I went to my first actual Kpop concert this past Saturday. The person I went with is a huge fan of Stray Kids and she didn’t want to go alone, so she asked me to go with her. Now, I DO like Stray Kids! I just haven’t been listening to them much recently. 🙈 I also need to preface this by saying I no idea it wasn’t going to be a normal live.

The venue was Kyocera Dome, which has a capacity of around 35k!

I was surprised to see it was around 90% women… Way back when I went there to see EXILE or Sandaime J Soul Brothers, it was more like a 7:3 ratio with a wider age range. But then again, that kinda makes sense when you think about it.

Going to the bathroom was a 30 min wait. We eventually found the merch line and felt like we were making good progress until we turned a corner and saw that the line just never ended, so we gave up. I would have gladly bought something but not when there’s an hour-long wait…👵

So, skipping to the concert starting: Pretty much everyone except us had their light sticks. Definitely felt like we were missing out! And, of course, no pictures or videos were allowed of the actual concert.

The group came out on a slide from the huge gacha machine that was part of the stage. They then split into two groups and rode a platform around the stadium, so we could actually see them fairly close up. All I can say is their skin was flawless! In the middle of Case 143, they left the stage and their mascots (Skzoo) came out to dance around and finish it, which was when I noticed something would be different about this concert.

For the next two hours they were playing little games as teams. Bangchan named his team “Kon” _{(from Jujutsu Kaisen?)} and Changbin went with team…”Butaniku” (pork). 😅 Anyway, they all tried really hard with their Japanese, but also had an interpreter. Bangchan’s Japanese is really good, and he speaks with a Kansai dialect. It seemed like he didn’t need to read off anything. I also had no idea Han was so good too! There was a lot of forced aegyo, and most of them looked visibly uncomfortable doing it. They’d do it, and then physically cringe. 🥴

There’s also the sound system… We weren’t that close to the speakers, but it was like they had everything on 12/10 volume. Not the smartest thing to do, but I personally listen to ear crushing metal on the daily, and the sound at the venue was just not appropriate. In the end, it felt like I got to see 6 fully performed songs… However, the actual setlist lists SIXTEEN songs. I think it’s just that a lot of them didn’t involve a whole choreographed performance and had lots of MC breaks in between.

The setlist (apparently):

• Fairytale
• Chill (Jpn ver)
• Case 143 (Jpn ver)
• TA (Skzoo)
• S-Class (Skzoo)
• GAME TIME – quizzes, team games, games with Skzoo
• Lost Me
• Why? 👈 New song
• Megaverse
• Hall of Fame
• Get Lit
• District 9
• Booster
• Lalalala
• Blind Spot
• Fam (Jp ver)
• Miroh

Lalalala was definitely the highlight of the whole night. The lighting, the dancing, everything was perfect. The new song isn’t my cup of tea as it’s just another Japanese release, meaning no seasoning. Seeing District 9 and Miroh was cool! Aaand once everything was over, they took a picture featuring everyone in the crowd holding up the little banners we got upon entering the venue.

Either way, I’m glad I got to see them. This kind of fan-focused thing is something to keep in mind for next time, though.