K-Pop Music Fest 2011

... was much better than I thought it would be! But let's go chronologically because I can't think of a more coherent way to make this post.

NB: I wrote this last night after I got back.

I don't really know much about K-Pop. Not as much as my friends do. I like some songs and I know the groups vaguely but that's about it. In the lead up to the concert I downloaded some of the performing artists' songs and had a listen. A lot of it sounded the same and the only songs I really liked were they ones that were released as singles.

We arrived at Sydney Olympic Park at around 3pm. A Cityrail person at the train station suggested that we buy the return tickets right away since after the concert the line for tickets would be massive (and it was). It was such a carnival or festival atmosphere outside ANZ Stadium. Some people were already waiting in lines, long lines to stalls and lots of people gathered around the SBs Popasia stage.

We were a bit peckish and looking for cheap water. Water outside ANZ Stadium was 5 bucks a bottle. Yeah. We were going to head to McDonalds but all the young ones were in line. So we headed to the relatively emptier bar The Brewery. Air-conditioned, beer, water and not busy. Yay for being an adult!

We bummed around for a while until it was around 5-ish and the gates started to open. I thought it would take a while to get in but it was a relatively fast-moving line and brief bag check. Paranoid about cameras for nothing. Should have brought my bigger lens. Ah, well.

My friends and I had a VIP seating ticket which meant that we were on the ground of the stadium. The layout of the stage meant that the VIP standing areas were closest to the stage. We bought water for $4 a bottle inside and I was so paranoid about leaving to pee in the middle of the concert that I made a couple of trips to the toilet. XD When we can back down to sit we discovered that mychonny, the YouTube guy, was in the row right in front of us. Lots of people, including my friends, spoke and talked to him. He seemed really nice about it.

The ground of the stadium looked really full. The seating behind was less full but didn't look empty. Like, less people but it didn't look like there were no people. So, I'd say it was a pretty good turnout. (The J-Pop/Johnny's fan inside of me wondered a J-Pop act/s could decently fill a stadium like this).

The concert started on time at 7pm. Still bright and sunny. Generally, besides the special stages, most of the acts sang 3 songs. Started off with SHINee. From our seats, you can see them but they were really small. Even though we had seats everyone stood. We stood for most of the 3 hours. Everyone had cameras out too trying to capture every moment.

I wish we could not do that anymore. I wish we could just watch concerts and not feel the need to photograph or film them because it just gets in the way sometimes and distracts you from the actual performance. Also, if we didn't need that need to take document everything then I wouldn't need to be try to see over people's cameras too XD. That said, I did take photos but ah, they're not so great. I didn't bring my better lens and I swapped batteries with my friend with a camera with a better lens so he could get some shots. And I'm short too and could barely really photograph anything well.

I don't have set lists remembered or anything so here's point form:

- Everyone is so gosh damn pretty!

- I didn't think SHINee were that great.

- That translator they had was not good. Her English wasn't great and she didn't translate well.

- The best enjoyed performance was Girls' Generation. Definitely. Everybody was into it. They performed 'The Boys', 'Gee' and 'Kissing You'. Lots and lots of singing by the crowd. They also through roses into the crowd too.

- CN Blue's Yonghwa. I love you again. So, so pretty. While I was watching his face on the big screen he really did remind me of Kis-My-Ft2's Fujigaya Taisuke. And the drummer of CN Blue reminded me of Hey! Say! JUMP's Hikaru.

- Also, TVXQ's Changmin got really hot. I remember when he was younger and I was like, "Aww, it must suck to be the ugly one." XD Might finish Paradise Ranch now.

- So MBLAQ's Thunder spoke in English in a really Filo accent. XD It was cute.

- I so need to research the members of MBLAQ and B2ST. I saw one of them, I don't know which, closer to where were seated and I swear he looked at me. XD No, of course not. But I looked right into his eyes and this dude was so pretty. They all were. XD

- I love CN Blue's I'm a Loner all over again. It got a great response from the crowd and apparently my friend's friends got the drummer's drumstricks. XD

- I knew TVXQ was going to be a let down of sorts. I knew they'd only sing songs from their 2-person TVXQ album. And I didn't like or know that many. But Changmin more than made up for it.

- I want to be as pretty as anyone from Miss A or SNSD or KARA. KARA looked amazing.

- They threw plastic balls into the crowd at the end when they were all on stage singing 'Arirang'. When we got out of the venue we saw someone with them and they were signed! So, reminded me of Johnny's when they throw signed stuff into the crowd. One girl was trying to swap a Miss A signed one for SHINee.

