WARNING! WARNING! WARNING! The following is intended for people who love K-pop and specifically G-Dragon! We had such an awesome mother-daughter time! So much fun! Guest Blogger (and co-conspirator) :Magali Pitre. READ AT YOUR OWN RISK -- You’ve been warned. HELLO There Ladies and Gentleman! I’m here as a guest writer on my mother’s blog. My mother asked me to write about the G-dragon concerts, so here goes nothin’. We arrived at the venue in Bangkok at about 2 p.m. which was much too early but, with our experiences during the Big Bang Alive Tour, we thought it was better to be safe than sorry. The venue was quite busy and we had fun walking around and checking out the things people were selling and the different kinds of funky G-Dragon concert clothes people were wearing. I remember commenting that the some of the clothes were almost “Halloween-esk” because a few were quite extreme in their imitation of G-Dragon’s style. Mom and I quickly purchased a pair of G-Dragon concert T-shirts for about 10 dollars each and got authentic “Crown light sticks” with the added “G-Dragon concert light ring”, which all in all cost an arm and a leg at 35 dollars apiece, but they are necessary to really complete the experience during the performance. EVERYONE in the crowd has one, and when the beat drops, you understand why. The whole crowd moves the lights to the beat and the effect is stunning to watch. 2000 people holding lights and moving as one to the beat of an awesome song and dancing and singing along to the lyrics… it’s an awe inspiring scene and once you see it, you want to be a part of it. And we were...*dreamy expression* Now where was I? Oh yeah! So before the concert we walked around and saw all the people selling things, legally and illegally and once we had our G-Dragon T-Shirts on, we were officially sticking out among the G-Dragon VIP’s. We were the only white people there…not surprising but still, when you are getting stared at every 5 seconds, by pretty much everyone you walk by, it’s a little unnerving to say the least. While walking around, mom and I spotted a place where they were offering ‘airbrushed tattoos for free. So, Mom being the crazy fun loving Scrat that she is, decided she wanted one and dragged me along. I got an airbrushed “G-Dragon” in mixed blue and red along my cheekbone and mom got a “G-Dragon” on her arm in red and blue hues and the letter ‘G’ was in the shape of a dragon. It was so awesome!! Having the tattoo on my face was a spur of the moment decision to once and for all stop the questioning looks of “WTHell? What’s a white girl doing here? Is she a Big Bang VIP?” And for the most part it worked, because people were no longer left in doubt. And I have to admit I was hoping it would catch G-Dragon’s eye. A Caucasian Girl in the crowd with a tattoo on her face and her Bad Ass Omma with her, dancing and singing like crazy people. I know, borderline obsessive but hey-- the effect was a success! G-Dragon came back to our patch of the stage many MANY times and looked at me and mom repeatedly as if trying to make sure he wasn’t going Michigo for reals. (“Go Crazy” in Korean, one of his more bad-ass songs. Sooo Epic live!) I couldn’t really believe it until mom said, “He’s looking at you.” And all I could do was squee like the fan girl I am. His first song was ‘Michigo’, his newest single and it is very strange and very very fun to sing along to. You know the show is about to start when the music blasts and the lights go out and G-Dragon comes out on stage in a prop car and the lights all shine on him and he starts to sing. The crowd’s screams are something else. (My voice is still gone from the concert on the 16th and 15th) and it truly is the loudest thing I’ve ever heard. His song ‘Butterfly’ is absolutely stunning, as the dancers bring out huge two meter floating butterflies’ made of light flowing fabric that drifts over the crowd. It really engaged everyone in the song and made everyone gasp. It was just so beautiful. Then, the surprise guest arrives and to our excitement it was TABLO from another YG Family group called Epik High, (YG family is BigBang and G-Dragon’s company) and we were soooooo surprised because usually it’s just a video of him but that first night in Bangkok it was actually him. The second night, it was only a video and all the other ones too. We were very lucky to see TABLO and G-D, live together. Mom in particular was super