Showing posts with label Concert. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Concert. Show all posts

Monday, August 18, 2014

Day 55: Infinite That Summer 2 Day 6 Concert Experience

Today is Friday, August 15th, or Day 6 of Infinite's That Summer Concert 2! And it's all the concert that I managed to buy directly from Interpark; I'm so happy to see my own name printed on the ticket!
Here's the gorgeous concert banner in broad daylight.
Here's the schedule for today's concert. Today starts at 6PM. Because I bought my ticket using an international a Interpark account, I had to pick up my ticket at the ticketing booth starting three hours prior. I came at 3PM and there were was no line to pick up tickets, but there was a long line for people buying cancellation tickets (I didn't really understand how that process works). 
I also passed by the merchandise tent, which closes in one hour. So many items are sold out.

Then I decided to visit fansites, though most seem to be closing soon. There are some small fansites that walk around and pass out fans, others that you line up in long lines and they mark your ticket and you can then pick up a free fan (people flock to these and the fans run out super quickly!) and others are the huge fansites where you donate to get goodies.
Here is a free fan I received while waiting in line for another item.
Here's a fan I waited in line for from Hogam (actually there was no line, but the point is I had to go up to them). On the other concert days you had to pay for this, but since it's Hoya Day, it was given for free to those with today's concert ticket. She highlighted the concert date on my ticket.
And I somehow got talked into donating to five fansites. Many of the most popular fansites sit together, so it's easier to find them.

엘의날개/L'aile (10,000₩ for fan and postcards/+5,000₩ for photobook)
Honeytree (10,000₩ for fan and photocards)
Turning Point (20,000₩ for fan, postcards and slogan)
Season & Planetarium (joint fansites to support Sungjong's upcoming birthday) (10,000₩ for fan, 10 photocards and phone sticker)
Hoya Macaron (10,000₩ for fan)
Honestly I regret this one because I only get a fan, and I like the free one I got of Hoya much more. But it's to support Infinite, so it's okay! This concert has really made me love Hoya so much more so I'm so happy to have supported his fansite!
For this concert, I settled on only bringing my L'aile fan (though I was really close to bringing Honeytree's or Hoya Macaron). Here's my ticket as well. It says I bought it on July 14 at 8:09...how lucky is that, tickets sell out on July 7 and 9 yet I manage to get one five days later! Still reliving that moment...

At 5:35PM our line finally started moving. When we passed by the merchandise tent, I saw at least 10 people already camping out for merchandise!

Standing 4 is slightly elevated from Standing 2. When I entered, there was a mass huddled at the center and it tapered to the right. I stupidly went to row 5 of the mass, which I soon regretted. Everyone was somehow ridiculously taller than me so I could hardly see several members at a time, if at all. There wasn't much pushing and everyone behind me had lots of room while in front of me was jam packed. If wasn't until later, when I got pushed forward a row or so, that I felt an incline at my feet...the first three rows get a leg up with this slight platform! So for many performances, I couldn't see until I tiptoed I'd have a chance, and for comments I could usually see a couple of members. And with Hoya being disabled, I was luckily able to see him most of the time since he was located off to the sides.

I'm thankful to have seen the previous night's concert clearly, so I have a good idea of what's going on even with an obstructed view. And I could think more clearly and realize things I recalled about yesterday's concert are a really inaccurate -.- so I've edited that post.

And onto the random ancedotes I can recall~

The audience seemed so much more lively and inspirited today! Everyone sang along with most of the songs, and the fanchants were very much alive. Just during the "Back" music video, the fanchant was very intense!

Today Sungyeol's hair seemed more natural. Yesterday he had a wavy perm look. Also during one of the last songs it seemed like he lifted up his shirt just a tad bit in order to pull it down.

Myungsoo's voice was so much more amazing and sounded much healthier today! When he sang "Diamond" and "A Person Like Me," I died.

During the second ment, Woohyun sang his first line from "Beautiful" (bringing back serious OGS feels), Infinite F sang two lines of the chorus of "Heart is Racing," and Dongwoo rapped from "Alone." Later Hoya did his "I say Ho, you say Ya" bit.

