Close your mouths, breathe slowly, and be sure to not get weak in the knees or faint because just the description alone , will be able to conjure all those feels in your body. Just this past weekend from Friday the 2nd to Saturday the 3rd of November 2012, the Kings of Kpop performed their very first full concert in Anaheim, CA as part of their first world tour, the Alive Galaxy Tour! The two night event in Anaheim is actually only the second time that Big Bang has come to perform in the United Sates and so the hype that came with it was extraordinary! American and even some Canadian V.I.Ps went wild at the concert and Kmusic got the chance to experience this life changing phenomenon first hand during the second night of the concert. Stay tuned as we go through a detailed telling of the happenings that occurred that night!
We arrived at the Anaheim Honda Civic Center around 7:00pm on November 3rd. Ironically, the parking lot was not as crazily packed as was anticipated, so we were able to grab a good parking spot. After getting out of the car, we headed towards the entrance where they checked our bags to make sure no cameras were brought in although many fans managed to sneak some in anyway. The line moved rather quickly and everyone eventually made it into the building where we found a massive crowd surrounding the merchandise counter, attempting to buy last minute items.
After a bit of exploring and freshening up in the restrooms, we made our way to our seats which were in section 221, situated on the right, next to the stage. Big Bang music videos were playing to entertain fans while we waited for the concert to start, exciting fans as they shouted every time a member appeared on screen. An interesting fact to note is that the people sitting in the row ahead of us happens to be related to the drummer and the bass player for the concert!
The moment we’ve all been anticipating for finally rolled around and the show started at 8:00pm with an explosive intro filled with lights, visual effects, and fire, causing the crowd to go insane! The Big Bang Alive Tour Banner hanging in front of the stage then dropped to expose the members, each standing in freeze capsules where they sang Alive! Massive screams could be heard from all the fans, I’m sure not one person was sitting down when Big Bang made this extraordinary entrance. They followed with Tonight and Hands Up while fans raised their hands and fist pumped away.
After this first set of songs was performed, each of the members did a short intro in semi-broken English while the stage was quickly being set up for the next song. The members greeted their American V.I.Ps with “Wassup, Cali!!!!!!” and “How ya’ll doin tonight!!!???” Taeyang and G-Dragon’s English were quite exceptional and even sexy while Daesung and Seungri were hilarious to listen to although it was cute because they did try their best. As for T.O.P, fans were satisfied with whatever came out of his mouth!
They then left the stage for a brief moment but soon burst back into the arena with more energy than ever, with Seungri and Taeyang riding around in Segweys while G-Dragon was on a cruiser, peddling away in his gee status towards the front of the stage. They performed one of my favorite old jams, How Gee and it got a lot of the older fans hyped up, happy to hear them sing songs from their early days. What came next was Fantastic Baby and boy was it fantastic! The entire audience was dancing and I swear even the building was popping to the beat of the song. Daesung came to the side near the base of the stage at that point, which was right in front section 221 and I managed to get a cheerfully enthusiastic wave from him! They then sang Stupid Liar to close off the first quarter of the song; it was a great atmosphere to be in.
Taeyang, Seungri, and Daesung stayed onstage to talk with the fans; it was quite an interesting and fun “conversation”. Seungri stated, “I heard Cali people know how to party. Right? That’s the truth?” causing everyone to cheer hysterically like maniacs as a confirmation. He continued to entice fans to cheer with “I can’t hear ya. That’s the truth?” Once the audience got even louder he then says, “So welcome to the 2012 Alive Galaxy Tour in California!!!! So, we’re gonna party tonight, let’s rock yo!!!!” He then asked how Taeyang was doing and he replied with “I feel fantastic baby”. Taeyang then thanked the fans for coming while Daesung stated how they have been working hard to prepare for the tour and that he has also personally been preparing something to show the fans but they must wait for it.
Taeyang ends up suggesting for Seungri to teach the audience the choreography for “Fantastic Baby” and he willingily complied while fans happily followed along with his simple lesson. Then Taeyang started talking about his homie GD’s newest album and asked if we bought it. The entire room replied back with a “YES!!!!” which made him let out a sweet chuckle. He hinted at the next performance by saying how “It’s about to get crazy in here!” He and Seungri began to beat box to “Crayon” and as Seungri continued to provide the bass, Taeyang rapped the first half of the opening verse while Daesung chimed in for the vocals, exhilarating everyone! I was personally stoked about it because I haven’t heard them do an a capella performance in such a long time.
