SHINee - Boys Meet U - June 28-30 + July 7
Fan accounts typically consist of interesting information passed from fan to fan about some aspect of their chosen fandom. In that sense, this will barely qualify. You have been warned.
The failing of this fan account lies not in its fannish part, because I would have to be a fairly dedicated fan to attend three tour dates in a row plus one more a week later, but in the actual accounting aspect of the following jumble of barely interrelated words.
In short, I have nothing much to add to the information that started seeping into fandom even before the concerts had ended. No very relevant anecdotes that others have failed to recount. No tales of Jaejoong-style interaction or even failures to turn off penlights. Not much in the way of action at all, to be frank.
But no one should take this to mean I disliked the show. I loved it! Or, well, no, that is in fact a lie. I loved the experience, four times over, but have complaints about the show itself, which I will get to in a moment. Also, please note that my issues are with the show. SHINee themselves were awesome, as usual. No surprises there. And that is my entirely biased opinion.
Save the Cheerleader; Save the Environment?
SHINee ought to get their own tokusatsu super hero color coded costumes, Asgard armour, or Olympian golden togas. Last year, they came from outer space to kick some serious bad guy ass. This year, they appear to be single-handedly terraforming planets and levitating spherical cities.
The opening video features the ashes of some post-apocalyptic world and the feet of a girl that for some reason made me think of an out-of-place cheerleader in a nightie. She appears to bring sparkly glowing power that breaks SHINee out of Superman-esque crystal prisons and I can’t help but wonder if this is meant to symbolise fans giving energy to their idols, or if it is just something shiny to dangle before said fans’ eyes before the actual concert starts. In either case, the fans in the arena went wild as the members were introduced on screen in typical Hollywood voice-over fashion. All four times I witnessed this, I just waved my lightstick vaguely and smiled. I mean, they’re just on screen. Let’s pace our excitement, yes? No? Ah, well. *waves imaginary lightstick*
In a later video, SHINee brings light, grass, water and other necessities to this barren world, all the while smiling so angelically it made me laugh every time. It appears there are limits to the amount of sweet cheese I can stomach. Most of the crowd seemed absolutely taken with the cuteness of it all though, oooh-ing and awww-ing as if their lives depended on it. Maybe they were providing the sparkly energy for the terraforming while I was just a cackling, unhelpful villain.
Now, I did enjoy these videos on some level, but I have to say they felt rather hastily thrown together, both production- and performance-wise. For me, they were entirely eclipsed by the one video clip I did enjoy fully: The wacky intro to Kiss Yo where the boys end up in the middle of some sort of fairytale explosion which then spills onto the stage in the form of inflatable props like a bed and a tongue-like contraption (which makes this Kiss Yo sound suddenly quite naughty, I realise) and tiny means of personal transportation.
As you can no doubt tell from the fancams, the segment that starts with Kiss Yo was the highlight of the concert, every time. Whether due to Jonghyun’s inability to drive a tiny car, Taemin falling out of a stroller or crazy Key!panda, it was always memorably hilarious.
And that is where we come to another of my complaints. While last year’s show mostly just felt delightfully eclectic within an overall theme of boyhood fantasies, it is surprising that a show specifically called Boys Meet U instead feels disjointed, lacking a discernible theme. This is mostly because besides the foresty playpen of Kiss Yo (etc), the rest of the show consists mostly of well choreographed, music show style performances. An odd choice for an arena tour that features larger venues than last year’s.
Live & Kicking, All Together Now
Despite this lacklustre overall staging, the live performances themselves were nothing short of amazing. SHINee have improved since last year and I found the ballads especially enchanting, every single time. Fire is amazing live, as is Moon River Waltz.
Jonghyun’s vocals made my jaw literally drop several times. Powerful! Minho remains as charismatic as ever and seems to never run out of energy. Onew had turned up the adorableness quite a bit since last time, and Key is… Key! Amazingly fabulous.
Taemin’s dancing took my breath away. ♥
The greatest disappointment is one I share with many at this point - the lack of solos. They were the thing I looked forward to the most. And no, not just Taemin’s. Everyone’s. And we got none.
