Then, once they started to give out tickets, all hell broke loose. There was only one line for foreigners (which was the majority of the first half of the line) so we had to start a new line and then there was no rhyme or reason so people just started pushing forward and throwing themselves up towards the ticket booth to get their ticket! Ugh. But we made it up there and got our tickets. Gabi and I are pretty good at pushing our way through a crowd.

Now, on the website they advertised a free CD, glow stick and fleece blanket with a dollar donation to UNICEF. However, rather than having everything set up and ready to go so that after people got their tickets they could go and get their free stuff, they made us wait in yet another line. They hadn’t even brought the stuff in! we had to wait for over an hour and a half before they started handing out the free items and then when that line started to move, it was déjà vu all over again. People jumped the line, people pushed and there was no crowd control. But hey, we got it! Lol.

So after almost 5 hours of waiting in lines, Gabi and I were STARVING! We headed over to the baseball stadium and got some chicken strips at burger king. I swear, they may be the best chicken strips I have ever tasted from the two times I have gotten them. Or, it may just be that the two times I’ve eaten there I had been starving to death beforehand.

Anyways, after eating and chilling out for a while, we headed back to the stadium and had to wait in another line to get into our section. Imagine a thousand people trying to squeeze through a double door entry and two Korean guys with megaphones trying to control the crowd… yeah…. Not the smartest or safest thing ever! In fact, that is how a lot of people get killed at concerts. Come on now people, crowd control is key in safety but apparently the G20 concert commity disagrees.

Once we got into the stadium it turned out they gave too many tickets for our section and there weren’t any seats left. So we got to move to another section and had even better seats than we would have had if we were in the original section. YAY!

Now I know it seems like I have been doing a lot of complaining about this but seeing how it was all free, I can’t really complain too much. My main concern through the whole thing was safety and well, the fact that someone just had their head way up their ass when they did the planning. But when we got into the stadium and finally got our seats, none of that really seemed to matter anymore.

We had about three hours to kill between when we got into the stadium and when the concert started but we found ways to amuse ourselves.


The concert started with a bunch of groups that were actually a surprise because they hadn’t been listed on the program or the website. YAY!

First was the group Nine Muses singing “Ladies”. Although they only sang one song, they were very good and I think they got the crowds in good spirits!



After Nine Muses came Rainbow! They too were very good and they sang their newest song "Mach".



First up was 4minute (Korea) performing “I My Me My” “Hot Issue” and “Huh.” They were very good and somewhat of a surprise. I didn’t really like 4minute when they first debuted. Partially because they looked like 2ne1 wanna be’s and secondly because “Hot Issue” wasn’t the best song ever. However, since their debut they have changed their look and their newer songs, such as “I My Me My” and “Huh” are both awesome! I’m a born again 4minute fan I guess.

 After 4minute was Bie the star. Now Bie is from Thailand and he is considered the Rain of Thailand… I don’t know if they call him that because of his popularity level in his own country but I can definitely say it is not because their skill levels are similar. Now don’t get me wrong, Bie did an excellent job! He was fun and lively but he just wasn’t on the same playing field as Rain. Still, he sang two songs, one being up beat and one being a ballad.
After 2AM was Jane Zhang from China. Man was she good! She has a great set of vocal cords! She sang a song called “I believe” in Chinese but she also sang a song in English. The only thing about her is, I could never see her alone in concert or buy a CD because she sings ballads. Just not my style. But hey, I was totally impressed with her abilities!



Next up was Kara (Korea)!! Kara sang their songs “Lupin” and “Mister”! I love love love their song “Lupin” so I was super excited to get to see it live! Overall they were very good! The only thing I can say is that I wish they had worn pants for the “Mister” dance because with skirts on it just made their butts look big.. I dunno, it just didn’t work right. However, overall very good!

Up next was Michael Wong from Malaysia. He was another ballad singer and I’m gong to be honest with you, I had to pee so badly by this point in the concert that I ran to restroom while he was on. So no pictures from Michael but I did hear him and his voice was very good, perfect for singing ballads.

After Michael was B2ST!!! Pronounced Beast, they are from Korea as well and were amazing! They opened with “Shock” and finished with Breathe. I have loved B2EST since they debuted! Their music is always pretty bad ass and their dancing is awesome! YAY!

After B2ST came… wait for it….RAIN!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! Yes, that’s right, I got to see RAIN!!!!!!! YAYAYAYAYAYAYAYAY!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I have wanted to see Rain FOREVER! After all, he IS the superstar of Asia!

I have to say, I was a bit surprised. He was pretty soft spoken and almost shy in front of the crowd. BUT, that didn’t damper his performance! His microphone didn’t work for his first song, such a bummer, but it was still awesome! Oh Rain, the voice, the dancing, the hip thrusts!! YAY! Lol. So yes, I got to see Rain perform “Rainism” “Love Song” and “Hip Song”!!! I may never be the same person again!!!! Oh Rain, how I love you!



After Rain came BoA!

I have to say I was really disappointed with the crowd! After Rain they all started getting up and leaving!! WTH!!!! I mean really??? You’re going to walk out on probably the best performer here??? OMG!

Overall, the concert was amazing! It was such a treat to get to see not only several top performers from Korea but also from other Asian nations as well! I was really impressed with the special effects throughout the concert! Lots of fireworks, flames, smoke. You name it! Then, after the concert, there was even a fireworks show!


