Lovelyz: 2019 Lovelyz Concert Alwayz 2 Bluray Review

On March 6th, 2020, Woollim released the kit video version and bluray version of Lovelyz' 2019 Seoul summer concert series Alwayz 2 which took place on August 2-4, 2019. On a side note, Infinite's Nam Woohyun held his solo concert the weekend after Lovelyz, and the DVD and kit video for that were released on January 4th, 2020. I preordered both versions of Alwayz 2 from Kmall24 which I blogged about here, and I reviewed the kit version and gave a more formal introduction of the products here.

Carnival is the theme for this concert series and for the boxed sets. Putting the bluray and kit versions side by side, you can see the carousal is complete in the background.

Like the kit version, this box is also really sturdy and high quality. Even the feel of it feels luxurious, like touching velvet. The dimensions are the same as the kit version, about 6" by 7.875" by 1.5".

The backside has the video info and holographic KOMCA and Woollim seals. Info:

• Region Code: All
• Video: 1.78:1 1080P
• Audio: DTS-HD Master Audio
• Subtitle: Korean / English / Japanese / None
• Duration: 132 mins (Disc 1) & 115 mins (Disc 2)

The lid sits snug on top of the box, but is easier to take off than the kit version because the contents here are heavier. Right away after taking off the lid, you can smell that crisp scent like from opening a new Woollim album.

From left to right (top to bottom when inside the box) are the photo card set, photo book, and digipack.

Photo Card Set

For the photo card set, there is one per member which came in a random order. The cards all have a glossy finish.

While the main design for the kit version is a merry-go-round, for the bluray version, this carousal is the main design and is featured on the backsides of the photo cards.

Photo Book

The spines on both the photo book and digipack match the spine of the exterior box. Both covers have a matte finish.

The back cover of the photo book has what appears to the a carnival tent or booth.

The photobook has 124 pages and includes these 3 sections: On The Stage, Rehearsal, and Backstage. Majority of the photos are from the first section, One The Stage.

This section begins with individual member and group photos of Lovelyz in their first set of stage outfits, their Disney princess outfits.

Next are 4 pages of individual member photos of Lovelyz singing ballads in these gorgeous outfits. The girls didn't wear these outfits in the concert disc, so I'm guessing these are from the Day 1 special stages when the girls performed ballad covers.

Following are individual member and group photos of Lovelyz in their bright summer outfits while performing their fun, upbeat tracks.

There are also photos from Lovelyz' special performance stages, performed on Day 2. Woollim's DVDs generally don't contain video footage of the special cover stages, but it's great seeing photos from these covers within this photobook.

Next are photos of Lovelyz in their white summer dresses. These photos aren't all from Day 3; as you can see here Sujeong has hair extensions.

There are also photos of the members singing ballads in these outfits.

Next there are 4 pages from the 2 unit songs (special versions of "Destiny" and "Candy Jelly Love"). While most of these photos are individual member shots, I love how they used a cute shot of Mijoo and Yein together!

The remaining pages from this section are from the encore, where the girls are wearing their Lovelyz branded outfits.

The group shots are so touching.

The last photo from this section is so pretty!

The next section is the "Rehearsal" and contains 20 pages.

Here are some individual member shots from the rehearsal.

The last section is the "Backstage" and contains 10 pages.

All the photos are from the girls wearing their opening stage outfits. The last 2 pages are the concert credits.

Polaroid Photo

Each bluray set comes with a random member Polaroid photo slipped inside the photo book.

I got Sujeong's! I'm so happy to get Sujeong especially because I have been obsessing over her cute hairstyle. And it's so fitting to have received this within a page of the photo book featuring Sujeong. This isn't exactly a Polaroid, but more of a matte card with a lustre photo to resemble a Polaroid.

The backside again has the cute carousal design.

Digipack

The backside of the digipack lists the video tracklist. The design is cute, as if the tracklist is printed on banners you'd find at a carnival.

Opening the digipack reveals the two discs and their Ferris wheel design. Here I'll give my personal highlights from each disc below.