During the "To. Infinite" message board, Sungjong read one that said "CEO 정윱, 사랑해요!" This really made Sungjong burst into hysterics, and he even went on all fours and couldn't stop laughing. Another post-it question asked each member to sing a bit from their solo stages. Myungsoo sang a few lines from K.Will's "Day One!" Sungyeol did his first song, then sang a couple of lines of "My Heart is Racing" alongside Sungjong and Myungsoo! We called for Sunggyu to go, but he didn't. Hoya didn't either, since he just performed. Sungjong did a little of his Michael Jackson performance, but he was just whispering practically so he did part of "Good Morning" too. And Dongwoo did a bit of rap. I'm so glad I went to this concert date, as I could experience just a bit of each member's individual performances, and especially hear Myungsoo and Infinite F.

During the solo stage, the VCR showed a street fighter video game concept, with Hoya versus Sunggyu, and of course Hoya won! After showing Hoya's childhood photos and interview clip, the screen showed that Hoya wrote and composed this song himself! Then on the left of the stage, looking sleek in black, he played the piano to a slow and soft pop ballad-like song. Then all the lights go off, and soon he's standing center stage and starts rapping with dancers in the background. Sadly I completely missed his entire performance after he left the piano, so I don't know if he was dancing or standing or what. After his song ended (which caused so many feels for me...I never noticed Hoya so much, but he seriously shined so much tonight! Such a bias wrecker.), he left the stage and we kept calling his name. He came back out and sat down and talked to us. Then he performed another ballad with one of the band members accompanying him on the guitar. Everyone was singing along.

After Hoya's solo stage, the other members ask him to sing it again. He sang literally only two syllables, and we all laughed.

During "Back," above the stage yesterday they word "B A C K" was lit up with many bulbs, but today only the B and K showed up. Also "I N F I N I T E" lit up as well.

I was a bit lost due to the language barrier, but during the ending ment I think Hoya made all the members and audience laugh ridiculously first. Myungsoo laughed obnoxiously then abruptly stopped and said 네, and we all laughed at the silliness. Sunggyu also cut his laugh short so it was funny. The order of standing was the same as last night's, except this time with Sungjong at the far right, and the order of going first was chosen differently.

Woohyun gave his speech, then said "사랑해요...사랑해...I love you...네꺼 네꺼...네꺼하" and we repeated back to him everything and for the last one we said "자!" Then Hoya said to Woohyun, "끝났죠?" Sungyeol said in English "Thank you, I love you." Then Myungsoo whispered into his ear and Sungyeol said his "If you ever cheat on us I will chase you 'til the end of the world, I mean it." Then he finished his turn with some more sentimental-seeming Korean.

As it was Hoya's day, he introduced all the band members. During his ending speech, Hoya thanked his family members and I think his dancing teacher noona was in the audience, sitting in the first row of the second floor on the right side if facing the stage (around where Sungjong's mom sat yesterday), and they shined a light on her.

During the last song, Woohyun was hugging Dongwoo in the center while singing his first lines. Myungsoo wasn't trying to catch the confetti so much this time.
At 8:41PM, the concert ended. Right after the concert, because Standing 4 is so small, the staff member quickly swatted people away from taking photos of the venue. But I managed to get a few of my view once people cleared out.

Here is a pretty accurate tracklist of tonight's concert that I reconstructed from memory:

That Year's Summer
I Like You
She's Back
Cover Girl

Intro Ment

Julia
Memories
Diamond

Ment

Man in Love
Entrust
Amazing
Be Mine

Hoya's Solo Stage (x2)

Message VCR

소나기
Paradise
Chaser

Post-It Board Ment

A Person Like Me
Voice of My Heart

Pillow Fight/Interview VCR

Last Romeo
숨좀 쉬자
로시난테

Ment

Back

---Encore---

Come Back Again

Ending Ment

Nothing Better Than This

As my last time seeing Infinite, I'm surprised I'm not depressed. I think I'm just really thankful to have been able to see them perform so much while studying in Seoul!

