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.

Vivitar Ultra Wide & Slim

Oh, it's so so scratched. Must take better care of my things.

I've had this camera for a few years now. It no longer exists in this form, I think. It's now the SuperHeadz Wide and Slim Camera. They come in many bright colours but from my internet googling, serves the same function as its predecessor. I don't remember what made me buy it. I just remember seeing photos taken with it and I wanted it. I went on ebay and bought it for around $10, I think. My memory's a bit hazy. It doesn't need a battery, it doesn't have a flash, it uses 35mm film and works best with lots and lots of light. It doesn't weigh very much and it takes a photo quite quickly. Be sure to keep your hand steady and don't move too quickly after the shot's taken to prevent blur, though I s'pose you can say that about every camera. XD

If you want to know more about the technical side of it ... google. XD

Yes, I'm a bad blogger.

I have a lot of free time on my hands so I dug up my scanner and scanned some of the photos taken with the Vivitar Ultra Wide & Slim. The scanner made them look darker than they actually are. They look much better in person.

100th post: This time last year

This is my 100th post! I started this post pre-exam period in November 2010. I had been reading some food blogs and blogging seemed like an interesting and seemingly productive way to pass the time. I remember refreshing the page so much to see the counter go up. XD So yay to 100!

Since I've been at home for the past week (which was probably good idea since the weather in Sydney has been horrible) I've decided to do a post about this time last year. Or approximately around that time. Around this time last year I had just arrived in Sydney after a month long holiday in the Philippines. It was the middle of summer and very, very hot and humid. In retrospect, I didn't get to do much. Lots of visits to family and to malls. "Malling" they call it. XD I experienced a typhoon, black outs (they call it "brown outs"), heat, internet deprivation and slight boredom. It's not really easy to get around if you don't speak the language. And I was paranoid that everytime I spoke English I would be ripped off. I don't know how to catch a jeepney on my own. Took a taxi to a lot of places or got driven. I didn't get to do all of the tourist things that tourists do. Like go to beaches or resorts. Or go clubbing. I really wanted to go clubbing. I've seen photos of my cousin clubbing and it looks like fun. XD

Anyway, some photos from my trip ... XD
























What I loved when I was there was the cheapness of things. When you convert from Australian dollar to Philippine pesos it's really quite cheap. I love that they have stores that we don't have like Forever 21, H&M, Jollibee, Penshoppe, Bench, etc. Their malls are amazing and if you go to the city areas the areas are really quite pretty. Next time I go I'd like to go with friends but there's a greater chance of getting to see all the tourist places. XDDD

My dad's going again at the end of the month. I would have gone with him except I start uni at the beginning of August. I told him to go earlier so it would fit with my break but he's going at the same time as his sister (who's in San Francisco) so they'd all be there at the same time. Alas, there's always next year. XD

So, yay. 100th post!