As the trio’s impromptu performance came to a close, G-Dragon then captivated us with his presence and performed his title song! So much energy and attitude was put into the performance, it was spectacular and I didn’t expect anything less from him. As the song faded away, G-Dragon is seen laying down in the center front of the stage with red light beaming down on him as the whole auditorium screamed at his might. He then spit out a verse in English that I believe most fans have never heard before, making everyone get even crazier than they already have, especially after his last line.
It goes as follows:
“I am the one and only G to the D, not a fake.
Fliest of them all, over head, over feet.
I flip it any way with or without the beat.
I’m wild and I’m young, they old and obsolete.
Why you so damn serious?
Got yo girl delirious.
I’m only 25 and got the world so curious.
Is it cause of my style or my flow is mysterious?
King with the aces; I’m the best. Period.”
Right when we thought things couldn’t get any better, T.O.P glided onto stage, sitting on a throne of speakers and the duo performed Knock Out and High High. Heat strokes, heart attacks, and the explosion of ovaries must have occurred during this special stage because everywhere I turned: girls were crying, hyperventilating, and even sprawled over their seats due to the impact of all that sexiness happening on stage.
As they exited the stage, dancers dressed in spy wear popped onto stage through built in pot holes and from behind the stage, tempering the fans’ curiosity about what lies beyond this point. To everyone’s surprise, it was Seungri who blazed the stage with his presence, decked out in an all white suit, implementing a secret agent while wielding a fake sniper rifle. He sang Strong Baby and What can I Do? making fans go wild! The theatrics of his performance was also very impressive with rising stages, fire, dry ice, and lighting effects.
After a series of solo stages, the group reunited to perform Café under blue lights, making the mood more intimate and sensual. However the mood picked right back up with Gara Gara Go! and Number 1 since these were heavy Dance Pop tracks. As Seungri walked over to the side of the stage, I got his attention with my bright coral shirt and got a wave from him too as he flashed his pearly whites at me. A short talk break was then taken and the group now had another beat box session, this time to G-Dragon’s One of a Kind!
They then started the next part of the concert with none other than Bad Boy, allowing fans to groove along with the smooth beat. Blue and Love Song followed suit while fans immediately sang along. The soft music had set up a rather serene tone during these performances, making it easy to clearly hear the extraordinary voices of the members. When the music for Monster started to play, fans again went wild because this song was very much anticipated throughout the whole night and Big Bang performed it beautifully. The song that closed this third portion of the concert was Feeling which elevated the vibe of the concert to that of a club, with fans dancing and swaying away to the beat of the music. Taeyang was really excited during this performance, walking everywhere on stage. He waved and blew kisses to many of the fans that caught his attention, me being one of the lucky few.
As the members exited the platform, everyone’s attention was adverted to the background screen on stage where they were playing a video clip of an animated dragon flying across the landscape. Then out of nowhere Taeyang entered the stage, singing the lyrics of Only Look at Me. By that point, fans were practically dying from happiness. Then he transitioned to Wedding Dress and danced that famous choreography of his as the audience joined in as well; the whole room was synchronized with his movements. As the song finalized, he ripped his shirt apart, exposing those solid abs of his and all of the girls in the room swooned! I’m sure all sorts of emotions were running through both their minds and bodies at that moment.
The next stage was so remarkable; you have to have been there to truly understand how great it was. Daesung sang his solo song, Wings; he has such a wonderful voice and this live performance was literally a grace given to us by an Angel. During the performance, he even magically sprouted wings and flew into the sky!
After Daesung’s performance and a really quick transition, Big Bang appears on stage, looking quite suave and very handsome in suits, to perform the acoustic version of Haru Haru. This moment was probably the most endearing and cherished throughout the whole night. Although everyone sang along with Big Bang during the other songs as well, there was something about this performance that was just so amazing. It gave me a feeling of being one with all of the V.I.Ps present in the center and Big Bang.
