Well... I can't believe quite how time flies when I'm determined to write up more posts and then... never update with anything.
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| The huge poster on the front of the hall (and fanbase rice donations between the doors). |
On the last weekend in February, I went to see B.A.P in concert on Saturday - but because of another thing (for Korean class), I didn't get there until about 1pm. I queued for merchandise and didn't manage to get everything that I needed to, but the up-side was that I met up with other foreign fans, so I had people to pass the time with! Some of them, I'd met at Inkigayo, way back in November when I went to see Epik High and B.A.P were also doing promotions. We then hung around the Tous les Jours and generally spent time near the venue for the afternoon and there was a pretty good atmosphere around the area~
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| My view from standing zone 4 - just in front of me, maybe 3 people deep, was the front part of the runway. |
For the actual concert, I had a standing ticket, which was pretty awesome apart from the ridiculous crushing at the beginning (especially when it hadn't even started yet) but happily it soon petered out as people moved off to the one side, where it was closer to the centre. I really don't remember all that much by now apart from some key moments! For instance, I do remember going nuts and screaming my head off during Yongguk's solo when the dancers ripped his top off. Yeah, I'm just gonna have to admit to that being a highlight.
Mainly, what I remember was looking across the crowd at precisely the right moment to catch Yongguk's eye as he was rapping during Unbreakable, spelling out the letters. He looked a little surprised but I just gave him a big smile and cheer and he managed not to spell out the word wrong, bless him. That was pretty damn awesome. I also had eye contact with Daehyun more than once, which was funny and adorable because he then looked all shy and then kept looking back at me, which I just found utterly hilarious. Sorry love, but you're too young for me so I'll just have to break your heart...
Another thing I thought was great was the band they had for the second half of the concert. They were a Korean band called Broken Valentine (which we all kept calling Bloody Valentine... ooops) who were pretty damn good. Personally, I rocked out to them in my own little oh-look-there's-a-weird-foreigner bubble when they played one song that was theirs whilst everyone else around me was really lacking in energy and barely waving their lightsticks. I thought it was a bit of a downer but I also know it's a cultural thing because it wasn't B.A.P on stage at that time, so they didn't want to cheer for them too much (because being a fan of a group can mean you're only a fan of that group...). I just like to jump up and down more anyway - and maybe it was just the people around me because in other standing zones, I heard from others that they had lots more energy! Oh, and plus the crowd around me were pretty young too - they're not really the age yet to be head-banging to rock bands... In these times, I like to play the foreigner card and do what I want to without being worried what others might think, such as rock out in my own space and cheer even if other people around me are being mostly still and quieter.
In the end, I went back on Sunday morning to queue again for merchandise that had sold out the day before; the signed CD's, matoki (their rabbit mascot) goods and the concert hoodies. I managed to get to Olympic Park for 7.30 am and even then, I got the last two hoodies (when I needed four). The Baby fandom is definitely crazy for how early they queue for everything... Plus, I think it came down to several things; TS Entertainment didn't seem anticipate the sales enough, and they allowed people to buy up to 10 of any item... and then allowed people to actually take more than 10 (this I heard from another girl who was there on Saturday; people were being allowed to buy more as they said they were part of one of the international fanbases, buying things for others). So for next time, I hope TS has learnt that they need to set proper limits and then stick to those limits. Many people were also clearly there to buy up merchandise in huge bulk orders to sell online or in Myeongdong. Plus, international fans were then accused of buying up everything - which yes, I'm there to get a few extra things, but they were for my friends and the most I bought of one thing was 5 signed CD's. There's also a difference between me buying four hoodies and someone buying twelve plus a bunch of tshirts to sell online with a massive mark-up.. For instance, I saw someone filling a suitcase with tshirts and hoodies about 10 people in front of me and it was overflowing. *sigh* anyway, it slightly ruined things.
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| My haul for me and several others (and this doesn't include even more that was sent back to Malaysia)! |
I had debated getting another ticket for Sunday night (they were still selling them on the day at the box office) but decided to get back home instead and sleep!!