Thursday, August 14, 2014

Day 54: Infinite That Summer 2 Day 5 Concert Experience

Today, Thursday, August 14th, I went to Infinite's concert! This was my first concert in Seoul, so I was so nervous about what to expect in pit. But I shall endure it; anything to see Infinite perform again.
Here's the schedule for the day. Today's concert began at 8PM, lining up began at 6:30 and entering the venue began at 7.
I arrived on sight at around 5PM. Concert merchandise still had another hour until closing, with about half the items sold out.

The fansites all seemed to be on the opposite end of the block, under a freeway. Laziness led me to stay by the venue.

There are staff members with signs in Korean, Chinese and Japanese to assist people.

At 5:55PM the staff members put out the signs for each standing zone. Next to the merchandise tents were Standing 1 and Standing 2, 400-600, and the other sections are close by. 6:30 is the official line up time, but many people started lining up before that. I found my spot in line and waited, watching other groups slowly leave the area and trickle into the pit. While mostly the people around me were Koreans my age, I also saw several guys (one even with a lightstick!) and some older women and other foreigners. While waiting, a group of girls already started to line up for tomorrow's merchandise.

At 7:17, Standing 2, 400-600 finally got to go into the venue! The staff member led us through the back hallways. They told us to rip our tickets ourselves (which is good, so I can preserve it) and they checked our number once while entering the building and again entering Standing 2. Inside the pit, some people lined the back area while most people congregated the middle and then a bit on the right. I went for the middle right, around row 11, which is oddly where I was seeing Infinite in LA and at the motor festival. Looking around, the venue truly is super small! I was about 10 feet from the edge of the stage, and from the stage to the back of the venue seemed to be less than 100 feet. Also all the seated tickets seemed very clear. It makes me happy that Infinite can still perform at such small and intimate venues despite their fame. Also the workers are very strict about photos. There's a guard in front of my section checking and another staff member occasionally came into our section, maybe to call someone out? And before the show started a worker stood on a platform in the middle of the floor, peering over at people. The guard also gave people cups of water throughout the show.

Being in the pit wasn't as bad as I had thought, except the girl next to me and I headbutted twice -.- And the audience was like a stormy sea, where we all shifted in every direction about three feet or so every so often. Eventually I moved from row 11 to 7! Also a lot of times I was taller than the people in front of me, so I could see all seven members and their entire bodies (not just bobbing heads), especially during their ending comments.

Now I'll just be giving my random anecdotes~

The screen was playing Infinite's music videos in chronological order I think. Then they played an audio clip of Infinite telling us what we can and can't do played. Myungsoo said we should just enjoy the concert with our eyes and not use our phones, so I listened to him well! Then they played the "Last Romeo" and "Back" music videos, then they played the intro VCR for the concert! Then the curtains disappeared (I think they went up?) and Infinite was sitting so casually and comfortably on their chairs! Dongwoo was closest to me, and he was just slouching and looking so relaxed. It seemed like the bottom half of his head was shaved then the top was braided and tied. To follow the casual atmosphere, they never changed their hairstyles throughout the concert; it was always just natural looking.

The first song was "That Year's Summer," and after Myungsoo's long note, Sunggyu's voice cracked or something, because he was just silent for one line then sang the rest! He laughed it off though (and this shows that they don't have a backtrack playing!)

They performed "Cover Girl" early on and during Sungyeol's rap, Dongwoo was messing with him and then vis versa.

While sitting down in these round platforms (like in Second Invasion) they sang "Julia" and the audience sang along with the vowels. Then they sang "Memories."

During the members' introductions, they went from left to right. Sungjong went in the middle and said "sexy boy 성종입니다" and Hoya went next and said "Inspirit tree 호야입니다 (maybe I heard 'tree' wrong...)." From right to left it was Dongwoo then Myungsoo, and Dongwoo made Myungsoo laugh so he just squatted and started laughing while other members introduced themselves. I love how much fun they're having on stage!

Later on the were back in the chairs, this time Dongwoo on the tambourine and Sungyeol on those mini double Congo drums(?). Then they performed an acoustic version of "Man in Love." During Hoya's rap, Sungyeol pointed his mic to us and we shouted "HOYA!" Then the song right away transitioned to "Amazing!" Then Dongwoo or Sunggyu asked us to sing the chorus of "Be Mine" and then they did the acoustic version of that.