This lack of solos disappointed me so much the first concert that it rather spoiled the encore for me. But this disappointment was not, in fact, the only reason.
Walking With Invisible Dinosaurs?
Sure, it is a lovely idea to have SHINee venture out into the audience. However, when you also remove the ‘satellite stage arms’ and replace them with a short, fat middle stage, it becomes too little too late. And also, too low.
Thanks to the lack of stage area, even most arena seats in Saitama Super Arena became rather poor. In the much smaller Osaka Castle Hall, it worked better but still looked somewhat odd. Considering the normal setup of stage elements for similar arena concerts in Japan, it looked, in a word, cheap.
As for the encore, the small stages were a good idea and brought SHINee much closer to the stands farthest from the main stage. However, SHINee then start walking - on the floor. Nice for the people right on the edges of the arena blocks and for those in the lower stands, but for all the rest - well… there are always screens? Like on TV, you know. Because that is the experience you look for at a concert. TV.
I’m not actually as bitter about this as I may sound, but it does baffle me that the producers didn’t at least use small carts. SHINee could still high-five people if they felt like it. Even more importantly, it would be a safer option. I got properly worried when I saw SHINee forcing themselves through the Osaka crowd, aided by harried-looking staff, and that is also not a feeling I particularly desire at a concert.
Side View, Top View, Centre View, and Bum View
I had varying luck with my seats this time. For the first show, I was in a C block on the floor and so reasonably close to the stage, though nowhere near as close as last year. The view was very good, though you get less of an overview. It was also nice to have this seat for that particular show since it made me feel even more apart of the fan surprise for the boys, the signs that made Key cry. The sweet girl who gave me the sign before the concert spoke very little English and my Japanese seems to be almost down at zero now, but we managed to understand each other at last.
For the second show, I was in the very farthest stands, up close to the ceiling. It gave me a fantastic overview of the arena, though SHINee looked like ants. Through my newly purchased and admittedly very cheap binoculars, they looked only slightly larger. The main downside to this seat, besides the distance, was the steep angle. I did not walk down the stairs I came up. Felt like I was going to fall straight down. Down, down… down.
Third time, not very much luckier. I was in the stands at the back again, though almost halfway down and on the other side. Or rather, I would have been on the other side but some people asked me and a couple of girls to move in so they could sit on the edge of the row. So I ended up almost in the middle and that is in many ways an excellent position for a show like this, if you disregard the minification of SHINee. The laser light show and other effects looked amazing.
The fourth and final time provided me with yet another and very much appreciated view - from the back. No, not from the back stands. From behind SHINee. Yeah. I was in a stand seat that was high up and at a right angle to the main stage, which meant that most of the time, I saw SHINee from behind. I spent most of the time using my binoculars. This being much closer to the stage, I got a very good and extended look at SHINee’s backsides. Or, well, mostly one of them. Have I pointed out that Taemin has an amazing backside? Many times? Well, it bears repeating. Because he has.
Speaking of Taemin, I had great luck with my seating in the sense that during the encore, he was usually on the side closest to where I was. The first show, he started out on the ‘right’ side but then they switched just before he got to our part of the floor. Bummer. Second show, he started out on the mini stage right below where I was sitting. Way below, but still. Third show, he started out on the opposite stage - which I would have been even closer to had not those people asked me to move. Fourth show, he started out on the opposite side of the arena but then they switched stages (which they never did in Saitama) and he also walked next to our stands. Pretty much maximum luck there when I had stand seats.
Unclear Reception, Even at Altitude
When Taemin was right below us during the second show’s encore, he mimed binoculars up at us and, if I’m not mistaken, made a kissy face. There were three or four of us using binoculars up there but I won’t even try to pretend that I’m not hoping he noticed me. After all, I was way up but I also had nothing but black wall behind me and would probably sort of stand out even at that distance. So, maybe.