Disc One (Concert Part 1):

• Opening VCR shows Lovelyz at the amusement park.
• The concert began with the girls in their Disney princess dresses, to create a fairytale concept.
• They performed "Sleepy Dreams" (from Fall in Lovelyz); this was the cutest performance! The girls were around a bed and sofa and slowly began to wake up, then there was a cute choreography to go with the song.
• They also performed "Rapunzel", again matching the fairytale theme~ They said this was the first time performing the song as OT8, since previously Kei and Jin performed this as a unit.
• The remaining VCRs showed a fun segment entitled "Hit the Road with Lovelyz", broken into 3 parts where Lovelyz spent the day at a campground. Part 1, "A Treasure Hunt", had the girls searching for capsules that revealed a ranking from 1 to 8 that determined the girls' hierarchy. This hierarchy affected the girls' seating, from a luxury camping chair with a standing umbrella to newspapers.
• Next were the special stages. "Destiny (Jazz ver.)" consisted of Soul, Jiae, Kei, and Jin in gothic outfits performing an acoustic version of the title track. It was cool to see changing graphics on the floor of the extended stage; during this stage, they projected the A New Trilogy logo.
• Jisoo, Mijoo, Sujeong, and Yein performed "Candy Jelly Love (EDM ver.)" with a summer beach concept meets goth as the girls were wearing gothic outfits matching the previous special stage. It was cute seeing the original choreography mixed with summery dance moves, as well as the girls using water guns during the second chorus. Again the graphic of the extended stage changed to Girls' Invasion.
• The final special stage had all members in their gothic outfits perform "Twinkle (Rock ver.)". The girls really looked like they were having the most fun during this stage! It was really interactive too with the girls specifically calling out 3 audience members to sing the chorus (they were handed mics). One guy (was it No Brain's Sungwoo?? - Update: in the making film, Kei confirmed it was Sungwoo~) really gave it his all!
• The next VCR played, continuing Part 2, "The Grand Battle of One Meal", with the provided lunch based on the previously determined hierarchy. Positions 5 through 8 were only given plates and utensils, meaning they had to either gain food from the other members or earn food during the random quizzes and games that the staff held.
• Next on the screen showed an arcade game featuring Lovelyz, and it transitioned to the girls performing "Love Game"! They changed into their bright summer outfits.
• "Close to You" was a fan service song, with the girls throwing out bear-shaped ice packs with messages and autographs to the audience.
• "1cm" was also a fan service song, with the girls walking through the audience and taking selcas with fans' phones.
• The best part about watching Lovelyz' concerts for me is definitely the fun b-sides, such as "Bizarre", "Shining Star", and "Love Game"! I hope to see these stages in person one day~
• Next was Part 3 of the VCR, "The Writing Contest Season 2". The girls each had to create an acrostic poem from either "When We Were Us", "Lovelinus", or "Alwayz", and the staff members would each cast their vote to determine the best poem. The first place would win the "Do Whatever You Want" card to be used as a benefit during the concert.
• The girls came back out on stage in their white summer dresses, performing "Sweet Luv" with an accompanying mic dance.
• They continued with a set of pop ballads, including an acoustic version of "Rain".
• Next the girls had a ment to fulfill Mijoo's "Do Whatever You Want" card from "Hit the Road". This was such a fun segment! Mijoo ended up muting all the girls' mics and made each member earn their privilege to use their mics again. In the end, Soul, Jiae, and Kei didn't succeed. Mijoo said that these 3 would have to perform "Hi~" and "Ah-Choo" with their mics muted!
• I thought Mijoo was joking, but those 3 really did perform with muted mics! Lovelinus sang the parts for Soul, Jiae, and Kei, and shouted the fanchants for both songs.

Disc Two (Concert Part 2):

• All the members' mics were turned back on and the members began introducing the live band. Jiae and Yein MCed, interviewing each band member while making it really entertaining. It was also fun hearing each band member playing a Lovelyz tune with their instrument.
• "LOVELYZ Dreaming" VCR played, showing a compilation of the girls enjoying their time on the campground, as well as playing with sparklers and being surrounded by fireflies in their white dress stage outfits.
• The girls came back on stage for the encore in their branded outfits.
• As it's the last day, they allowed a special brief photo time where the audience can take their phones out to take pictures. After Lovelyz posed, Jisoo also go her phone from a staff member to capture the moment too.
• Next were the ending ments. The first 4 members' ments were very lighthearted, but Myungeun as the 5th member started crying because they couldn't show much this year. Jisoo, 6th, also cried because of the hardships we (fans, as humans) face, how we're always being evaluated, and are self-conscious. Mijoo, 7th, also teared up thinking "this isn't the last concert, right? There'll be another winter concert, right?" And earlier they were mentioning how they're so happy to make it to 5 years when it's tough for idol groups to last; this was an overarching worry for them. Sujeong, last, also started tearing up and asked "is this the end, is there nothing else to show?"
• During the final song "Goodbye Like Yesterday", Jisoo was too emotional to sing her part, so Lovelinus sang for her. It was also nice hearing no backtrack; I love the quality Woollim artists always put in their concerts to show live performances.