Dongwoo brought up the lightstick name conversation again! In the end they decided on 여봉 (yeobong) and Woohyun kept saying 여봉 to us, it was so cute!

I saw Woohyun's prominent arm veins so clearly! And there was a skin color bandage two inches thick around his upper middle left arm...I hope he'll heal quickly!

There was one song Woohyun was singing and twirled twice, it was so cute! He sang so well live, and all of his long notes were to die for.

When Sunggyu and Woohyun harmonized together in "Voice of My Heart," it was so breathtaking!

Dongwoo also sang really well live, I can't get over it. Myungsoo's voice seemed more dry or raw or something, so it didn't sound as nice as usual when he sang some non main track songs. But in "Last Romeo," "Back," and "A Person Like Me," his voice was amazing.

For the first half of the show, Hoya sat in a chair on the left side. Then for the next half he sat on the right, about 15 feet in front of me! And during his raps he would stand up and do his thing. He still showed his energy and he was getting into it during his raps.

Sungjong said in English, "I say Sung, you say Jong! Sung!" And we said "Jong!"

During the middle of the concert there was a message board called "To. Infinite" of post-it notes from Inspirits. Members each chose one. Sungjong got one that asked him to sing an American song, "Listen," and he sang so well! Then Woohyun ruined the moment by continuing the song. Hoya's message was from some girl, so Hoya responded by calling her name to the audience! Someone also asked Dongwoo about marriage.

For the solo stage, a VCR played announcing "Who's today's solo stage?" And then showed the remaining members, Sungjong, Hoya and Sunggyu, and the CEO, racing and Sungjong won. Then they showed his childhood photos and an interview clip of him. Then Sungjong came out in a sleek suit and black fedora and performed a Michael Jackson song. Then he did a very cutesy "Good Morning" with maids dancing alongside him and holding a mirror while he checked himself out. Sungjong also threw something to the center in my row, and later on a bouquet of flowers to the leftside in my row.

After the solo stage there was another VCR, this one similar to the previous summer concert with instant messaging to Myungsoo. Sungyeol's ID was "성열 황" and Woohyun's was "SHIN 우현."

Another VCR showed of the hyungs having a pillow fight, then Sungjong comes down and beats everyone up! Then an interview session begins with Sungjong as MC. In the video Sungjong kept cutely asking the audience this question. Then later on, on stage, Dongwoo imitated Sungjong and then Sungjong asked the audience again!

Also at times members (Dongwoo, Sungyeol and Sungjong) would go to the very right of the stage and step down so they were halfway between the stage and floor. During the last song Woohyun even stood on the floor, so we were eye level to him! Here I'd be about 10 feet away from a member, and usually I was 15 to 20 feet away from the closest member.

The performed "소나기" and the stage shot the audience with a blast of water! It felt very refreshing. Then they performed "Paradise" next with fire shooting from the stage. This time they weren't just wearing wife beaters though. Dongwoo did take off his white jacket to only wear a white wife beater during the concert, and later on Woohyun did too.

A little later Woohyun sang the backup to "소나기" and we sang the chorus.

They also performed "숨좀 쉬자" and then "로시난테." It was cool to see these dance stages live!

They performed "Last Romeo" and then "Back" and then the encore. When they performed "Back," they began with Sungyeol and Sunggyu standing up instead of sitting.

It was so cool to be surrounded by fanchants for "Back" (and a few other songs like "Paradise") and we shouted out names during "Voice of My Heart) and for the encore we shouted "다시 들어와 들어와 들어와" for awhile until finally they came back out, in these white sailor outfits. They did "Come Back Again," followed by their ending remarks.

During the ending comments, the order of standing from left to right was Sunggyu, Sungyeol, Dongwoo, Woohyun, Sungjong, Myungsoo and Hoya. They started from oldest to youngest. During Dongwoo's turn, Woohyun asked him if he's hot then Dongwoo slid down his jacket halfway. Then Woohyun pulled down Dongwoo's left tank strap and he dramatically reacted, then Woohyun poked him above his left nipple.

