Pages

Monday, January 18, 2016

Infinite's 2nd World Tour IE in Vancouver Concert Experience, Part 2

I wrote more about the preparation and time leading up to Infinite Effect in Vancouver here, as well as the fansite merchandise I got in both IE in Vancouver and in LA here. In this post, I'll write about my fan account of IE in Vancouver. Note: I filmed the entire concert, so I'm going to be including a lot of detail (that probably no one cares about). I also finished my fan account of IE in LA here.
I entered my seat shortly after 7PM. I'm at Right Center Orchestra, Row D (which is the 3rd row, but the distance away from the stage is like the 4th row with the 1st row missing), Seat 62, the 3rd seat from the center aisle. I cannot get over my view! From 7PM until 8PM, they played the music videos. It was so fun fangirling over all the music videos with other Inspirits~ Then at around 8PM, they played the music video for "Back," Fans kept cheering because they saw people walking behind the stage on the right, but I couldn't really tell if they were Infinite or staff. Then the lights went out and they played the music video for "Bad." By 8:10PM, the concert was officially starting! They showed the intro VCR, with Infinite portraying the dramatic devil concept like in the concert teaser.
Infinite then made a dramatic entrance, with their silhouettes casted from spotlights. Suddenly the curtain disappeared and Infinite began with "BTD"! It is so amazing being able to see the scorpion dance live. After, Woohyun shouted "are you ready!" and they performed "Paradise," pictured above, followed by "Be Mine." Throughout the concert, there were sadly no fanchants, more of just singing along to the chorus.

Next was the intro ment. Sungkyu and Sungyeol introduced themselves in Korean while the others used English. Myungsoo said "I'm your boyfriend, L," Hoya said "what's up guys, I'm Hoya," and Woohyun said "hello, I'm sexy boy Woohyun." Dongwoo was really energetic and made for an amazing MC; he always got the crowd going with his cheery personality. He shouted in English twice, "do you want Infinite!" and then replied "I want Canada!" Then he spoke in Korean. Next Myungsoo spoke in Korean, and Dongwoo was just so energized throughout his speech that it was so distracting and entertaining! Hoya then spoke a long monologue in English (he said the same exact thing in IE in LA; though he memorized it, it's so amazing how Hoya took the time to practice his English and express his sincerity). He said how he's sorry to Inspirits that are always worrying about his injury, and how he's much better now because of his physical therapy and exercise.
After the intro ment, there was a dance break that started with Hoya and Sungjong (pictured), then Sungkyu and Dongwoo, and lastly Woohyun, Sungyeol and Myungsoo. Watching Hoya dancing and really giving it his all made me feel so proud of him, though I do hope he's truly fully recovered. This is his first concert from IE where he's not sitting on the side. Next was "Destiny" and then "Tic Toc;" clearly they're performing all their intense dance songs first to make a big impact on the audience.
Next was another ment, and again the lively Dongwoo spoke in English by saying "so very hot...we are already going crazy. Are you alright, Infinite?" Later on, Woohyun spoke in Korean "do you know our album Reality? What's the main title called?" We shouted "Bad~!" Then he continued in Korean, "What's your favorite song from that album?" He pointed to fans and aimed the mic to specific fans, repeating their answers (above).

The next series of songs Infinite performed was the three pop ballads from Reality, "발걸음," "러브레터," and then "마주보면 서 있어."  I cannot get over these performances; they're definitely my favorites of the night because they really showcased all the members' vocals, especially during "발걸음." Sungyeol's part was just breathtaking. Sungkyu also really owned the stage with his presence in "발걸음" and "마주보면 서 있어," which is one of the many things I love about seeing Infinite perform live. When Sungkyu held his note while Dongwoo rapped during "마주보면 서 있어," that was just absolute perfection that I never paid attention to while listening to the recorded version. During "러브레터," Woohyun really killed it with his notes too. I'm so happy to have seen these songs performed live.
Next was the second VCR, which continued the concept from the first VCR. Then it was Woohyun's solo! He performed his original song "Everyday," and it was so amazing to see and hear this song for the first time, and for it to be live as well. The song is very different from his other ballads and pop ballads, showing his diverse talent. And Woohyun really owned the stage. People also held up those yellow banners as Woohyun's solo support project, which he later pointed out during his ment.
Infinite H performed next with " 바빠서 Sorry" and then "예뻐." Dongwoo and Hoya got really close to the fans, and during the second song grabbed many fans' hands. It was cool seeing them dancing freestyle, and Dongwoo was break dancing!

