

We should do it!

We should?

Yes! No? Why not? What's there to lose? (Oh so much, but nothing that matters!)

Let's just do it!

One and a half months ago: We brainstorm a name, come up with a mission statement and create a brand new YouTube channel, a Twitter account, an Instagram account and a Pinterest account. We film an intro vlog and bam... we are up and live!

But we are too scared to officially announce it to people we know in real life. We are closet YouTubers. Closet vloggers. Closet kpop crazies. (Wait, you knew about the kpop crazy bit, right? Maybe not so closet there then...)

We film and edit several other videos and upload them.

We wonder when we'll be brave enough to come out and actually share it with people other than the random weirdos on YouTube. (Sorry, but YouTube is weird.)

Two weeks ago: We upload a "non Kpopper reaction" video (making someone who is not a fan watch a kpop video and react to it.) We didn't explain to our guinea pig reactor all the expectations. He reacted in an unexpected way. We upload the video and instantly start getting hate comments and thumb downs.

We have arrived! We have ticked off the biggest and, as I said, most intense fandom I've ever known! We have no subscribers, but we are suddenly getting noticed!

The hate comments cross the line and a week later, we take down the video.

Welcome to the wonderful world of YouTubing!

And now, we really wonder when we'll be brave enough to come out!

Today: We've told a few key people. And we decide... why not tell everyone? What's the point of vlogging anyway, if you don't tell anyone? We need love from people we know!

LET'S GO PUBLIC AND COME OUT TO THE WORLD AS KPOP VLOGGERS ON YOUTUBE!

And so I give to you:

The Kpop Konverters:

 Our mission:  To Konvert people everywhere to the world of Kpop!

Want to follow us (and especially subscribe to us)? Here are the links;

The Channel | The Twitter | The Instagram | The Pinterest

The list of videos so far:
Introduction
How It All Started (Our Kpop Story)
Discoveries of the Week: May 2
Discovering Got7: Part 1
Discovering Got7: Part2
Meg's Fire Reaction
Ryn's Save Me Reaction
Suey's She Is Reaction
A Ryeowook Tribute
The Joker Meets G-Dragon
Suey and Toto's Monster Reaction
Suey and Toto's Lucky One Reaction


Coming soon:
The True Story of Megs...and How She's Always Wrong (this will be uploaded today... you don't want to miss it!)
Those English Phrases in Kpop Songs....
Discoveries of the Week: May 15
Ryn's Reaction to Ryeowook's Moves Like Jagger Performance
NonKoppers React to Fire and Dope

All we ask is that you have fun with us... laugh with us and not at us... enjoy the journey with us... perhaps give this music a chance and maybe you too will be Konverted!

(Want to see what Megs has to say about our coming out? Check out her post here! Happy SuJu Anniversary to us!)

(P.S. If anyone has any YouTube vlogging pointers... let us know. This is one hard gig to break into and completely different than the blogging community. Help. What have we done?)