Golden Child kicked off their first US tour in San Jose, CA! I talked about logistics of the tour and ticketing here. It's even more meaningful that the first stop falls on June 24, 2022, which is the 4 year anniversary of Golden Child's first US schedule, KCON NY 2018.
The concert took place at Montgomery Theater. I checked out the venue the night before, and was so excited to see Golden Child on the digital display board. It was slowly starting to feel real!
Studio PAV posted the day-of schedules for each stop a few weeks in advance. There is a 3-hour time frame for checking in, but really arriving onsite with 45 minutes to spare seemed sufficient.
Outside the venue, there was a line for VVIP and VIP check-in, and a separate line for Snapshot ticket pick-up. For the VVIP and VIP check-in, you show the volunteers your QR code (either on your phone or printed out; also the name on the ticket is irrelevant as they only need the code), then for VVIP they write down your queue number and your name in Hangul on your badge. You can also request to write your name yourself.
My cousins had VIP. This is how both sides of their badge look like. The other side of the VVIP badge uses the same collage photo with the white outfits.
For the Snapshot ticket pick-up, they had a table with the tickets by member. You show them your QR code and then receive your ticket for that member. They emphasize that if you lose your ticket, there is nothing that can be done, so it is really important to keep track of it. Another note is that Snapshot tickets can also be picked up after the concert and throughout the Snapshot session. The Snapshot tickets uses photos from the Play shoot. (I have Y's ticket too, but didn't realize it didn't make it in the photo >.<).
The VVIP line had already formed outside by the time I got to the venue. I found my spot in line and waited until the fansign. The venue secured checked our bags in the meantime. About bags - I used a clear stadium bag for all the stops. Eventually they moved up the VVIP line to inside the courtyard area with a few of us inside the foyer of the venue where the fansign would be held. At 6:15PM the members walked in, and I just couldn't believe my eyes. It's been over 2 years since I've last seen them in person; it just felt so surreal that I couldn't stop gaping! They waved at us as they randomly sat down in front of the long table. They were wearing their "One" white stage outfits with gold trimming.
The volunteer staff didn't give me the poster that comes with the VVIP benefit, and I ended up arguing a bit in front of Golden Child >.< (Later on I explained the situation to another volunteer while waiting in line for soundcheck, and she walkytalkied someone and said that after the concert, I can find any staff member to get my poster. This affected about the first 60 or so VVIP).
I'll mention here that there is no recording during any of the fan engagements (fansign, soundcheck, and Snapshots), but you can record the concert with a cell phone. Cameras aren't allowed throughout the entire event.
The fansign order was Jangjun, Bomin, Donghyun, Joochan, Y, Jibeom, Jaehyun, and lastly Seungmin. Each member had a black sharpie and a silver sharpie. It really went by so fast that I couldn't process anything, but I would say I had about 10 seconds with each member. Jangjun said that it's an honor. Y read my name tag and said my name out loud. The photobook of my Re-boot normal album slipped out and he had difficulty putting it back so he just passed it onto Jibeom to put back. While my friend and I were watching the Play concert streaming, we couldn't stop staring at Jibeom's and Seungmin's ears to identify if they were real piercings or not. Even though now we know that they aren't piercings, I was still taken aback and said to Jibeom that he has an earring, and he pointed to it. I then handed Jibeom my fan letter, and because I was second for the fansign and no one else had given letters yet, Jibeom wasn't sure if he could accept it and looked to his left and right before he took it. Jaehyun said "what's up" and I quickly word vomited how we had a video call in January and he said that they'd have a tour, so I thanked him for that. (I also made a note that said someone said they remember me, potentially Jangjun? Why don't I remember something so important >.<).
After the fansign, the staff directed us back outside to the back of the VVIP line. As the fansign progressed, I eventually made it back inside the foyer to see the end of the fansign (which was 7:12PM? I didn't realize how long the entire fansign took place). As the members finished, they waved at us. Bomin had a lot of letters in his hand. Donghyun and Joochan politely bowed to the staff before leaving.