happy because she really loves Epik High and Tablo. After that Tablo leaves and the show continues with G-Dragon’s “This Love”. Then G-Dragon brings out my favourite song of ALL TIME (for the next foreseeable future - lol XD) and the song that got me into K-pop in the first place and the one I know ALL the lyrics to by heart and can sing along to, ‘HEARTBREAKER’. G-Dragon really moves around the stage and dances a lot during this song and you could tell his was putting his all into it. It was sooo awesome. I was over the moon at that point but the fun had only just begun. During ‘A Boy’ (a song about his earlier days, how hard he worked to get to where he is now, and how he hasn’t forgotten his roots) he came over crouched down looked me in the eye, winked, bit he lip in his signature move and smiled. As I have said before, I think if I hadn’t been busy smiling my face off and jumping and screaming like a crazy person, I just might have fainted. Just to make sure, I asked mom and she said, “Yup he was looking straight at you.” It was one of the most memorable moments of the first night. He also had this really cool gold dragon shaped microphone as a prop. It adds to the style of the song and really brings his G-Dragon name to front of that performance. A second highlight was G-Dragon’s ‘Today. During the song, he DJs live and starts the song softly and then BAM just as the peak of the song hits, a huge blast of golden confetti explodes over the ground floor and everyone is jumping and singing along to the lyrics, “So Today! I don’t care cuz we wild and won’t stop, and I’m rocking my life away.” That, along with the live band (guitar, drums, DJ, and bass) it changes the song and makes it a really party song. Then, the dancers and G-D start clapping and then 2000 people are clapping together to the beat of the song and jumping up and down, singing as loud as they can. Definitely one of my favourite songs live. Then the expected guest, Seungri (one of the band members of BigBang) appears on stage and starts his solo song and of course being the maknae (youngest member/ baby of the group) acts all cheeky when G-D comes out and they stay on stage and talk and then asks G-D to kiss him on the lips -- just to get the fan girls screaming - which of course works. Ever heard of G-ri? If you haven’t, I DARE you to look it up. Fan-girls are SCARY…..the things they write would have an American football Quarter Back blushing. >.> nuf said. Seungri was on stage for about three songs and then he came back out at the end and then he was gone. He performed his solo’s Breakdown and VVIP. At one point G-dragon comes back onto the stage and plays a game with the crowd, where half the stadium is ‘Honey’and the other half is ‘Baby’. He then asks the crowd to show him how much they love him. And the louder side wins! The first night Honey won, and the second Baby did. ;) it was a lot of fun! Later during the middle of the concert, after one of the most intense songs he performs called “Obsession” and right after its twin song, “She’s Gone” G-D leaves the stage for a break and a clothes and makeup change. Near the end of the 5 minutes break, a stunt double appears on stage and ZIP LINES (I kid you not) from one end of the stage to the other making everybody in the crowd go even crazier. Did I mention the crowd was a just little nuts? Well, it was about to get worse… in the best of ways. ;) G-Dragon re-appears on stage and starts probably the most famous song of his “One of A Kind” Album, called Cray-On (a slang and play on words version of “Get your crazy on”). Everyone starts singing the lyrics and enjoying the song and if that wasn’t enough, he did the most epic thing no one would have thought of - he combined the two most famous songs of this past year: his song ‘Crayon’ and the BigBang Alive Tour’s song ‘Fantastic Baby’. Together, those two songs created an explosive effect and probably the high point of the concert. It was absolutely phenomenal. Then, he tells the crowd to be quiet and says he has something special for them. He goes over and sits on his stage throne and sings probably the most romantic and profound song on his latest album. It’s called (officially) ‘That XX’ which is polite for ‘That BASTARD’ - or in Korean, “Kisaeki Boda”. The song talks about a girl whom he loves. Unfortunately, she’s in a bad relationship and he wishes that the guy would treat her better. Hearing him ACTUALLY