I can honestly say that I’ll never be able to go to a concert in America again. They just can’t compare with the dancing, singing, and even the special effects put on by Asian concert! Not to mention I LOVE the fan etiquette here compared to that in America. SO yes, last night was a total success! I mean, who could ask for more?? B2ST, Kara, 2AM, 4minute, Joe Cheng, BoA and Rain???????? Yes please! :-)


T&S
      K.C.

So two Saturdays ago was one of the most important events in my life....as a kpop fan that is. lol.

August 21 was the SM Town Live Concert in Olympic Stadium in Seoul . Gabi got tickets through a friend of hers so we got to be part of the selective 35,000 at the concert!



We started the day in lines of people, trying to figure out how to change the eticket for our actually tickets. After a little bit of difficulty we finally made it inside the stadium!



The concert began at 4pm and started with the lesser known singers, mainly known for drama theme songs they had sung.

The one thing that is pretty awesome about Korean concerts is the fans. In America the one thing I hate about concerts is you pay for a seat but end up standing the entire freaking time and struggling to see around the 6’4” person in front of you. No, korean fans are way cooler. They stay in their seats and chill out but are still really enthusiastic and hyper. It’s pretty awesome because everyone in the crowd had a balloon and they were waving them in support of the groups. Each color represented a certain group. It looked really awesome in person to see all of the balloon waving. Then later, when it got dark, people pulled out glow sticks to wave instead! It was pretty awesome! WAY better than the lighter/cellphone thing we have going on in America. lol.



Then finally we got to some good stuff!

F(x) was one of the first better known bands who came out. They were pretty good. I’m not a huge fan of theirs but I can’t complain.



Then Jessica from SNSD and one other girl came out singing Kesha’s Tik Tok. I kind of wonder whether they had the rights to use the song or not.... but no else seemed to be too worried about it and it was pretty entertaining to hear the “Barbie” version. lol.



Then SHINee finally came on! It was pretty awesome because they were the first real big name to come out and they sang their first big hit, “Juliette.” It was also awesome because they utilized all of the stages, coming super close to where we were sitting. Well, as close as they could get, we weren’t sitting down by the stage or anything.



After SHINee came TRAX. I hadn’t heard of TRAX before the concert, but I am a devoted fan now. TRAX is a rock group by SM and they well, rocked ^^ The guitarist was fantastic and it didn’t hurt that he was sporting white hair and a whole white outfit. Talk about hot. But seriously, their music was really awesome! It was a nice surprise to find a new band to follow!!



After TRAX was Girl’s Generation or SNSD. I liked them before the concert, but I have to say I lost a bit of respect for them. They sounded like the Chipettes for half the concert and their sickeningly sweet act got on my nerves. They weren’t bad though, when they sang their hits. It was the lesser known stuff that got annoying. lol.



After SNSD was finally Super Junior!!!!!!!!!!! They opened with Super Girl which is actually a song from Super Junior M, the Chinese branch of the group, but it was still really awesome!!!



Then, FINALLY, came BoA!!!!!!!!!! It was so amazing to finally see the performer I have been following since high school. Never in my life did I believe I would be able to see BoA live in concert. Not only did I get to see her live in concert, I got to see her special 10th anniversary celebration and video. She was, of course amazing!!!!



Then, they had what seemed to be a good bye song. The concert seemed to be over....but wait.... was it????

NOOOOOO! It was JUST the beginning!!!! Well, ok, intermission! hehehe.

They turned everything off like it was over and we thought wait, it can’t be over, the concert is supposed to be longer than this. Finally after about 15-20 minutes laser lights started up and out came???



Super Junior singing...wait for it.... Sorry Sorry!!!!!

Yes, that was another all time amazing moment for me as a kpop lover. A-MA-ZING! The lights, the dancing, the outfits, everything. Fantastic.

Turns out the second half of the concert is where it was really at. All of the bands saved all of their best songs for this part of the concert. We’re talking, Sorry Sorry, Oh!, Bonamana, Mystery, Lucifer, Dangerous, Mirotic, Hurricane Venus, Wonder Boy, Let Me, Don’t Don, and SO much more!



So we’re jamming out, and the lights go out and these green laser lights start going off and this dark voice over the speaker comes on and say….. “WE ARE DBSK!”

Man, the whole place went CRAZY!!!!

Here came two members of DBSK on wires floating down from the top of the Olympic Statium!!!!



It was SOOOOOO amazing to get to see them! They even performed Mirotic, one of my all time favorites of their and one of their last songs before the broke up.



You see several members of DBSK got into a legal battle with SM over their contract and the group pretty much broke up over it. Which is also why there were only two members at the concert. However, it was STILL fantastic! I never thought I would get to see them live!!!

After DBSK there was several more songs from ever group.



SNSD ended with Oh!


SHINee ended with Lucifer!



Super Junior ended with Wonder Boy.


And last, but certainly not least, BoA and the entire concert, ended with her new hit Hurricane Venus.

By the time the concert ended it was 11pm. Yes, that’s right. The concert lasted 7 HOURS!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

It truly was an amazing day though. I can’t believe I only paid 44,000won to see all of those amazing groups and to pretty much hear every song they’ve ever been known for plus all of their current hits! It was SO fantastic!



K.C.