I have other thoughts. Not specifically about this concert but thinking that if Arashi has concerts in venues this size or larger ... how can anyone see them? I'm short as it is and lots of tall people were standing in front of me and unless they came to that side stage near us they looked quite small but visible but small.

Ok, that's it for now!

I don't really know how many people turned up. My estimating is not good. I don't how good a reflection that is of hypothetically trying to get K-Pop mainstream in Australia. If there was going to be such a thing , Australia's music market is too small for them to financially benefit so concert tours woud probably be the best money makers for them. Though how this popularity transcends into the actual purchasing of singles and albums, etc is something to be considered.

Also, this made me realise I need more real-life Johnny's/Jpop friends. XD

And time for some not-so-great photos. There are better more amazing photos around on the internet. My friends took some pretty good ones of the concert and the press conference that they attended so they should be on the internet soon.


















I have no photos post-SNSD's appearance since I swapped my battery with my friend's, since his battery died, so that he could take more photos. He has the better, zoomier lens for taking photos with so it was for the best. XD

Ok. That's it. No more blogging 'til post-exam time.

Stage for the K-Pop Music Fest in Sydney 2011 (and a little Arashi)

Image from http://www.facebook.com/kpopmusicfest. 

My friend tweeted a link to this. I was expecting to actually see the stage all set up and not this graphic. I wonder how long it takes to put together? Wonder if it's up right now? I suppose it would be. This is not a K-Pop Music Fest post. Sorry, if you're deceived! Not really. Some K-Pop Music Fest related stuff at the end.

I saw this and my immediate thought was "Ain't got nothing on Arashi". To wit, this is sort of an Arashi post. They're my favourite thing in the whole world. They're a 5 member male Japanese group and for the past 4 years (2008 to 2011) they've had the privilege of performing at the National Olympic Stadium in Tokyo, Japan. Only one musical group or artist get to perform there a year. What made me think of Arashi was that ANZ Stadium (oh, remember when it was called Stadium Australia and not anything corporate related?) is the Australian equivalent and I just wanted to compare and contrast the stages, is all.

Image from a google image search which led me to this tumblr post.

See how full of people and pretty it is! They even have moving platforms so they move around as much as they can on the floor. They also have platforms that elevate so that people seated higher can see them. Sometimes they're on wires practically flying above the crowds. They have fireworks, water canons and balloons too!

I have VIP seats to the K-Pop concert so hopefully I'm not too far from the stage. I wonder how much you'll actually see from the seats. It's so far back. I wonder if they'll move people forward if there's still room on the floor ... hmm.

My friend linked me to the conditions of entry for the concert. Still don't know about bringing my DSLR. If anyone reading is going or know of someone going and know if they think it's okay to bring their DSLR - tell me! It doesn't explicitly state 'DSLR'. It says that 'large lens professional cameras' are prohibited and that 'still cameras (not professional) are permitted'. You know, they could have been much clearer if they used the terms 'point and shoot' and 'DSLR'. In the event they do search your bag, find the DSLR and determine it to be a prohibited item then you may be refused entry, is what I gather from the title 'conditions of entry'. And I don't want to risk that after I paid for my ticket. But what are the chances really? I remember I went to a U2 concert. It was sold out and I remember no bag checking or security ... oh, wait. That could be a lie. We had to get our tickets checked and there may have been bag checking. Memory is a bit stale.

Have some more Arashi (http://dai.ly/ru9yaf - because Dailymotion won't let me embed) and uh, Akanishi Jin's new single "Test Drive". My first reaction to this PV was "JIN TAKE OFF YOUR SUNGLASSES AND HOODIE!" Trying to make people forget he's Japanese? IDK. Not a great PV but a catchy song.


Pointless post really. I'm just procrastinating. Last day of classes for semester and I don't really want to start studying. :D

Back to school: a miscellaneous post

Unless you're a working member of society and education is all behind you ... XD

First week was last week for me and it was pretty easy intro stuff because it's the first week. It's difficult to get back into a routine after 5 weeks of nothing. Getting up in the morning is especially hard.

Anyway, besides all that, ticket prices have come out for the 2011 K-Pop Music Fest. in Sydney (http://www.jkent.com.au/kpop2011).

VIP $289 / Gold $189 / Silver $139 / Bronze $89

I don't know how much ticket prices for a music festival are usually so I don't know how reasonable these prices are. It's arguable for the number and status of some of these groups its a pretty reasonable price. I'm betting some fans are going to fly in from interstate and/or overseas. Sydney and ticket buying is pretty accessible compared to other places so that's a major benefit for overseas fans.