During Woohyun's turn, he danced like a little kid, twirling and flailing his arms. Then Dongwoo copied, then Sungyeol, then Sunggyu (but it kept getting less dramatic with each member). At the end of his turn, Woohyun finished with "안녕! Bye bye (but really cutely)! Byuing byuing!" And lastly "사랑해!" Then Hoya asked with his sassy attitude "끝났어? (Are you finished)"

During Myungsoo's he did his usual short and boring speech. Then he paused hesitantly and did a quick "사랑해" but cutely got so embarrassed that he walked to the back of the stage, but the screen kept showing his back so he used his arms to try and divert the camera to the other members. Later he came back to the front of the stage, grabbed a water bottle and squatted on the ground to drink, but lost his balance and fell backwards! He then cooly played if off by throwing and catching the bottle twice in his right hand. He did that with his mic too; he did that throughout the show.

Myungsoo literally only spoke briefly during his introduction, read off one message from the message board, and during the ending comment.

During Sungjong's he thanked his mom. Then they showed her in the audience with a spotlight! She was sitting on the second floor, first row in the middle left (if you're looking at the audience, not the stage). Sungjong also introduced the live band, asking us isn't one of the members (I forgot which one) handsome, and the vocal backups.
In one of the last songs they released long silver confetti. For the last song, "Nothing Better Than This," they released small white tissue paper, which actually a few fell throughout the show. I'm so happy they chose a happy song rather than a sad ballad like "With." During this last song, the members went to the edge of the stage and squatted to be near fans. Dongwoo was closest to me! And of course Myungsoo was in the middle back of the stage, getting distracted and trying to catch all the confetti (which I admit I was trying to do too ㅋㅋ) and Dongwoo was doing this for a little bit but quickly stopped.
After the curtains went down, an ending VCR played and then this photo was displayed while tracks from The Origin played ("Can You Smile" and "White Confession"). People started taking photos, so I jumped in, though the staff lady kept telling us not to. So this was the general area where I stood.
And here is the remainder of the venue. And the first row of the second floor in the middle left of the photo is where Sungjong's mother sat!

The concert ended at 10:37, and people started slowly trickling out. Even during the encore stage people were leaving, probably so they can catch Infinite leaving. Staff guided us out the side door we came in, and up a set of stairs outside that led directly to the subway. I walked past the ticketing office and people were already camping out in hopes of getting a cancellation ticket for tomorrow's show. Also people were still selling fan goods. Instead of entering the subway, I went to the front exit of the parking garage next to Exit 2 and waited until around 11:10, but they've definitely left by then.
And lastly, here's a lovely banner just outside of Exit 2 of the subway, which I've somehow missed until now after all my visits here. This building isn't actually where the concert is; there are multiple buildings within Blue Square, and this photo is where the musical Cats is playing. Infinite's is in the smaller building next door.

Oddly enough I'm not getting post concert depression, maybe because I still have one more concert to go! Everything feels a bit surreal, but this time because they were so close (and because Sunggyu messed up and laughed it off) it made them seem so much more human and relatable (since I view them as idols lol).

Monday, August 11, 2014

Day 49-50: Infinite That Summer Concert 2 Venue and Camping for Merchandise

My friend attended the August 9th concert so I went with her at around 3:40PM. All of the lockers were already taken (the service closes at 4PM) and it was hectic in there, like a public high school gym locker room. 
Then at 3:54PM we scouted out the merchandise area, as we were going to camp out there tonight. If you get out of Hangangjin Station (한강진역) Exit 2, then turn right to face the concert hall, and walk to the right side of the building, and the merchandise area is located between the hall and this graffiti storage container (with rivets that make for nice backrests). This photo is from around 5AM; people weren't actually camping out at 4PM yet.
At the merchandise tents, there are banners indicating the items that were sold out for the day. There were still items available (light stick, pendant, strap, beach towel, paper frame, sticker set and beach hood), so I ended up buying everything I could now instead of tomorrow morning. Also there are signs on the registers stating in Korean, English, Chinese and Japanese that there are no refunds or exchanges. But I think there is one exception. Many people were bringing their light sticks back to the tent because one of the seven lightbulbs didn't work. So anyways, first you enter the cashier tent, which accepts credit card and cash, and tell the cashier which items you want and the quantity. They have a piece of paper with the items so you can just point to them, just for clarification. The they confirm all the items you want, and print out a receipt. Then you walk to the next tent and show the worker your receipt. He then grabs all of your merchandise and uses a pen to check off each item on your receipt. My receipt indicated I paid at 4:00.47, and the tent officially closes at 4PM. But people were still trickling in behind me to make purchases. By now, workers with picket sticks indicating number ranges for standing zones stood in front of the merchandise tents, and people were starting to line up. Then I left to rest up for the long night.

