I’ve a confession to make. While I’m so tempted, it will not be my thoughts on reaching the third decade milestone. Words are futile considering the clock of life just mocks and continues ticking mercilessly, ignoring my steadfastness in telling people that I’m 25 (for the past few years. I’m hopeless that way, thank you). The intended confession is of a smaller (and embarrassing, depending on your viewpoints) but no less graver scale.
*Inhales, exhales. Momentary pause to enable brain to process better judgment. Better judgment not found in system*
I am, a closet K-Pop fan. And my attachment to live concerts (or those which I can afford to attend) is of the same magnitude as a monkey with its bag of peanuts. Not that I’m saying I’m a monkey, by the way.
It started when I first heard 2 AM’s ‘You Wouldn’t Answer My Calls’ on the airwaves during my trip to Seoul last year. You may be scorning at this point or better still, asking ‘Who on earth is this 2 AM?’ I knew my parents did, before I explained to them with the enthusiasm of a newly-converted fangirl. With the Hallyu wave conquering the Malaysian audience (and most parts of the world. Well, the parts with internet access anyway) and leaving few survivors behind, it’s only natural that we’re exposed to their culture. And when we’re dealing with Korean culture, it’s incomplete without reference to kimchi, hanbok, sageuk and their overly-dependence on songs. Seriously, am not kidding about the last part. Hero meets love of his life, one happy song comes out. Villain enters to break them apart and that is marked by a sinister sounding song. Heroine gets separated from hero, another song to unlock our dam of tears. Hero reunites with heroine and we cry along with the sentimental tunes as they kiss and live happily ever after, presumably to eat more kimchi.
You would think being addicted to Korean dramas is bad. Wait until you find yourself in Korea and only then will you realise the true extent of being ‘brainwashed’. From someone who only listened to Korean music thanks to the accompanying OST (it is, as I’ve explained to Dad on several occasions, original soundtracks), I was confronted by an onslaught of K-pop. There was no mercy as I found myself unwittingly listening to 2AM’s songs (which was at that time, scaling the charts like nobody’s business), regardless whether I was queuing for the Metro, roaming on the streets of Myeongdong, haggling over prices with stubborn Korean grandmas in the labyrinth Namdaemun or even relieving myself from a bursting bladder. Whatever I did, I was bound to hear the soulful voices of Changmin, Seulong, Jinwoon & Jo Kwon. When my sister announced that 2 AM was performing their first tour in Incheon during my stay, it became a do or die. Their Saint O-Clock concert in February 2011 inevitably marked my first live concert experience (in recent memory, lest my parents remind me of the concerts I attended during childhood) and the start of my fascination (and end of a prosperous purse) with live concerts.
Since then, I’ve been fortunate enough to have attended a variety of live performances. Thanks to Secret Recipe’s slogan contest, I managed to drag Dad to watch Alan Tam Live in Concert on free passes. While Dad may have looked right in his element (you know, so many elders around at the Putra Indoor Stadium), I was a bit sheepish at the thought of being caught attending an Alan Tam concert. That sheepishness turned to relief as I spotted my former faculty mate sitting in front of us. Anyway, together with a handful of other non-Chinese fans, we may be the only ones who were fervently hoping (against all odds) that the concert organizers could provide subtitle services. There were no subtitle services unfortunately, but that didn’t stop me from singing the perennial hit ‘Pang Yau’ and waving those lighted sticks in a sea of lights.
Another Secret Recipe slogan contest gave me the opportunity to catch one of the Heavenly Kings in action, barely two weeks later. This time around, Dad said he couldn’t bear the idea of sitting on hard surfaces anymore. That was how I invited my former music teacher to watch Jacky Cheung ½ Century Tour with me. If Alan Tam’s concert was good, Jacky Cheung’s was a strong reminder to us mortals why he’s a Heavenly King. The performance over the 3 hour period was just enthralling. Hit after hit was rolled out, with highly excited audience members singing at the top of their voices. I would have done so too, if only I could get the pronunciation right! I may not have understood the lyrics but the melodies struck the right emotive chords. Everlasting Love is what I’ll feel for that one hell of an amazing concert.
