[ASKKPOP] What It's Like Going to a K-Pop Concert
Going to a concert can go one of two ways - it can be one of those experiences that unfold magically and you find yourself wishing you could do it over and over again. And of course, it could go the other way, wherein everything that could go wrong, goes wrong.
Granted, each concert has a vibe that's entirely its own. The crowd is different and the atmosphere feels different. But whatever type of concert you decide to attend, if it turns out to be worthwhile, the excitement before, during, and after the experience stays constant throughout.
That's what K-Pop concerts are like for me. Though I'm way past that age, I turn into a six-year-old child stepping into a crowded candy store for the first time - completely giddy and in awe of everything going on around me.
That's not to say people who go to other concerts don't feel the same way. Truth is, we all feel the same kind of excitement. What matters is who's up on stage making us feel that way and how we choose to remember the concert. So I'm not saying these feelings are exclusive to K-Pop concert-goers, but simply that they're something I've now come to associate with my K-Pop concert experiences.
So, I summon all concert veterans to look back and sympathize with me on the trials and triumphs of attending a K-Pop concert:
1. The excitement before the day of the concert is unreal.
You need to make sure your skin is (relatively) clear, as makeup applicationwill be made smoother for D-Day. And if you don't already have theperfectconcert-going outfit laid out, you need to get yourself to the nearest mall and take care of that ish.
2. Then you lay in your bed, eyes closed, with the intention of going to sleep.
But honestly, who are we trying to kid? We don't fall asleep until an hour or two later, our minds too excited to slip off into unconsciousness.
3. It's D-Day, and you're caught in what has to be some of the bigger dilemmas of your life: Heels or Comfortable Shoes?
Pretty new Crossover Bag (that's too cute for it's own good) or the Old Knapsack that's served it's time well and can now be ruined without burden?
4. Sitting in traffic and cursing the world for having too many people and not enough open lanes, dammit.
Even worse, you see the time ticking and you know with each minute that passes, the size of the crowd gathered outside grows twofold as fans line up to go in.
5. The terms and conditions attached to jostling for position nearest the stage in the mosh pit?
Good luck.
6. When staff or artists throw glow sticks or T-shirts or albums into the crowd,but the world conspires against you and you don't get one.
7. Sitting through awful and amateur opening acts, wondering, "Why do bad things only happen to me?" or "What did I do to deserve this?"
8. The wait time between the end of the opening act and the time it takes for the artist(s) to take the stage is a cruel and unusual punishment to test your patience.
Again, it must be the world conspiring against you.
9. Then the artist(s) comes on. And your heart stops.
"Are they real?"
Then they start moving, so you know they're real. They might as well be unicorns because you're not sure they're real but they look magical, regardless.
10. Sweaty bodies rub against you for the next two or three hours.
"Stop pushing"…"Gross"… "You're stepping on my foot"… "Ouch"… "Stop pushing"… "Stop pushing"… "Stop pushing"…
11. You look with envy at the photographers moving around the stage, taking pictures of the artist(s)…
Who did you have to kill to get that job, and how do I sign up?
12. Battery low.
13. You start to think of ideas to see the artists outside the venue that may or may not be questionable and only slightly obsessive.
"Is it really that unreasonable to follow the artists to their hotel?"
Last time I checked, we live in a free world.
All jokes aside, K-pop concerts come with their fair share of the good and thesweatyugly. But in the end, the hours of standing, the loss of sensation in your toes, mild deafness in your ears, and a scratchy throat, it's so worth it.