Here are the albums that my cousin and I had signed. I liked that they tried to sign their name as close to their photo as possible. And a plus about having an earlier queue number is that hopefully their hands aren't tired yet so that the autographs will come out nicer^^ I had my Game Changer album signed at the last stop and noticed that they no longer tried to sign close to their photo for that album, rather just on the border where there was space.
Next was soundcheck, which was for both VVIP and VIP. For VVIP, the staff were really respectful of keeping the queue order in check, and letting us know one at a time so that we could choose our spot rather than everyone running inside at the same time. The venue is seated and has a second floor balcony, so you could choose between the two floors. I chose the very front and center of the first floor. While the rows filled up, I was surprised that the seat directly behind me was still open. My friend in #62 was a few rows back, but I flagged her to upgrade and was happy we could be together.
There was quite a bit a room between the first row and the orchestra pit. When we all stood up for the concert, everyone was really respectful of staying in front of their seats. As for front row, we were allowed to go all the way up to the orchestra pit so no one was directly behind us in front row either. I also wanted to mention that I wore my "DamDaDi" pinstripe jersey for the first stop because 1) I wanted to open up the tour with what started it all, and 2) in celebration of the 4 year anniversary since I first wore this jersey and Golcha first saw me in it. While outside the venue, I was really surprised at how many people also had jerseys! It was really uplifting seeing the fandom grow so much^^
Soundcheck started at 7:28PM. Again it really felt so surreal seeing them on stage again! They sang "That Guy", and during the second rap, Y was cutely dancing in place. Then they sang the first half of "I Know". Bomin kept looking into fans' eyes and waving a lot! I was surprised at just how short soundcheck was.
After soundcheck, GA ticket holders are allowed inside the venue so it is best for VVIP and VIP to stay in their seats for a few minutes until GA pick their spots. Then there was time before the concert.
I'll only post a handful of pictures of the concert on my blog (I recorded the whole thing so screenshots of videos aren't great quality, and you can view some of my pictures on my Twitter thread here, and surely lots of others' fancams on SNS as well).
The concert started at 8:08PM. I'll bullet out the setlist below and add any highlights. As for performing as 8, they distributed Daeyeol's lines while they left the audio track for Tag's lines.
Setlist:
- Intro VCR - same intro VCR as Play concert
- Ra Pam Pam - When Jaehyun was in the center and bending down, his top was so loose you could see so much...I still feel like such a criminal...
- Burn It
- Ment - Right away Jangjun had to excuse himself because his pants ripped! English king Jibeom said "I miss runebong". Jaehyun also said that Joochan got tanned yesterday so now he's sexier 😳
- I Know
- That Guy
- Ment - Y sang a bit from "Midnight Sun" and Joochan performed a bit from "Equal". Jaehyun also said, "I know I can't say this but Jibeom is taking an interest in musicals so give it up!"
- What Happened?
- Pump It Up
- VCR - condensed TV shows / commercials VCR from Play
- Wannabe - Without You - One
- Ment - The members sang pop songs impromptu, including Jangjun singing and rapping "Nothin' On You"
- Oasis
- Bottom Of The Ocean - The members took fans' phones to film themselves! I was too scared to reach out, though I had the perfect opportunity...I knew I had to push myself for future stops!
- Ment - Jaehyun said that the members chose the setlist themselves for this tour.
- Sea
- Breathe
- Ment - The members talked about how the next tour will be even bigger. Jaehyun asked who will also go to the LA show, and they seemed pleasantly surprised that so many Ness planned to go to both California stops.
- Crush
- Ending VCR - same ending VCR as Play
- - Encore - DamDaDi
- Ending Ment - The members gave their sincere messages about their initial worries and hard work they put into this tour. Bomin really surprised me with giving his entire ending ment in English! Next we took a group photo that they later posted on SNS.