At 9PM I came back again to wait in line for merchandise. That night's concert was led out at about 8:40PM, so my friend went to the back of the line then. By the time I arrived, she was still the last in line, and there were about 10 girls ahead of us. Even though the concert was already let out and many fangirls were flooding the subway station, I was surprised to still be close to the front of the line. We had the storage container backrest behind us, a fence with three garbage bags tied around for our convenience, and our large tarp underneath us. We were ready for city camping!

My friend told me that the limit per item is four, and light sticks are 10. Since this is the case, I thought we came a bit early. Little did I know...

With so much time on our hands, I decided to do some photoshoots of the Infinite banners around the concert hall at night and dawn, when it was very peaceful and no one blocked my view.
Here are signs with the Infinite logo. These stairs lead down to the locker area.
There are boards indicating that day's schedule.
The other side is the layout of the concert hall, as seen on Interpark.
The doors leading to the concert hall are also decked out in Infinite logos.
They also list all the banned actions.
Here is how the entrance to the concert hall looks like. Underneath the stairs is the ticketing office. When I came here at around 10PM, there were several people camping out in hopes of buying a canceled ticket. When I came again at around 5AM, the line went from the wall to the bottom of the staircase, around 15 people or so.
There are also beautiful banners blowing around the grounds.
At 9PM there were still makeshift vendors by the subway exit selling Infinite goods like official Man in Love and Last Romeo slogans (that my friend claimed were fake), and fan goods like light sticks and name tags in gold and white. The stores in Myungdong Station only sold tacky dark yellow ones, so I was happy to have found white ones here! Sadly there's no 김명수, only 엘. So after buying the concert goods the following day, I decided to buy my new top three here, 1,000₩ each for all the vendors. Other vendors sold cold drinks and tarps for us campers.

At around 9:30PM, the tarp vendor came to the line obnoxiously trying to sell tarps and not making any sales. From 12:30AM until 5AM, it was pretty peaceful and quiet for the most part. Except at 2AM, when most of us had just started falling asleep, the tarp vendor came around again. And then at around 5:10AM, a guy who had closed up his burger shop was trying to get rid of extra burgers to us.

I was able to catch some sleep from around 1AM to 5AM (except for when those vendors came around), and was oddly woken up by my dream: the tents opened at dawn, and we got in line lackadaisically, then just as we stepped in line, all the merchandise sold out and I woke up. And then the burger guy came. So another five hours to go~

Even though it's the super hot season, staying in the elements at odd hours wasn't what I had expected. At 6AM it became breezy and chilly, and at 8AM it was sprinkling. Then later on the sun shined on us intensely. Local fangirls had opaque umbrellas and threw light blankets over them to create a shield from the sun.

Occasionally a security guard walked by us. Then at 7:58AM he intentionally woke us all up and told us to make rows of four instead of one. But by doing this, it seems easier for others to cut and it seems more disorganized. Then at 8:30 staff started rolling in boxes of merchandise, and they seemed to finish setting up within 20 minutes. Then they tied up the banner for the front of the tent.
Then at 9:32 a staff member passed out the pieces of paper for us to mark the quantity we wanted for each item. I was so excited, it's just like what I've seen on Twitter for past concerts! They gave exactly one per person, so I couldn't take an extra home for a souvenir.

At 9:39 they told us to consolidate everything. And from here on out, workers kept emphasizing for us to check our receipt at the register, and again check at the merchandise tent to make sure we have everything, as once we exit the fenced off merchandise area, we can't go back. Yet my friend did later on, and realized they didn't give her the sticker set, and they still gave it to her.