Disc Two (Making Film):

• The making film is just over 52 minutes long.
• This includes rehearsal and concert footage, along with member vlogs.
• It begins with July 25th, vocal rehearsal with the live band. This marks 1 week left before the concert.
• During Jisoo's vlog, she said she thinks Day 2 will be most fun.
• After watching the concert discs and seeing the band introduction, I gained a better sense of the band working together with Lovelyz.
• Next is July 28th, dance practice in a studio. It was cool seeing the floor being taped off in the shape of the lightstick, like the extended stage at the concert.
• They showed the dance practice for "Brand New", as well as the unit cover stages, but without the audio.
• They showed the side cam of "Wag-Zak" dance practice and front cam of "Love Game".
• Next is August 1st, rehearsal on the actual stage. This is the day before the concert.
• It was cool to see that they really did a full run-through of the concert, including showing the VCR, and practicing "1cm" while walking through the audience.
• It was really cute seeing Kei, Soul, Jiae, and Sujeong backstage after just finishing the final rehearsal. They said that they're human today, and they'll become Lovelyz tomorrow. Then they flipped their hair to segway to the next day.
• Next is August 2nd, Day 1 of the concert. They showed rehearsal on stage again, along with backstage.
• Rocket Punch came backstage to support! This was just a few days before their debut. Mijoo was so funny. She asked who in Rocket Punch is the main dancer so they could have a dance off. Then she gave them words of encouragement so if during Rocket Punch's debut showcase they were asked if anyone in Lovelyz gave supporting words, they can say Mijoo.
• The footage was really cool, even showing Lovelyz rising on the lift to start the concert. It really felt like we were backstage with them.
• There were a quick mashup of Day 1 concert clips.
• The members even had time to be interviewed while waiting for their encore stage.
• Jiae said she tripped on her skirt and fell :(
• Unfortunately there was no footage from Day 2...the final section was August 4th, Day 3 of the concert. They showed the concert venue, decorations outside, and the cute paper shopping bag.
• There was a formal OT8 interview after the last concert.
• Jin said to expect a winter concert...it's unfortunate that it never happened :(
• Sujeong said that she didn't want to be the only one crying during Day 1, so she held it in. But on Day 3 they spoke comfortably so she did end up crying.
• Yein said during the "Gift" cover stage during Day 1, they brought mics to the audience to sing. The fan Yein chose didn't sing along; when the lights turned on she noticed it was a foreigner. Then Sujeong brought up how she saw a foreign fan singing along though the words may not be right, and she was touched. Yein said that foreigners sing with their hearts even if their lips aren't moving. It was touching hearing them say this^^
• Kei confirmed that Sungwoo didn't know he'd be chosen to sing.
• Mijoo jokingly requested to have her face blurred if she didn't look good. Then they showed a brief dance practice video of "Sleepy Dreams" entitled "Request Version" with her face blurred.

Overall, I love that the girls hold traditional winter concerts and summer concerts; it's unfortunate that Lovelyz couldn't continue the tradition this year, but at least we have hard copies of these past concerts to enjoy. It's always fun seeing the girls having fun on stage, and this summer concert is definitely no exception. The inclusions of this set are also nice, though the inclusions of the kit video version are for superior for me (mini desk calendar and random member ID card are my favorites!).

Infinite: Inspirit 4th Generation Inspirit Package, 5th Generation Inspirit Bundle, and 6th Generation Special Gift Review

Infinite was my first Kpop group and I always considered myself as an Inspirit; really I was single fandom until Golden Child debuted. But with Infinite being my first group, there was a lot of stuff within the Kpop world that I was still not familiar with, including official fanclub memberships. Therefore I never joined any official fanclubs until Goldenness 1st generation, followed by all fanclubs under Woollim since then. However my Korean Inspirit friend graciously gifted me with the  Inspirit Package from Infinite's 4th generation fanclub, Inspirit Bundle from Infinite's 5th generation fanclub, and the Special Gift from Infinite's 6th generation fanclub. I briefly blogged about this haul here. These 3 memberships were available via Interpark.

Here I'll unbox all 3 kits.

Inspirit 4th Generation Inspirit Package

This package actually only included the membership card, lightstick (yeobong version 1), and thank you card. The lightstick was later sold at Infinite's That Summer 2 concert series. I only received the thank you card from my friend. Here is the frontside of the card, with a fun group photo from Be Back era.

The backside has each member's printed message and autograph. The center is where the membership card was.

Inspirit 5th Generation Inspirit Bundle

This bundle came with an eco tote, a pouch, and paper goods.

Everything came together in a plastic bag with Infinite's branding. The packaging reminds me of Sunggyu's first mini album.

The back of the plastic bag has the Reality logo.