The third show, during the encore, Taemin scanned the left side of the stands quite closely, from what I could see (in my cheap but treasured tiny binoculars), and I think he may have noticed me just before he turned to walk off the stage, but it may just have been wishful thinking. That was the moment I most regretted having moved from my actual seat.
The fourth show, I sort of got the impression Taemin might have noticed me but that was most likely very wishful thinking. He grinned and waved at our section from the ‘second’ encore stage so he could have noticed an odd audience member then, I guess. After all, there was, again, nothing behind me. So who knows. Unlikely, but possible.
Yes, I focus a lot on whether Taemin noticed me. Every fan likes being noticed (though it can also be sort of weirdly traumatic, like when Jaejoong spoke to me - and no, I don’t think I’ll ever stop mentioning that) and I do have a bit of a crush on Taemin. It’s hardly a secret. (And yeah, you could probably leave out the ‘a bit of’ too. Shuddup.)
When I was in the C-block, I would guess they all noticed me at some point. I mean, I do stand out. It’s unfair, I know, but there are definite benefits to being a tall, male, Western fan sometimes.
My seat was still quite far from the stage and awkwardly placed between the two main sections but I think Key specifically waved at me during part of Hello. At least, I got the impression I should probably wave back, so I did. Eventually. And I’ve now gotten the distinct impression Key’s waved at me on at least three separate occasions (London, last year, and now), so maybe I’m not hallucinating it. *shrugs* Who knows. Didn’t want to be rude, in any case. ;)
Fun Times Two, Despite the Heat
For the Osaka concert, I also got to meet up with the delightful ot2mint whom I’d befriended through Tumblr. Even waiting in line for goods under the blazing hot sun was fun when you had someone to chat with about both k- and j-pop. Well, at least until the heat got so pressing I had to put away my poor overheating DSLR and we escaped to McD (goods in hand, of course).
I then wanted to check into my Osaka hotel in order to drop off my DSLR, but I rather overestimated my ability to locate things in that city. So I ended up stressed to bits when I realised I had walked some way from Shin-Osaka Station in the wrong direction and the concert - in a completely different part of the city - was to start soon. I rushed back - through a thick sea of humid heat - and tried to find an available coin locker at the station. There was none.
I got on the very last train I could take to make it to Castle Hall in time for the concert and one stop and ten minutes of fast walking later, I got to the arena, literally dripping with sweat and apologising to the staff for bothering them with my camera (which they held at the entrance).
When I finally go to my seat, I had just barely managed to salvage my hair after an extended hunt for a toilet, and I didn’t even have time to unpack my lightstick before the lights went out. Luckily, I had done it before, and seen the intro video. But it did provide rather an unfortunate start to that concert for me. The later view cheered me up though. Even if I was vaguely disturbed once by a pale shape prowling the darkness to the left of our stands, behind the stage. Castle ghost?
But potential haunting was not the worst thing about that seat. Though I appreciated the bum vision, we could barely see what happened on the main stage as our seats were at a very odd angle to it.
But, still, not the worst thing. See, I had no time to get water before the concert. I had to spend three hours with only the tiny amount left in a small bottle I’d brought from Tokyo. When I finally got out, all I could focus on was getting something to drink. I probably frightened poor ot2mint when she found me in the crowd, looking wild-eyed as I hunted for signs of bottles.
Once I had my Sprite and my camera, we headed to a location behind the arena where SHINee would apparently pass in their car. They might stop and say hello. Sometimes, they do, though the staff guy who stood there waiting said they were unlikely to, I think. He looked surprised to see a tall blond guy among the small group of fans and I think he actually laughed a little and then spoke into his radio. Maybe warning SHINee of suspicious-looking individuals. Just keep driving…
Eventually, their car (or so we were told), drove past and we waved at it. Which lead us to speculate as to whether the car was a decoy or if they had actually had time to shower properly. Which lead to me picturing it. And I guess that was a nice ending to the show, as it were. Even if purely imaginary.
The Korean food we had later was very spicy but delightful, even if I chattered too much to actually eat up before the restaurant closed. Oops.
Which ends this poor, confused fan account. Remember, I did warn you.
