Of #TeamGenAd, Disappointments & What Not’s

Kpop Republic Concert.

When the news broke out a few months ago, that EXO & Shinee along with DalShabet will be in Manila by September, I’d be lying if I’ll say I wasn’t thrilled to see them. But realizing how costly the tickets were, I was having doubts... especially when they announced that only EXO-K will get to perform.

Don’t get me wrong, okay? I like EXO in general, but I like M members more than K’s. I have nothing against EXO-K but if your bias is in M, would you still go to a concert where you don’t get to see them? I don’t know about the others but for me, it’s a big NO. So the doubts I was having, after the announcement, came into a full-blown decision. I won’t watch the concert.

I won’t be going... even if I want to see Onew & Minho & the rest of Shinee members. I won’t be going because Yixing wasn’t there... Luhan wasn’t there... Xiumin wasn’t there... EXO-M wasn’t there. I won’t be going... because I have to save more money for Super Show 5... That it’s more important than all reasons combined. But things changed as September approaches...

Probably because, I was reading too much KaiSoo (Kai & Kyungsoo otp) fanfics... or the fact that Sehun was the 1^st EXO member I get to like (which is a history now, lol)... or probably because, Baekhyun... Byun Baekhyun was calling out for me! He was bugging my mind for quite some time now & the curiosity of seeing him in person was an understatement.

So, I bought a General Admission ticket on the same day of the concert & 6 hours before it starts (September 7, 2013; 7:30 pm). I was with friends. And by the time we enter the venue, I was in... I don’t know. I can’t pinpoint what to call the emotions I was having the moment we sat on the bleachers of the gen ad section. The only clear thing I have in mind was that, it won’t be going the way a concert should be. Why?

We were in gen ad, so you’d get the full view of the rest of the venue... Gen Ad was PACKED. But the Upper Box has seats that were not occupied... so was the Lower Box section, which has more empty seats. And the Standing Area? You can run around and do cart-wheels without so much difficulty... enough said. The fun side of it was, we were joking around saying that the Team GenAd should occupy the empty seats... but yeah, wishful thinking.

The lights went off and the crowd’s gone wild. It was a good thing though because it compensates the dreadful feeling I was having in my mind seeing that the artists would be disappointed if they spotted lots of empty seats. And Philippine fans are good at hyping up a concert. Henry Lau can attest to that... because we are Laud loud. People outside the concert venue could probably hear the screams that filled the dome.

Definitely no dead air. Even when the front act, Crispi Crunch & Soomin of April Kiss, performed, the crowd was having a blast. It feels like you’re in a club with the strobe lights dancing around you and the performers were just having a good time onstage interacting with fans. I don’t know anything about the duo of Crispi Crunch nor Soomin but I was amazed with them especially the duo. Their rapping skills were awesome and they can speak English. And when the front act left the stage & DalShabet went out on the platform, you could tell the difference. The crowd was louder... you could even hear the cheers of the fanboys. I also don’t know anything about DalShabet, but they were good and their leader (not sure though but since she was the 1^st to talk I assumed she’s the leader) can speak English too. It was near the ending of the performance of Crispi Crunch & Soomin that I realized something... and it wasn’t good. Which became worst when Dal Shabet performed and by the time EXO & Shinee came out on their respective performances.

It was the technical problem... a lot of it... from the lightings to the sound system.

First and foremost, I’m not an expert when it comes to technical stuff but I’m speaking out of experience. The lightings were okay, it’s just that the way they operate it was the problem. There were times that the lights were on when it shouldn’t be and vice-versa. I don’t know... maybe they didn’t do some technical run-down before the concert began? And the sound system... It’s given that the crowd were screaming their hearts out but if I’ll based it on other concerts I’ve watched, even if the fans were so loud, if the equipment were functioning well, you can still hear whatever the artists were saying despite the language and what not’s. But it wasn’t the case during the Kpop Republic concert. And when I told a friend beside me, she said that it was the same case during the DKFC event last January. Apparently, the team behind Dream Kpop Fantasy Concert was the same team for Kpop Republic. Well, I guess, they didn’t learn their lesson, did they? Or else I won’t bother writing this one. And don’t let me start with what happened before the concert. I’m not in the right position to blurt out the things that happened during the “press conference”. All I can say is that, if the concert was quite a fail... the presscon was a total disaster. I just hoped that foreign fans won’t take it against us coz not all press conferences were like that. And that the artists will just let it slide and forget about it and just focus on how the crowd was all having a good time during their performances.

Clearly, I wasn’t disappointed with the artists who performed. Even if Minho wasn’t there and I only get to see Onew (& the rest of Shinee)... even if it’s only half of EXO and no Yixing nor Luhan or Xiumin... the energy of the fans and the artists kept me in my seat. So were my friends I’m with... they’re a great help or else I won’t enjoy it as much as I enjoy looking at Wu Yifan’s masterpieces.