Promptly at 10, the four registers opened. Everything is very organized, as a worker points to which register you should go to and announces when items are sold out. Right at 10:05, my friend and I were next in line, and suddenly the worker announces that the cheering towels are sold out. I was in disbelief, as only about 10 people were in front of us! That means at most 40 cheering towels were allotted today, which is ridiculously low. Yet when my friend went up to purchase, she was able to buy the last two cheering towels! I was so relieved, as I didn't want to wait in line all over again. When it was my turn, I handed the cashier my sheet, and she confirmed with me first in Korean, then in English, everything I had ordered, crossing off the cheering towel. I then went to the merchandise tent and the worker took my receipt and began gathering my goods. You shouldn't start bagging your items until the worker gave you everything, because they go over every item on the receipt and mark them to double check. Also for Infinite concerts, they don't provide shopping bags so you must bring your own. My friend was still having difficulty packing everything, so there's one worker dedicated to bringing customers' merchandise to an open space to keep the flow of customers more smoothly.

We stayed for awhile and monitored when items were sold out. By 10:30, the ID card case and clear file set were sold out. By 11:14, the big fan was sold out and there was no more line. By 11:52, the paper frames were also sold out.

My friend went again at 4PM and saw that the only items available now were the light stick, strap, beach towel and beach hood. So it does seem like with each day fewer items are being sold.

While we were waiting around, basking in Infinite happiness, a fansite came around passing out goodies. I got a small bag of cute stickers.
Here is the merchandise I bought from the first day.
And here's the remainder of the merchandise that I bought on the second day. I'll have unboxing posts for all the items soon.

The experience and rush of buying goods was so fun and intense; I'll definitely cherish this memory, and hope I can do it again in the future!

Wednesday, July 16, 2014

Day 20-25: Purchasing Infinite Concert Tickets

Infinite's Summer Concert 2 is set for August 7-10 and 14-16, and with my luck, my summer quarter finals end on the 7th! This is going to be one boring entry about struggles of ticketing wars for idol concerts and my boring ticketing stories...rereading them, I don't even know why I'm sharing all of this. Official 4th Generation Inspirits (which I'm still beating myself over the head for not purchasing) can buy standing 1, 2 and 4 on July 7th, while the general public can buy standing 3 and sitting on July 9th. To go into the battle of the ticket war, I went to a nearby PC bang in search for comfy office chairs and quick internet. But when it turned 8PM, the servers were down as too many people were buying tickets. In the end, I disappointingly bought off a ticket from my friend's friend.

The following night at 2AM (so technically July 11th) is known as chicketing (cancellation + ticketing), so I headed back to the PC bang from 11:30PM until 4:10AM, desperate to buy a ticket for myself, as the cancelled tickets should be released soon. Just before 2AM, one or two standing seats would show up here and there, but were already gone by the time I clicked on them. Around 2:08, about 50-80 standing seats and 20-50 sitting seats were available for every concert date, but the servers were still pretty slow. Eventually I was able to choose from standing 3 and 4, but because this was my first time encountering actually selecting seats, I took my time and eventually all seats were taken. Again disappointed at my stupidity, I waited for 4AM in case more would show up, which they didn't. So I walked back to my dorm in utter defeat.

I stayed up until 2AM everyday from thereafter, desperate for a ticket, but doing this for three days straight, I was so exhausted and ready to give up. But I heard that on Monday, July 14th, at 8AM you can do something (which I later founded out was for Korean accounts to request upgraded tickets, meaning it doesn't apply to me), so I got back up at 8 and checked. There were still zero tickets available until 8:06AM (when I was practically about to give up and go back to sleep), when I saw one ticket available! I quickly clicked on it and was actually able to buy it; only one ticket available out of all of the seven concert dates, and I was able to buy it! I was in shock as it was random to release just one ticket, and perfect timing that I had checked at that moment. Despite the far seat, I will still be able to see Infinite one last time...probably my very last time...

