Concerts

A friend got private box/suite tickets!

I hadn’t listened to the band before, nor had I been to any K-pop band concert before, nor had I been in the Oakland Arena, nor had I been in a box suite, so this was a cool experience. Here are some random notes:

• This was part of their “Blood Saga tour”.
• They know which camera to look at because it has red lights. There are something like 8 different cameras. I feel like the eye contact with the screen gives a kind of parasocial interaction (e.g. “Oh, he’s looking at me!”). Not that it’s a bad thing, in fact it’s super fascinating how scripted/intentional it is but doesn’t appear to be.
• Not too many audience members were dancing, though a couple people did. Primarily the audience jumped or sang along.
• The audience seemed to be primarily young adult women (teens+parents to early twenties, I’d guess). Fairly high-pitched screams, even in anticipation before the band actually showed up on stage.
• There’s confetti, pyrotechnics, elevating/moving stage blocks, synced lights with audience wristbands/wands.
• Some music videos played, which was used for costume changes.
• There was a part where audience and their own made signs were showed on screen.
• There’s a part where audience members throw things on stage (like stuffed animals or hats), individual band members interact with them and then throw them back.
• Everything seemed to actually be extremely well timed/scripted. There was a screen with what seemed to be timed captions and stage directions like arrows pointing up, out, down.
• There’s a part where the band thanks the audience and talks about how they feel (they speak in Korean and a translator says it in English afterward). This is probably scripted and not ad-libbed as well, as it seemed like the screen with captions already had what they were going to say (it didn’t seem live-transcribed).
• Concert started at 7:30pm. There was an encore at 9:45. You could tell when things were really over because the the operational people (camera, sound, lighting people at computers, all presumably Korean) didn’t move at the fake ending but wrapped up/got up immediately after the real ending.
• Box suites have a couch, some seats, bathroom, sink, a TV (though that didn’t seem really used during), a phone.

Very cool experience, even if I don’t really listen to their songs. Cool to see how well designed the experience is. They really know their audience and how to make them feel.

Also “Cooling Prongs” and “Open Mike Eagle” (rapper who also knows a lot of They Might Be Giants)?

I feel like this is the third time I’ve seen Macross 82-99 now. Second time I’ve seen him and Vantage in SF. Got some of their sticker packs + glitter bundle.

Opener was Eklektik (spelling?), who was also pretty good.

• Cal Academy of Sciences
• Mao Livehouse in Shanghai on 2018-06-17

  Actually got to talk to him for a bit here backstage.

• Opening for Madeon in New York City on 2016-02-19
• The Midway in SF on 2022-09-10

They had Mike Vallely as their singer.