Then again,
Why so serious?
;)
Fan accounts typically consist of interesting information passed from fan to fan about some aspect of their chosen fandom. In that sense, this will barely qualify. You have been warned.
The failing of this fan account lies not in its fannish part, because I would have to be a fairly dedicated fan to attend three tour dates in a row plus one more a week later, but in the actual accounting aspect of the following jumble of barely interrelated words.
In short, I have nothing much to add to the information that started seeping into fandom even before the concerts had ended. No very relevant anecdotes that others have failed to recount. No tales of Jaejoong-style interaction or even failures to turn off penlights. Not much in the way of action at all, to be frank.
But no one should take this to mean I disliked the show. I loved it! Or, well, no, that is in fact a lie. I loved the experience, four times over, but have complaints about the show itself, which I will get to in a moment. Also, please note that my issues are with the show. SHINee themselves were awesome, as usual. No surprises there. And that is my entirely biased opinion.
Save the Cheerleader; Save the Environment?
SHINee ought to get their own tokusatsu super hero color coded costumes, Asgard armour, or Olympian golden togas. Last year, they came from outer space to kick some serious bad guy ass. This year, they appear to be single-handedly terraforming planets and levitating spherical cities.
The opening video features the ashes of some post-apocalyptic world and the feet of a girl that for some reason made me think of an out-of-place cheerleader in a nightie. She appears to bring sparkly glowing power that breaks SHINee out of Superman-esque crystal prisons and I can’t help but wonder if this is meant to symbolise fans giving energy to their idols, or if it is just something shiny to dangle before said fans’ eyes before the actual concert starts. In either case, the fans in the arena went wild as the members were introduced on screen in typical Hollywood voice-over fashion. All four times I witnessed this, I just waved my lightstick vaguely and smiled. I mean, they’re just on screen. Let’s pace our excitement, yes? No? Ah, well. *waves imaginary lightstick*
In a later video, SHINee brings light, grass, water and other necessities to this barren world, all the while smiling so angelically it made me laugh every time. It appears there are limits to the amount of sweet cheese I can stomach. Most of the crowd seemed absolutely taken with the cuteness of it all though, oooh-ing and awww-ing as if their lives depended on it. Maybe they were providing the sparkly energy for the terraforming while I was just a cackling, unhelpful villain.
Now, I did enjoy these videos on some level, but I have to say they felt rather hastily thrown together, both production- and performance-wise. For me, they were entirely eclipsed by the one video clip I did enjoy fully: The wacky intro to Kiss Yo where the boys end up in the middle of some sort of fairytale explosion which then spills onto the stage in the form of inflatable props like a bed and a tongue-like contraption (which makes this Kiss Yo sound suddenly quite naughty, I realise) and tiny means of personal transportation.
As you can no doubt tell from the fancams, the segment that starts with Kiss Yo was the highlight of the concert, every time. Whether due to Jonghyun’s inability to drive a tiny car, Taemin falling out of a stroller or crazy Key!panda, it was always memorably hilarious.
And that is where we come to another of my complaints. While last year’s show mostly just felt delightfully eclectic within an overall theme of boyhood fantasies, it is surprising that a show specifically called Boys Meet U instead feels disjointed, lacking a discernible theme. This is mostly because besides the foresty playpen of Kiss Yo (etc), the rest of the show consists mostly of well choreographed, music show style performances. An odd choice for an arena tour that features larger venues than last year’s.
Live & Kicking, All Together Now
Despite this lacklustre overall staging, the live performances themselves were nothing short of amazing. SHINee have improved since last year and I found the ballads especially enchanting, every single time. Fire is amazing live, as is Moon River Waltz.
Jonghyun’s vocals made my jaw literally drop several times. Powerful! Minho remains as charismatic as ever and seems to never run out of energy. Onew had turned up the adorableness quite a bit since last time, and Key is… Key! Amazingly fabulous.
Taemin’s dancing took my breath away. ♥
The greatest disappointment is one I share with many at this point - the lack of solos. They were the thing I looked forward to the most. And no, not just Taemin’s. Everyone’s. And we got none.
