After discovering that the South Korean idol group would be making their 2nd appearance in Japan, I knew we had to acquire tickets. Being a concert enthusiast I couldn’t let this one get by. I knew it was going to be a challenge to get tickets, having failed for Arashi and Kara, but I had to try. Tickets were sold exclusively to fan club members only. No public sale existed so far as I knew, and since being a member of the fan club costs an annual fee, I turned to Yahoo Auctions Japan. With the help of a friend I was able to get us tickets! *Note: By “tickets” I mean a QR scan code on our cellphone, and no paper ticket. I was sad about this, because I enjoy collecting them.
Samantha and I went to the convention center where the concert was being held in Fukuoka, conveniently located behind the sumo stadium we are so familiar with. Outside of the venue we saw a large mass of girls, many sporting costumes seen in the Girls Generation music videos. After looking at the merch booths, we went inside; instantly seeing giant signs saying NO CAMERAS. I’m familiar with such rules sometimes seen at American live shows, but rarely is this followed. Well as I would soon see, it became awkward and scary to even attempt to sneak a photo with our real camera. Hence the reason for the phone only photos.
The crowd was an overwhelming female majority. However, the number (albeit a small amount) of males above the age of 40 was surprising. And they didn’t seem to be fathers attending with their daughters, on account of the fact that they were grouped together. It was also interesting to note that they all, without fail, had extremely large binoculars with them. Hmm?
My first pop concert wowed us with crazy lights, water fountains, pyrotechnics, stage changes, and multi-costumes. Never have I ever seen any concert like this. Now I really wonder what it’s like to see Lady Gaga, Katy Perry, or Madonna. Everyone in the audience was given a “light stick” to wave. Maybe it was because everyone had an object in their hand, but in between songs and even at the end there was no clapping. Samantha and I may have been the only ones. People were cheering and waving but no clapping, quite different from an American crowd. Also the encore chant it was soooo quiet. One would think that a 15,000 capacity stadium could be louder than an American elementary school assembly, well not at this concert. We were so surprised.
The concert was amazing and entertaining. Girls Generation has 2 full albums in Japanese and they sang almost every song plus some extra Korean ones. The concert lasted 3 hours with no openers and no unnecessary waiting time, definitely worth the money. They will soon be releasing an all English album; which most likely means a tour across America in the next year or two so we are looking forward to seeing them again.
