Storm Season

So Rana, Ren and I started out on time, ran into a bit of slow traffic, but made the Park and Ride bus without rush. Once at the Hollywood Bowl, the crowd was a bit overwhelming, but fujis rescued us and acted as an exceptional guide and procurer of stuff. (The woman is astounding, really. And so darling.) The food on site was not as Ren and Rana friendly as we thought it would be, but we found enough to stave off hunger for ourselves andravenlock_3 (*waves at Tony*). Then it was show time.

Now, I have a pet peeve -- applause and cheering during an national anthem. Before, in recognition of the musician, is okay, and after, in the closing notes, is fine, but no cheering during a rendition. (Sometimes the rendition doesn't help issues. WTF fireworks?!?!) Even if it is Junsu, and he looks sooooo goooood in a suit and is...JUNSU, there should not be loud fangirling during his national anthem. Respect, please.

Once the show got going, I can say that I was consistently impressed. Even if the music was not to my taste, the performers were exceptional. I'm not going to mention everybody, but here were the highlights for me.

SuJu T started the show. *resigned sigh* I must admit this grouping is adorable, despite Heechul. They run on pure dorktasticness. And Yesung showing up half-way through the set made my day. (No, I don't have a favourite. Quit snickering, Karot!)

The addition of Chae Yeon to the line-up was a wonderful surprise. She had some costume malfunction issues, but continued her set like a pro and sounded fantastic.

The surprise of the night was Moon Hee Jun. WOW! I've got a new musician to fangirl. Being in the "pop" side of the Korean/Japanese music seen means I've missed the presence of serious rock, but that was rectified tonight. WOW!

Soooo. SNSD (Girls' Generation). I've acquired a fondness for a few of them due to their appearances on variety shows and the Anycall Haptic adds with the boys. But really...no. Just stop. They were holding lollipops for their first number. It's disturbing!!

The theme of the concert was "Old and New", and at the other end of the spectrum from SNSD is Shin Joong Hyun. Officially retired (I found his "farewell" concert on YouTube before the show), he is a superior blues/rock guitarist and has a voice that suits the genre perfectly. He was given the longest set of the night to finish off the first half and I can't criticize the decision, it was an amazing performance.

I'll admit the second half of the show was coloured by my impatience for DBSK, so really the only act I'm glad I didn't miss was Fly to the Sky. I'd heard so much about them that it was good to see that they lived up to the hype. But then they followed M (Minwoo), and really almost anyone would compare favourably. Don't know if it was the rushed prep, but the boy was all flash and flesh and nothing else.

Then there was this guy who wasn't half bad and got the crowd on their feet. But I don't know who he was or cared because I WANTED MY BOYS. (Son Ho Young, btw.)

So lights went down. Bunch of people came on stage. Got to my feet and checked out the stage with my binoculars (My camera was next to useless. Thank goodness for paparazzo Ren.) Then the first notes of "Rising Sun" blasted through the speakers and I couldn't see a damn thing because my heart was beating so hard the binoculars were shaking. I got control of myself by the jump and yelled, "I cry under my skin" with everybody else. They lip-synched the song, which is not unexpected, but after their tours, it's not like they weren't in shape to sing it.

Speaking of "in shape" -- OMG JAEJOONG!! I...I.... There are no words. Someone better post pics soon because HOLY SHIT. Edit: Found it OMG! And he looks bigger in person.

They did their set in the "Purple Line" wardrobe (See pic) so Jae wasn't the only one showing skin. There was Su tummy!! And Chun with the zipper shirt. And Yunho looking gorgeous but with too many layers. And Changmin was, as usual, perfect.

What was not perfect were the technical issues. I don't know what the FUCK was up with the mics but it was NOT GOOD. They boys picked them up after Rising Sun, then they did their standard group intro and then individual intros down the row. I get the feeling that they realized something was wrong with the first words, but when Junsu almost messed up his own name in surprise, it confirmed that they weren't supposed to sound like The Chipmunks. They continued down the row, Junsu took a few steps toward the wings but must have been waved back, because they used these mics for both "Tonight" and "Purple Line".

Was it horrible? No, they were still on key, etc, but it wasn't their voices. Especially Jae, who really was the only one who sounded like a Chipmunk but it's JAE! DAMMIT! And I got the feeling that they weren't pleased. Of course they did their best with what they have, but still.... One of the reasons I wanted to see them was to HEAR them. Although seeing them was damn good. And even distorted it was a surreal experience. It didn't seem to bother them as much during "Purple Line" either because they'd become resigned to it or because they know that song isn't about the singing. :D Jackets came off. Su in just the vest. My life is good.

Then they walked off stage.

...

We were instructed to call for an encore, and of course we did. Excellent! A couple more ballads perhaps? With better equipment? Nope. "Balloons." With SuJu and SNSD in tow. That's okay. I love the dorktastic boys!! Then Changmin went to sing his first solo verse and...all you heard is the audience singing along. The look on his face was pure Min, "What next? *sigh*" But he kept going, they all kept going when they had the same problem to various degrees.

They were not thrilled to be herded out for the group sing at the end. Only three of them had mics. Changmin didn't bother trying to look for one. But Jae walked out under the arm of Moon Hee Jun which made me unreasonably happy. Yunho glomped onto Brian and the two of them were gooftastic together. Both artists of independent labels. Hmmmm. *raised eyebrow* Actually that was one of the best parts because I could watch the boys be our boys at the end of the stage. Except for Junsu got stuck in full view. At one point Yoochun, Changmin, and Jae were getting lost in the man-made fog and having a blast. Jae reached down to touch the fans (Speculating on a bunch of random pieces, I have a feeling that he had been warned off and was pissed even before the equipment issues), and Yoochun made Changmin laugh. Oh! Then Junsu ended up surrounded by the few members of SuJu T that stayed to the end and was felt up by Yesung. Really, who could resist that tummy? XD

Now to hunt down the fancams. :D