This lack of solos disappointed me so much the first concert that it rather spoiled the encore for me. But this disappointment was not, in fact, the only reason.
Walking With Invisible Dinosaurs?
Sure, it is a lovely idea to have SHINee venture out into the audience. However, when you also remove the ‘satellite stage arms’ and replace them with a short, fat middle stage, it becomes too little too late. And also, too low.
Thanks to the lack of stage area, even most arena seats in Saitama Super Arena became rather poor. In the much smaller Osaka Castle Hall, it worked better but still looked somewhat odd. Considering the normal setup of stage elements for similar arena concerts in Japan, it looked, in a word, cheap.
As for the encore, the small stages were a good idea and brought SHINee much closer to the stands farthest from the main stage. However, SHINee then start walking - on the floor. Nice for the people right on the edges of the arena blocks and for those in the lower stands, but for all the rest - well… there are always screens? Like on TV, you know. Because that is the experience you look for at a concert. TV.
I’m not actually as bitter about this as I may sound, but it does baffle me that the producers didn’t at least use small carts. SHINee could still high-five people if they felt like it. Even more importantly, it would be a safer option. I got properly worried when I saw SHINee forcing themselves through the Osaka crowd, aided by harried-looking staff, and that is also not a feeling I particularly desire at a concert.
Side View, Top View, Centre View, and Bum View
I had varying luck with my seats this time. For the first show, I was in a C block on the floor and so reasonably close to the stage, though nowhere near as close as last year. The view was very good, though you get less of an overview. It was also nice to have this seat for that particular show since it made me feel even more apart of the fan surprise for the boys, the signs that made Key cry. The sweet girl who gave me the sign before the concert spoke very little English and my Japanese seems to be almost down at zero now, but we managed to understand each other at last.
For the second show, I was in the very farthest stands, up close to the ceiling. It gave me a fantastic overview of the arena, though SHINee looked like ants. Through my newly purchased and admittedly very cheap binoculars, they looked only slightly larger. The main downside to this seat, besides the distance, was the steep angle. I did not walk down the stairs I came up. Felt like I was going to fall straight down. Down, down… down.
Third time, not very much luckier. I was in the stands at the back again, though almost halfway down and on the other side. Or rather, I would have been on the other side but some people asked me and a couple of girls to move in so they could sit on the edge of the row. So I ended up almost in the middle and that is in many ways an excellent position for a show like this, if you disregard the minification of SHINee. The laser light show and other effects looked amazing.
The fourth and final time provided me with yet another and very much appreciated view - from the back. No, not from the back stands. From behind SHINee. Yeah. I was in a stand seat that was high up and at a right angle to the main stage, which meant that most of the time, I saw SHINee from behind. I spent most of the time using my binoculars. This being much closer to the stage, I got a very good and extended look at SHINee’s backsides. Or, well, mostly one of them. Have I pointed out that Taemin has an amazing backside? Many times? Well, it bears repeating. Because he has.
Speaking of Taemin, I had great luck with my seating in the sense that during the encore, he was usually on the side closest to where I was. The first show, he started out on the ‘right’ side but then they switched just before he got to our part of the floor. Bummer. Second show, he started out on the mini stage right below where I was sitting. Way below, but still. Third show, he started out on the opposite stage - which I would have been even closer to had not those people asked me to move. Fourth show, he started out on the opposite side of the arena but then they switched stages (which they never did in Saitama) and he also walked next to our stands. Pretty much maximum luck there when I had stand seats.
Unclear Reception, Even at Altitude
When Taemin was right below us during the second show’s encore, he mimed binoculars up at us and, if I’m not mistaken, made a kissy face. There were three or four of us using binoculars up there but I won’t even try to pretend that I’m not hoping he noticed me. After all, I was way up but I also had nothing but black wall behind me and would probably sort of stand out even at that distance. So, maybe.
The third show, during the encore, Taemin scanned the left side of the stands quite closely, from what I could see (in my cheap but treasured tiny binoculars), and I think he may have noticed me just before he turned to walk off the stage, but it may just have been wishful thinking. That was the moment I most regretted having moved from my actual seat.