- Milky Way - After the song, the boys came up to the edge of the stage to wave goodbye. Jaehyun even took the phones of both girls on my right, and I still didn't really have the courage...when the members held hands and bowed, Jangjun lifted his arms to troll Jibeom and Jaehyun.
One callout is that if you're in the center, Joochan loves staring at you when he's in the center! This was during "DamDaDi". Also this was my view for the entire concert - it seriously felt like a personal concert!
While getting ready to take the group photo, Bomin looked at me while all the other members were already looking at the photographer!
I didn't notice this until I was watching my video, but I can't believe Bomin looked at me again in between taking the group pictures! I thought Bomin had started paying attention to me during LA Snapshots, but I guess it really did start from the very first stop! (He's wrecking my bias list so hard!)
After the concert, a staff member came out and told those without a Snapshot ticket to exit, and those with Snapshot tickets to stay inside the venue while they set up out in the foyer. We were waiting for about 35 minutes before the Snapshot session began. The staff requested for those 18 and under to go to the foyer and line up first so that they can go home earlier. The lines were formed in age order from left to right, starting with Y on the left and ending with Bomin on the right. There was a volunteer staff at each line with the 5 poses printed on both their front and back. The process was you line up for the member you have a ticket for, hand the staff your ticket, tell the staff which pose, then the staff tells the artist which pose. You take the picture, wait for the Polaroid to be ejected from the camera, and leave.
One callout is that redos are acceptable if something is wrong with the image due to photographer (ex. underexposed or too dark, overexposed or too bright, too zoomed in), or due to the artist (ex. doing the wrong pose). You can ask a staff member in a black shirt (these are official staff; those in white shirts are volunteers) and they will autograph the Polaroid and that becomes your new Snapshot ticket. It is important to wait for your Polaroid to develop inside the venue in case you do qualify for a retake, which is difficult if you're one of the last ones to take your Snapshot and then the artist has already left by the time your Polaroid has finished developing...
Another callout is that if no one is waiting in a member's line, for example Jibeom, a staff member will shout, "Anyone have a ticket for Jibeom? Anyone for Jibeom? Last call!" then you need to exit your current line and go to Jibeom's line before he leaves. If you're in the middle of taking a Snapshot with another member, you can inform the staff that you also have a ticket for Jibeom so that he doesn't leave.
It's really fun waiting in line for one member, and then while the neighboring member is waiting, you can wave at them! And as awkward as Snapshots in general may seem, the members are always so sweet, kind, and friendly, and genuinely are trying to make the best memories with Ness.
These are my first set of Snapshots! Looking back on these, the Bomin one definitely qualifies for a retake. Bomin was my last one and I was one of the last Ness to take a picture with him, so the staff had already kicked me out of the building before my Polaroid finished developing >.< But as someone on Twitter commented, he looks like an angel which is valid so I'm content with how it turned out^^
Here are some of my recollections from Snapshots (in the order I took them):
- Jangjun: I told Jangjun that 4 years ago we played a game on stage together at KCON NY, and he said that he remembered!
- Y: He was very sweet, and made sure to double high five each Ness after taking our picture with him.
- Joochan: He looked at my jersey and said that it's been a long time and that he remembers (our time together at KCON NY)!
- Jibeom: He pointed at my jersey. Then I briefly spoke to him in Korean and he replied in Korean (my mind completely went blank on what we actually said >.<)
- Bomin: He pointed at me and said "DamDaDi" then asked in English how was the show.
Overall, the entire experience was absolutely magical! It was quite intimidating having the fansign first; the first time seeing Golcha in person in so long, and it's the fansign?! I regret not really preparing anything to say during the fansign (yet I did this for every stop). As for the concert, it was really one of the best concert experiences; there was no roughhousing or people trying to get a better spot, so it felt really comfy, and as for my spot, it legit felt like a personal concert! And lastly the Snapshots, these are really such unique experiences and it's during this time where you can really talk with the members without feeling too rushed (as opposed to the fansign). This was the perfect beginning to the tour!
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