Sungkyu performed "Kontrol," and it was so amazing. He only had his mic stand and stood in the center throughout the whole performance, but that was all he needed to really bring the song to life with the emotions in his voice. I followed his second solo promotions the most out of all of Infinite's comebacks, so I was especially ecstatic to see this stage live.
Infinite F performed last with "가슴이 뛴다" and "My Girl." I love the cheery, happy image they always show during F stages. They did a lot of fan service, touching fans' hands and waving energetically. I loved watching "가슴이 뛴다" and how the members are so playful, like Sungyeol and Sungjong joking around while Myungsoo sang his line "Don't know why" for the second time (I know this is part of the choreography, but it's still so cute!). During "My Girl," the guard gave up and didn't stop the mass of fans running to the front of the stage and to the aisles. This is really unfair, especially to the VIP seats in front of me that paid so much extra to be in the front, only to have people who are supposed to be behind us, come in front of us. I stayed at my spot despite the urge to run up to the front and touch the members' hands. Anyways, here the members threw stuffed animals into the crowd. It was so cute seeing Sungyeol throwing a whole bunch together in one full swing. And Myungsoo's note to end the song is just perfection. I've waited since OGSR to see Infinite F perform "가슴이 뛴다" live, and I'm so happy it has finally happened.
Next was the third VCR, which was the original music video for "Last Romeo" starring Myungsoo and Lovelyz' Jisoo! This MV was very different from the new MV's storyline, but it's so beautiful and I hope we'll get an official release of this MV on DVD. A side note, everyone is standing throughout the whole concert except during the VCRs.
Infinite then performed their new song that was first introduced during this world tour, "For You." Woohyun wrote this song as well, and the style is very different from any of Infinite's or Woohyun's previous styles; maybe it's like closer to heavy rock? The choreography included using the mic pole, and they looked so slick with their moves.
The next set of songs were filled with lots of fan service: "Nothing's Over," "맡겨," and "Cover Girl." The members took many selcas on fans' phones and were having fun performing on stage. During the end of "Nothing's Over," after Hoya's rap, Myungsoo took a fan's phone and was trying to take a selca, but then it was the very end of the song where the members walk to the back of the stage, so Myungsoo continued holding onto that fan's phone! Instead of Sungyeol and Myungsoo doing the heart at the end of the song, they look a selca together instead. Then Myungsoo gestured jokingly that he's taking the phone away with him. He gave it back at the beginning of "맡겨."
The fan service continued during "맡겨." I loved how Woohyun walked all the way to the very edge of the stage and waved, and also jumped on top of that box and cutely swung his legs while sitting up there. Sungyeol also took a fan's DSLR (I believe it was Sungjong's fansite, spring flowers?) and took photos of Sungjong. During "Cover Girl," the members tossed the paper airplanes and continued doing lots of fan service.
Next was the fourth VCR, which continued the storyline. Then Infinite came out in one of their "Bad" stage outfits and performed the remaining side tracks to Reality, "엔딩을 부탁해 " and "Moonlight," which have their own choreographs..

Then Infinite had another quick ment. Dongwoo opened up with lots of English like "make some noise!" He really energized the crowd well. The members talked about the solo and sub-unit stages. then Dongwoo asked the crowd in English, "Do you like hip hop? Do you like Hoya? Do you like Dongwoo~?" And he said his name so weirdly, like he was going up an octave at the end. Then he started singing the chorus of "예뻐." Dongwoo continued in Korean, saying how he and Hoya worked together for that song. Note, the translator usually always translates what they say in Korean (though sometimes it's embarrassingly wrong, like getting the song title wrong). Then Dongwoo said in Korean, "say something, Hoya." Hoya kept it short and slyly passed the spotlight onto Sungkyu. Then Hoya ended the ment by getting the crowd going in English with "People on the ground, scream!...everyone, scream!"

Next was "Back." It was really amazing seeing this performance with Hoya dancing since at TSC2 Hoya was sitting on the side. I was sad that no one did the fanchant for this besides me, and everyone just sang along to the chorus instead. Following this was "Chaser"; I love seeing this dance live, especially when the members do that diagonal escalator thing.
Then was another ment, where Dongwoo said in English that there is only one song left. He began singing "We are the World," and then Woohyun continued! The members gave quick thank you and goodbye speeches. Myungsoo showed his true personality by walking to the back of the stage where the band was, playing with his jacket, waving cutely to fans; he definitely was in his own world while all the other members were standing still and looking at the audience and paying attention to the others' speeches. Then Myungsoo walked to the very side of the stage and started playing with the curtain! He started to drag the curtain as he was walking back, but it got caught or something and he let go. It was all so adorable to see this with my own eyes!