The fourth show, I sort of got the impression Taemin might have noticed me but that was most likely very wishful thinking. He grinned and waved at our section from the ‘second’ encore stage so he could have noticed an odd audience member then, I guess. After all, there was, again, nothing behind me. So who knows. Unlikely, but possible.
Yes, I focus a lot on whether Taemin noticed me. Every fan likes being noticed (though it can also be sort of weirdly traumatic, like when Jaejoong spoke to me - and no, I don’t think I’ll ever stop mentioning that) and I do have a bit of a crush on Taemin. It’s hardly a secret. (And yeah, you could probably leave out the ‘a bit of’ too. Shuddup.)
When I was in the C-block, I would guess they all noticed me at some point. I mean, I do stand out. It’s unfair, I know, but there are definite benefits to being a tall, male, Western fan sometimes.
My seat was still quite far from the stage and awkwardly placed between the two main sections but I think Key specifically waved at me during part of Hello. At least, I got the impression I should probably wave back, so I did. Eventually. And I’ve now gotten the distinct impression Key’s waved at me on at least three separate occasions (London, last year, and now), so maybe I’m not hallucinating it. *shrugs* Who knows. Didn’t want to be rude, in any case. ;)
Fun Times Two, Despite the Heat
For the Osaka concert, I also got to meet up with the delightful ot2mint whom I’d befriended through Tumblr. Even waiting in line for goods under the blazing hot sun was fun when you had someone to chat with about both k- and j-pop. Well, at least until the heat got so pressing I had to put away my poor overheating DSLR and we escaped to McD (goods in hand, of course).
I then wanted to check into my Osaka hotel in order to drop off my DSLR, but I rather overestimated my ability to locate things in that city. So I ended up stressed to bits when I realised I had walked some way from Shin-Osaka Station in the wrong direction and the concert - in a completely different part of the city - was to start soon. I rushed back - through a thick sea of humid heat - and tried to find an available coin locker at the station. There was none.
I got on the very last train I could take to make it to Castle Hall in time for the concert and one stop and ten minutes of fast walking later, I got to the arena, literally dripping with sweat and apologising to the staff for bothering them with my camera (which they held at the entrance).
When I finally go to my seat, I had just barely managed to salvage my hair after an extended hunt for a toilet, and I didn’t even have time to unpack my lightstick before the lights went out. Luckily, I had done it before, and seen the intro video. But it did provide rather an unfortunate start to that concert for me. The later view cheered me up though. Even if I was vaguely disturbed once by a pale shape prowling the darkness to the left of our stands, behind the stage. Castle ghost?
But potential haunting was not the worst thing about that seat. Though I appreciated the bum vision, we could barely see what happened on the main stage as our seats were at a very odd angle to it.
But, still, not the worst thing. See, I had no time to get water before the concert. I had to spend three hours with only the tiny amount left in a small bottle I’d brought from Tokyo. When I finally got out, all I could focus on was getting something to drink. I probably frightened poor ot2mint when she found me in the crowd, looking wild-eyed as I hunted for signs of bottles.
Once I had my Sprite and my camera, we headed to a location behind the arena where SHINee would apparently pass in their car. They might stop and say hello. Sometimes, they do, though the staff guy who stood there waiting said they were unlikely to, I think. He looked surprised to see a tall blond guy among the small group of fans and I think he actually laughed a little and then spoke into his radio. Maybe warning SHINee of suspicious-looking individuals. Just keep driving…
Eventually, their car (or so we were told), drove past and we waved at it. Which lead us to speculate as to whether the car was a decoy or if they had actually had time to shower properly. Which lead to me picturing it. And I guess that was a nice ending to the show, as it were. Even if purely imaginary.
The Korean food we had later was very spicy but delightful, even if I chattered too much to actually eat up before the restaurant closed. Oops.
Which ends this poor, confused fan account. Remember, I did warn you.
Then again,
Why so serious?
;)