With 2 free concerts already under my belt, I knew my luck was coming to an end. Either that or the fact that organizers are pretty kiam siap in giving away free passes. Well, I should count my blessings. The next 2 concerts which I paid for, were of differing prices and values. At my sister’s insistence (the one from Australia, not Korea) who came back for a brief holiday, we went for Maroon 5’s ‘Overexposed’ concert at Stadium Shah Alam in September 2012. Our tickets were ‘free seating’ but in the end, no one ended merely sitting as Adam Levine rocked the crowd wild. This time around, I could actually sing along and the coming few days saw me with a hoarse voice. Whoever said being a fangirl is easy? Sacrifices are required, and more often than not, it’s your vocal chords (no matter how tone deaf you are).
T-ARA’s Showcase on 3 October 2012 (it’s a Korean all-girl band, just to let you know) was regrettably at the other end of the enjoyment spectrum. First, the ticket price was rather steep considering the whole event was only an hour or so. Second, although we had numbered seats, everyone had to sit on a leveled ground. So the expensive ticket prices meant nought when we found ourselves behind a crowd of tall, gangly boys with hair that defied gravity. The audio system also left much to be desired as we can’t differentiate the girls’ Bo Peep Bo Peep from squealing fans. The girls did their famous Roly Poly for sure but no amount of ultra-high skirts and butt-wiggling can tempt me to catch their next show, come what may.
Like a smoker who continues to puff despite staring at cigarette boxes with gruesome pictures, I continued with my concert(s) love affair. The next concert which I attended has to be the most shocking. Even I myself couldn’t believe I actually bought the tickets in the first place. Named after a science theory (or occurrence. I don’t know. Was never a good science student despite Dad’s background), I was part of the thousands-strong crowd at Stadium Merdeka on 27 October 2012 for Korea’s BigBang Alive Galaxy Tour 2012. For someone who only knew T.O.P as this mysterious Korean rapper with even stranger hair designs (he was after all, the ‘prize’ for a Valentine Day date contest as advertised on every pillar and wall, when I was in Seoul last year. Obviously, I didn’t win that contest or I would have remained in the Seoul fandom), I knew next to zero about BigBang. To be honest, my second sister was more into their techno, electronic-voice hits. She knew who G-Dragon is (don’t ask me about the name. I still don’t see how relevant that stage name is) and why Daesung, Taeyang and Seungri must be God’s gifts to (wo)mankind. She would put ‘Monster’ or ‘Blue’ on youtube replay even when she’s working on her assignments. Heck, I think most people in our age groups could instantly recognize BigBang whenever there’s a ‘Boom Shakalaka’ in some distant background. All I recognized were T.O.P and ‘Haru Haru’.
And yet, there I was with my waaay younger cousin, waiting in anticipation for the concert to begin. Not only did we survive the earlier drive to Stadium Merdeka (in other words, a part of hell given its acute parking problem), we were reduced to drenched rats thanks to a sudden downpour right before BigBang took to the stage. That night, thousands of fans (or those suffering from unexplainable syndromes, like me) were united as we welcomed these Korean stars in our raincoats. It was actually an entertaining experience as the crowd instantly transformed itself into a sea of pastel red, blue, green and orange in our bid to beat the rain. We got soaked right to the bones (damn those cheap raincoats) but just as the rain suddenly stopped, the discomforting feeling literally dried up when the boys began to belt out their hits. From ‘Monster’ to ‘Blue’ to ‘Fantastic Baby’ (with T.O.P’s image being splashed across the screen amidst chants of Boom Shakalaka) to ‘Bad Boy´ and my personal favourite ‘Haru Haru’, among others, it was sheer K-Pop heaven right on Malaysian soil.
Despite my conscious attempt to appear as the adult between us, I think I must have moved more to the music than my cousin! She was far more occupied in recording the show with her iPad, kids and modern technologies nowadays. BigBang may have been specks of dust moving on the stage far, far away from where we were seated but I must say this. Even if I had to rely on the giant projectors to witness their performance, it was all worth it. Especially when we find ourselves trapped in the parking lot with other concertgoers for two whole solid hours after BigBang said goodbye with Taeyang’s shouts of ‘Malaysia Bagus’ and ‘Aku Cinta Pada Mu’! I doubt Taeyang actually understood what he was saying but judging by the crowd’s roaring response, it wouldn’t have mattered anyway. He may be saying ‘Shit!’ and fans would still be gobsmacked at the sight of his purposely-visible abs. Not that I was looking though.
P/S: To cure an illness, one needs the right medicine. To get BigBang out of my system (and bank account, if we’re talking about dollars and sense), I may be left with no choice but to go watch Lee Seung Gi’s Tonight in Malaysia on 2 November 2012. Anyone interested to join me on this never-ending quest?