Sungkyu also said in Korean that they traveled all the way from Korea just to see us, and that was really meaningful to me. I always feel sad every time Infinite mentions how they miss Korean Inspirits and how they'll be back for them after their international promotions, as if it's a burden for Infinite to do world tours. But having Sungkyu say this, like he made the huge effort to travel just so we can see him, that made me so happy.

Infinite finally performed "Bad." Afterwards, the members left and the screen turned black except for the concert logo which had these really cool flames and ember radiating from it. Again, I was sad that people didn't know the encore fanchant, and instead kept shouting "encore," "Infinite," or " 돌아와," which was close. It was just kind of chaotic and the crowd did not see like one. After a few awkward minutes, they placed the last VCR to the storyline, showing Infinite as angelic now. Soon enough, Infinite came back in their blue suits and performed "Come Back Again."

Then Infinite gave their real ending ments. Myungsoo first spoke in Korean, then he said in English, "Don't forget I'm your Romeo, L." Sungjong said a lot of cheesy lines in English, all the while Myungsoo went to the side stage again, twice, getting distracted. Hoya spoke entirely in English, and he really spoke from his heart (even if it is memorized, his words were meaningful). He said "I wish I could stop the time with you guys...," "I'll never forget this day so promise you won't too," and "When we come back, we'll be better in every way." Woohyun spoke in Korean about how he's happy to see Caucasians and males in the audience. Then he went up to a fan, knelt down, and told her to pat his head! Then he spoke in English, "I love you!" He replied to the audience, "Really? Really? Really? Thank you." He threw so many big hearts after that, and patted his own head. Dongwoo was next and in English said to Woohyun, "Are you done?" He continued speaking in English how he's visited Canada before. Then he spoke lots of Korean, and ended with his famous hand sign. Sungyeol spoke in Korean how he's grateful to be here since it's their first performance of the year, and that he hasn't spoken a single word in English in 2016 because he wanted to wait for this time to speak these English words here first: "If you ever cheat on us, I'll chase you until the end of the world!" Sungkyu finished by speaking in Korean "I came all the way to Canada because of you guys," and it just reinforced how happy I am that international Inspirits have made their presence known to Infinite, therefore they're able to come and perform here. He finished by saying in English, "Goodbye. Love you," and he said it just so coolly!

Infinite finished off with their beautiful ballad "함께." This was especially meaningful as the members wrote this song together during their first world tour, and are now able to share it with Inspirits as the closing performance during their second world tour.
The band extended the instrumental at the end to give Infinite time for their famous, long 90 degree bow. The members shook hands with fans. Myungsoo took a banner from a fan, and playfully put it around Dongwoo's neck.
Hoya kept throwing hearts, walked to the far edge of the stage, and pointed to the second floor and gave them eye contact. Hoya and Woohyun kept waving to fans after the other members had left the stage, and finally Woohyun was the last to leave. Afterwards, the credit VCR played and showed the behind-the-scenes of the members filming the VCRs for this concert. I don't know why, but mostly everyone left during this time (and I know that we have enough time to watch this VCR and still go outside to see Infinite leave). The concert ended at about 10:40.
After the credit VCR finished playing, I left to go back to the side stage door that I had scouted out before the concert. There was a luxury van parked out there and many fans were already lined up outside the door. The guard inside the building kept teasing us by smiling and opening and closing the door, as if he were letting Infinite out. Then we saw a figure with blond hair walking inside the building and then he turned away and left; we all thought it was Woohyun, but then we realized it was probably one of the band members. I foolishly waited for one hour, and various staff kept telling us that Infinite had already left, and they got these truck drivers to move their trucks to where we were standing to get us to leave. Eventually they said that it was fine if we waited, as long as we stayed safe. Throughout this time, we saw Woollim's CEO, Lee Jungyeop, walk out, but it seemed like no one knew who he was because no one made a big deal out of it. Later on, the band members also came out of this exit. Eventually, one of the guards came out and asked who wants the setlist, and gave it to a girl close by. She kindly let everyone take a picture of the setlist. I was surprised that this setlist was titled as the 18th version; I wonder just how different each leg of this world tour is.

That's my fan account of Infinite Effect in Vancouver! I'll be writing up about my experience at Infinite Effect in LA soon.

2 comments:

  1. Hello,
    Do you know anyone who need tickets for Exo in Vancouver? I'm selling 2 floor seats at face value. I would be thankful if u could share this. Contact @3609011290 by text

    ReplyDelete
    Replies
    1. Hi! I'm sorry I don't know anyone looking for tickets, but if I find someone, I'll let them know of your tickets~^^

      Delete