I'm getting VIP. If the benefits of VIP are pretty good. Details have yet to be released as to what VIP includes. If you get VIP too, see you there! XDDDD

I've spent the past few days catching up on dramas. I've been watching (not in order of preference):

• Japanese dramas


• Zenkai Girl (Ryo!)


• Hanawake no Yon Shimai


• Ouran High School Host Club


• Arakawa Under the Bridge (the crack!)


• Ikemen desu ne (Tamamori Yuta love!)


• IS


• Detective Conan (I ship Ran and Shinichi so much! Their chemistry is amazing!)

• Korean dramas


• Heartstrings


• Myung Wol the Spy

I have not caught up on City Hunter. Heard the ending was pretty good though. This Japanese drama season is pretty good. Lots of stuff to watch.

And ... dinner is cooked (Japanese style curry over pasta) ... wow, blogging is a great time filler! XD

How was your Monday?

2011 K-Pop Music Fest is confirmed!

Image from http://www.jkent.com.au/kpop2011.

My friends have said that tickets range from $80 - $300. That's not confirmed, just rumours. $300 is for VIP or something. My friends and I have decided to get the best/most expensive ones because who knows when this will happen again?

I still maintain that ANZ Stadium is too large a venue for this. They won't fill up the stands. Probably would have seating on the ground. Perhaps people from interstate and possibly overseas will come to this. I do wonder about numbers though. Because Australian KPop fans on the internet are not indicative of real world numbers - if that makes any sense. XDD

I don't know a lot of their songs. I listen to Arashi most of the time. XDD Oh, Arashi, please come to Australia one day. XDD

Friday, Friday ...

So, my Friday was rather more busy than usual. I went to the fan meet for One Way's Peter Hyun at Hyde Park. I don't really know who he is. I watched a couple of One Way's covers on YouTube, which were pretty good. I went, with my friends, solely for the reason that he's a part of the whole KPop thing. I think he's friends wit Donghae from Super Junior so only 1 degree of separation! That's how that works, right?

He arrived just past 2pm and a whole bunch of girls screamed. Loudly. The whole gaggle of girls, and a couple of guys, moved around the fountain to find a spot to have a meet and greet. There was whole line of fans waiting patiently to get an autograph and photo with him. Kathy, the organiser, had some pre-signed photos that she gave away for free. From what I gathered she paid for the printing of all of them. So generous. I would have charged people for them. XD

My friends and I lined up for maybe an hour to meet him. I really didn't have much to say. I got an autograph for my friend, to a photos of him with my friends and then got a group photo with him. He seemed pretty nice. Said something along the lines of "I'm sorry about the wait" even though he'd be standing for an hour and a half, maybe, by the time we got to him. Still has an Aussie accent. Talked about exams and how he hated exams. But he was nice. He had a nice aura about him.

And some photos. From afar. If you were there, I wonder if you could figure out who I am from the angle of these photos. If you have, gosh, I hope I didn't look like a complete [insert expletive here] or anything. XDDD









After the fan meet Peter and some fans went to the food court in the new Westfield on Pitt Street for some gelato. Peter posted a pic of the gelato on his twitter. So, this part was kind of awkward. I was with a few friends and if you were there you may remember us sitting quite near but apart the table that Peter sat on. Oh, this is just awkward typing it out. My friend knows one of the organisers (or was there only one organiser?) and she invited us to this after fan meet casual thing. It was completely awkward for us so we just did our own anti-social thing as usual. Besides, I guess we didn't really have much to talk to him about anyway. A couple of more friends of ours arrived away so we had a good ol' chat amongst ourselves as we were killing time before dinner. (We had a 7:30 reservation at a restaurant in Potts Point. A blog post on that tomorrow.) I didn't take any photos there because that would have seemed ultra creepy.

So, yeah. All in all a fun fan meet. The only one I've been to but it was fun. Lots of very enthusiastic fans. And the guy, his friend I suppose, that was with him all day was pretty cute too!

Not a terribly good photo when cropped. I took 2 group photos of my friends and yeah, this cut and paste job looks horrendous. Peter and my friends did not look at the camera at the same time at all! Oh, and the photoshop job I did to it is horrible. Might replace this photo later.

Meet & Greet with One Way's Peter Hyun - Friday, 20th May

As it says in the title. I'm thinking of going even though I don't know him or his group's songs really well or at all. But it's rare, right, to be able to meet anyone in KPop.

Image from: http://twitter.com/onewayaus.

 I'm currently listening/watching to some of their stuff on their official YouTube channel. They sound pretty good. He's currently in Sydney. I think he just arrived today according to his twitter.

Anyhoo, Friday is still a while away. There's a whole bunch of days and uni stuff and readings to get through to Friday. XD