This canvas tote has an interesting alphabetical design; I like how they add the Reality logo for "I" and how this tote subtly reveals Infinite instead of being in-your-face. I'm still trying to figure out why some letters are highlighted while others aren't; at first I thought it was to highlight the members' initials, but "S" isn't highlighted...the backside of this eco tote is all black, and there are no pockets inside. The tote is about 14.5" by 15" and hangs comfortably around the shoulder with about 9" between the top of the straps and the lip of the bag.

The pouch is rather minimalist, with a simplified version of the Reality logo. This is about 8.5" by 6".

However the details in the zipper are rather pretty. On one side "INSPIRIT" is engraved.

On the other side of the zipper, the simplified Reality logo is engraved.

Both the tote bag and pouch also have this nice detail, where the flap sewn on the side says "INFINITE".

The backside of this flap says "INSPIRIT".

The paper goods are packaged together in this box.

Here is the back of the box, held together by a flap (similar to "L's Bravo Viewtiful" postcard packaging except without the sticker).

Opening up the box reveals the photo card set, sticker sheets, and post cards.

The stickers are really adorable! Firstly, the size is cutely small; each sheet is about 2.75" by 4". Also the stickers themselves are really cute, with the members' doodles and writing, including "Hodong" and "Yaho", along with Infinite's various logos.

The postcard set is stuck together at the top, and is meant to be peeled like a notepad.

All the photos are from the Reality photoshoot.

Unfortunately with this style and me being the preservatist that I am, I didn't want to flip through these cards in order for them to remain intact...

The postcard set includes one per member, with the member's printed message and autograph.

The backside of each photocard has this design.

Inspirit 6th Generation Special Gift

The special gift came in a cardstock box.

As you can see, majority of this generation's goodies are paper goods, whereas the previous one had a good mix of both practical goods and paper goods. The contents include the thank you card, photocard set, postcard set, photo frame, and griptok.

The thank you card has a nice group photo from the "That Summer 2" set.

The backside of the thank you card has the members' printed messages and autographs.

The postcard set and photocard set all include images from the "That Summer 2" set, and are both bundled by a paper strip.

There are 7 postcards within this set.

The backside of the postcards all have the same design.

The photocard set contains 21 cards, 3 per member.

Ideally, there should be 3 sets of photocards, with the first set having the printed text, the second set having the members' printed autographs, and the third set being blank. However there seems to be an error because Sunggyu has 2 blank cards and Sungyeol has 2 autograph cards.

This is backside of the photo frame. The official name is Polaroid Photo Frame.

The photo frame is pretty snug, but with a bit of effort you can separate the 2 pieces from the side. Inside reveals the logo card and a card with instructions.

The instructions card is entirely in English, and explains how to use this as a standing frame or a hanging frame (this will require double-sided tape or a thumb tack). It also describes that this sandwich photo frame is made of thick sponge sandwiched between paper and is meant to frame a picture without any hardware.

I followed the instructions and pushed out the foam leg, then inserted it at the bottom. This is how it will stand vertically.

The photocards fit inside this photo frame. I put in 1 photocard, along with the logo card and instructions card, and the 3 cards fit fine. I suggest putting the cards in the front side of the photo frame, then putting the backside on top to close the photo frame.

Here's how the photo frame looks vertically.

And here's how it looks horizontally.

And lastly, here is the griptok.

The backside of the packaging includes instructions in Korean on how to install the griptok.

Recap

Overall, I'm happy to have these membership goods in my collection, though it's not nearly the same since I wasn't a part of these generations' memberships. In hindsight, I would've been disappointed with the 4th generation package because I went to Korea the summer of 2014 when the That Summer 2 concert took place, however if I were an official Inspirit at the time, my lightstick wouldn't have come in time. But then again if I were an official Inspirit, I would've had access to pre-sales...as for the 5th generation, I like how there are practical items (tote and pouch) along with non-practical items (stickers, photocards, postcards), to have items I can use daily and items that I can display. And with the 6th generation, while only the griptok can be considered practical (though of course I'd prefer to preserve it!), it does include a nice selection of paper goods. And I do like the photo frame; this is now sitting nicely on my shelf. Looking over these 3 generations' worth of goodies, I like that we get additional photos from those eras ("Back", "Bad", "That Summer 2"), but I'm even more grateful that now Woollim holds new photoshoots just for their fanclub welcome kits.

I've always found it funny how these memberships make you an "official" fanclub member, when in reality if you love and support that group, you should naturally just feel like you're a part of the fandom. Infinite was the one that started it all for me, and it feels weird not being an official Inspirit, yet I am an official Lovelinus, Goldenness, and Ketchy. But my dedication and love and support for Infinite definitely outshines, say, my casual support for Rocket Punch. But it is what it is. I hope moving forward Infinite will continue with future generation memberships.