Saturday, July 5, 2014

Day 16: The Brilliant Motor Festival K-Pop Concert in Songdo Experience

The Korean Speed Festival/Brilliant Motor Festival takes place this year in Songdo, Incheon from July 4th to 6th (it was postponed due to the Sewol accident).
On the 5th, there is also a Kpop concert scheduled from 7 to 9PM! The lineup included Akdong Musician, Girls' Day, Infinite and DJ Doc.
Tickets are free, but my Korean friend helped me to get a mobile ticket first through some online registration, which I then traded in at the festival for two wristbands (one for me, and one for a guest). We arrived at the venue (which was about a two hour bus and subway ride from Sinchon) at 4:45PM and surveyed the scene.
The entire center section was already filled with umbrella tents, and therefore fangirls, but we were able to find a cozy spot to the car right close to the fence. This was the view I had of the stage. There is also a small extension in the center, and three large screens. There was also a large screen displayed outside of the main gate, for those who couldn't enter the venue.
With two hours to kill, more and more people started to fill the area. Some time later, the MC had an interaction with the audience, asking two questions relating to the Kpop performances tonight. At around 6:15PM, the screens showed the racing special of Infinity Challenge. Eventually many policemen arrived in front of the gate and sat cross-legged, about a yard apart from each other.

At around 7:10PM, the show finally started! Akdong Musician came out from the left side and started off with "200%." They then spoke to the audience and people in the center started standing up...I think she told people to stand up or something,but then the police told them all to sit back down. They performed four more songs, including "Give Love." I haven't listened to Akdong Musician before, but I definitely like their funky, yet gentle, kind of music.

Next was Girls' Day, who also performed four songs. Most of their dancing was them on the floor, so I honestly couldn't see them much. At one point they also stepped onto the extension. Directly after their act, many fans were satisfied and left the venue, allowing Inspirits for a better view!

And then...Infinite's "Last Romeo" blasted while their intro video played on screen! Everyone then suddenly stood up and police told us to sit back down, which some did, but eventually we all stood back up again! Then Infinite walked on stage from the left, wearing their white lace outfits (that I had predicted and wanted!) and they jumped straight into performing "Last Romeo!" Of course, they sound perfect performing live. After "Last Romeo," the MC came out and introduced Infinite, and each member stepped forward and introduced himself. Woohyun did aegyo (as the MC commented on) and Sunggyu distinctly laughed "hahahaha!" Then they performed "Memories!" While Girls' Day only performed  dance numbers and hits, I'm so happy Infinite performed a non-main track! At certain parts, Sungyeol, Dongwoo and Myungsoo came to the far right side!

When Sungyeol was up on the screen, Myungsoo was on the right side of the stage and kept staring at Yeollie on screen in awe for a long time...Myungyeol is just too cute!
Afterwards they performed "Nothing's Over" and at the end, as always, Myungyeol (on the right side of the stage, like OGSLA) made a heart! There was one more talk time, saying that the last song would be "Be Mine." Directly after, Infinite quickly went off stage. Woohyun was of course the last member off, doing fan service (as the MC commented on again).

I had recorded Infinite's entire appearance, which lasted just over 19.5 minutes, with one hand and took photos with the other hand. I ended up with a out-of-focus video and blurry photos...now I know that I should just take one good video and just take screenshots later...oddly enough, after Infinite's act finished, I didn't have post concert depression like from OGSLA; I think it's because I (wishful thinking) know that I'll see Infinite again while in Korea, whereas in LA, I knew they were leaving for good. I'll post up photos and screenshots of my fancam soon.

After Infinite's performance, DJ Doc performed. But many fangirls, including myself, left right after. Out of the main gate, many fangirls were heading towards the cars to see Infinite leave, but I think they had already left. At the subway station right next door, two rows of policemen formed so we had to walk by them to enter the station. And from here, we had a fantastic view of the main gate's live screen of DJ Doc, and we could hear the performance very clearly from the station.

I am so thrilled to have been able to see Infinite again! At OGSLA, I was so starstruck that I didn't feel in-the-moment and just took photos, but this time, I took a video and really saw Infinite. Though come to think of it, I didn't really get to see Sunggyu. Oh, and Dongwoo and Hoya have natural dark hair color again! Hopefully this is the concept for the upcoming repackaged album. Also it's so wonderful to see Woohyun's left arm functioning! I hope it has fully recovered! And seeing Myungsoo's cute haircut in person was too much!