SING this song live was just so beautiful and special. G-Dragon’s voice is different but real and very beautiful. He puts a lot of emotion into it. The next one is called ‘One of a Kind’ and it is just pure GANGSTER G-DRAGON. So BAD-ASS. At first I didn’t like it that much but hearing it live it just so much fun. The BEAT--- ah there are no words! But I’ll try and describe it anyway! The sound shakes through your throat and chest and you can FEEL it. The whole crowd’s excitement becomes like a massive wave of energy and you forget that your feet are sore or that you’re tired of jumping and singing, because it is just so much fun. I will never forget these concerts. One of the best memories of my life. :) He continued a few more songs and then it was over….or so he said. But the crowd didn’t leave and no one was letting anyone out. The lights were still off. He was offering an encore. It was up to the crowd to call him back. One person yelled “Kwon Jiyong!” (G-Dragon’s real name) and then it picked up until whole building was filled with the crowd’s voices were calling his name asking for more. Then a screen comes out with an video of him and it says in a voice bubble : “Still here? It’s Late! GET OUT!” and the crowd yelled “NOOO!!” and then he says on the screen: “Hmmm…” and then he says, “What? More?” and the crowd yells “YEAAAAAAH!” as loud as they can. You can feel the crowd’s collective shout in your chest and the sound reverberates throughout the whole building. You can see the stadium Security Guards bewildered expressions at how much the crowd loves this Korean artist. Then he comes back out and starts singing “Breath” and then the last, last song was his newest one “Michigo” again and the music is so loud and the screaming was very literally deafening. (I’m not kidding I couldn’t hear in my right ear for like three hours afterwards – plus, I sounded like Micky mouse cuz I lost my voice from screaming. I shit you not. It was like I’d just inhaled helium. Pretty funny actually.) And then the lights come up and it over. The next night was essentially the same, but better because he had more energy and interacted with the crowd more. But I forgot to mention, in Bangkok that the people closest to the stage were supposed to be seated, but that first night no one was in their seats. That pissed off the guards like nothing else and the next night when we arrived we saw that they put up second barricade to prevent the crowd from being that close again. I get it, because where I was standing and with my height, If G-Dragon had leaned over and reached and I had too, I could have touched him. That, and a huge crowd of CRAZY Fan girls….dangerous combination. So yeah ok, it sucks but ‘safety first children’. But the best part of that second night was near the end, when G-Dragon said, “I don’t think you know how much I love you guys.” And you could hear it in his voice, he really meant it. Sincerity is something rare in pop artists nowadays. Then, the there was a moment where everyone was quiet and I yelled “SARANGHAE!” as loud as I could and he heard me and said, “Yeah I love you too.” I screamed my head off and turned to mom and said, “Did that really just happen?” and she said, “Yup, he heard you.” That was FREAKING AMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! I’ll say it again! THATWASFREAKINGAMAZING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! So the rest of the concert with Bad Boy and Seungri sang part of it continued and it was over. I was really sad to leave Bangkok, and I definitely want to go back. Maybe to teach English there for a year once I’m ready to travel again. I loved the Bangkok’s Chinatown. Duck soup and Bubble tea for breakfast is awful for you but it is really tasty (especially since you can’t get that kind of thing back home). Missing, Pearl Milk Tea and Thai Ice Tea…T_T so yummy! So that night, I realised, “Ah hell, I only have one more concert and then -- probably never again…” I was actually really depressed about it. So I got online and checked GD’s concert schedule. The next concerts were in Jakarta at the same stadium as last year’s BigBang Alive tour. Being the spoiled brat that I am, I woke up my mom and Dad -- at 1 a.m. and begged them to go. Mom agreed that it was important. Dad -- not so much. But once Mom was on my side, he gave up. TO BE CONTINUED…………….. dun dun duh!!!! XD
Posted on: Sun, 23 Jun 2013 13:16:21 +0000