While I wish I could say I’ve literally been waiting all my life for this moment, I’ve only known about TVXQ since July of this year (*hangs head in shame*). So, I’ve been waiting for this moment since I heard about the US leg of the JYJ showcase tour.
After weeks of obsessively checking DBSKnights for ticket information (thanks, guys), I finally got my tickets (expensive though they originally were), and counted down the hours anxiously until today.
Finally, Friday came. I had to work for 8 hours, 9-5, in New Jersey where I live before I could catch the train (which I did immediately after work). I got to NYC/Hammerstein at around 6:15. I asked some security guards, who were very helpful, where I should go. Because of the events surrounding the cancellation of their performance visa and the subsequent announcement of a free show, there were around ten thousand people (10,000) waiting. Security hadn’t separated anyone, the ticket-holders from the non-ticket-holders, for about an hour. Doors were supposed to open at 7 and the show was supposed to start at 8, but the show ended up beginning around 8:30.
I’m not going to give a blow-by-blow account of the showcase. The announcers/interviewers came out to introduce JYJ, and throughout the hour-long show they were very adorable and funny. They interacted a lot with the audience and made us feel welcome at Hammerstein, a concert hall I’ve never been to. JYJ came out and performed three songs, and then the Q&A session took place. After the Q&A they performed three more songs, including their Korean song off the soundtrack for Yoochun’s drama. The show itself, their performances, and especially the audience were very, very high-energy.
Some things I noticed: One, the boys seem very, very tired, but also extremely happy to be performing. They might have been exhausted and maybe even upset over yet another controversy happening with their visa cancellation, but they absolutely performed to 110% of their abilities. I was not at all disappointed with their performance. They smiled throughout the entire thing, but took their dancing and singing very seriously.
Two, during the Q&A session, Yoochun answered most of the questions that weren’t directed at all three members individually. He speaks the best English, or at least amongst themselves they think he speaks the best English, so he answered quite a few of the questions himself, even though the female host and another man besides the male host were there to translate. Despite the fact that they are all studying English (or trying to), Junsu and Jaejoong seemed very uncomfortable when Yoochun tried to pass questions off to them. They would give one-word answers in English, and even seem uncomfortable speaking in Korean and then having the translators tell us what they said. I don’t mind at all what language they speak; it’s all beautiful, and we would have gotten to know what they said regardless. But I guess it’s just a matter of comfort.
Three, and this is the most important thing of the entire evening: the audience was out of control. I don’t mean screaming, I don’t mean crying, I don’t mean shouting and clapping and jumping up and down. That’s normal. I’ve been to hundreds of concerts in my life, and never have I ever been pushed so hard, bruised so much, and almost knocked down so many times. I’m not a tiny girl, and I had to steady myself from falling over many times. I know everyone’s excited to see the boys. I know you all want to get closer to them; I did myself. But the distance between the stage at Hammerstein and the first row of the audience was too wide for anyone to touch the boys, so I don’t know why everyone was pushing so hard. I know it’s exciting that they’re here; trust me, even though I am a new fan, I still wanted to be close, but I have to think realistically about the situation, especially everyone’s safety. There was a girl in front of me who was very tiny and I was practically holding her up and keeping her from getting crushed the entire show. When it was finished, she turned around and thanked me. I want everyone to enjoy themselves, but I also want everyone to be safe. I don’t know how the seating arrangements are at the other venues for the rest of the US tour dates, but please, don’t push. We don’t want anyone to get hurt, or to sue the venue or the boys because he or she got hurt at one of the shows.
And, in typical fangirl fashion, I absolutely could not take my eyes off Jaejoong, although Junsu and Yoochun are eye-catching enough in their own right. The boys’ smiles… I cannot tell you how much I wanted to cry and laugh at the same time, their smiles are like the most precious diamonds in the world, every one of them. They all looked amazing, maybe a little too skinny and tired, but still, as amazing as I’d hoped and imagined they would look.
All in all, I would do this day over and over again a thousand times, in a heartbeat. I hope whoever’s lucky enough to experience them in other cities has just as good a time as I did.
Shared by: DBSKnights + dbsk dream
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