When the song ended, Big Bang stood up for one last talk break. When G-Dragon said “Well um, now the show is heading to the end.” all of the fans screamed “NO!!!” in unison. He sighed and replied with, “I know, we hate to say this too but……Do you guys want more? Me too.” Taeyang even gave a shout out to the east coast by sending his condolences to the victims of Hurricane Sandy. Seungri gave everyone a good laugh by continuously praising California in broken English. Even Taeyang couldn’t help but laugh at how Seungri was struggling to sound grammatically correct and attempted to help him out. “Hey, focus me!” Seungri retorted, causing a burst of laughter to ring out across the center. He then admired how wonderful and awesome all the people here are, pointing and saying “I love this side and I love that side! This is the best crowd ever, I love you guys!” Daesung then talked about the how meaningful that particular concert was and thanked everyone for their support.
Instead of having T.O.P talk right then, Daesung mentioned his birthday which caused the whole audience to cheer. A cake was then presented to T.O.P by Crazy, the female dance team of YG Entertainment. Everyone sang “Happy Birthday” to him and then they played a jam for him to dance along to. The birthday boy was extremely happy and thankful for the birthday wishes as well as the support from the fans. As he stood in front of his cake he said, “Thank you so much. I’ve been waiting so long to be with you. Thank you Cali, you’re an amazing crowd. Please take care til the day we meet again.” Seungri personally recorded this whole moment on his camera and even uploaded it onto Youtube.
They then quickly transitioned to the last stage of the night which comprised of Lies and Last Farewell causing many fans to feel bittersweet as they screamed for Big Bang.
Once it was over and Big Bang exited the stage, thousands of hearts shattered as fans cried for them to not leave. The audience screamed for an encore and continued to wait for a good five minutes, a hum of mummers could be heard as we all wondered about what was going to happened. To our delight, Big Bang generously gave us an extra 40 minutes encore! The first song they busted out with was Heaven and once again, the crowd was feral. When the song ended, they brought out Hi-Tech Crew and Crazy Girls on stage to properly thank them as well as of the wonderful and talented band members and DJs who worked on providing music for the stages and the tech crew in the back.
T.O.P then enticed the audience with “So can I get an encore, do you want more?” and of course the fans hollered for more, prompting the group to again perform Bad Boy, Fantastic Baby, and Feeling! During this performance, all the members except T.O.P managed to throw their varsity jackets at the fans and boy was it a fierce battle between those who fought to catch them. G-Dragon also threw his light stick to one lucky fan that caught his eye due to her overly excited enthusiasm. He then walked over to the side of the stage again near section 221 where he gave me a smile and saluted me for being exceedingly supportive and cheerful! Daesung was throwing water on everyone while Taeyang was shirtless, walking off stage in a gated section to interact more personally with the fans. Seungri and T.O.P continued with the performance at the front of the stage.
There was a moment after the songs were finished where Taeyang again mentioned how California definitely knows how to party, causing the audience to joyfully applaud. He then attempted to sing “California Love” from Tupac but chuckled and said he didn’t know the lyrics, causing fans to sing for Big Bang instead. They all smiled in delight and this made Taeyang even more excited than he already was. He kept singing and singing lyrics from “Feeling” which made Seungri jokingly intervene by covering his ears and shaking his head. They then performed the real final stage for the night Hands Up and although G-Dragon was exhausted, he admiringly continued with every ounce of energy he had until end. The final goodbyes left solemn feeling amongst the audience as we watched them, especially G-Dragon, take a deep bow in appreciation and out of love for their American V.I.Ps but of course we were all blissfully proud of them and hope to see them again soon.
This whole experience was just amazing and so incredibly unforgettable. Big Bang generously gave us what we wanted, not anything less than expected. They are such magnificent and outstanding people, being able to attain immense fame and glory, yet they remain devout and humble. If you are a Kpop junkie, a V.I.P, or even someone who has no idea what Korean music is, you must still attend at least one of Big Bang’s concerts. It was on my bucket list but now it’s crossed off, I don’t regret going at all, and I will definitely go again! I wish Big Bang the best as they continue to go on tour around the world and will always be hopeful to see more from them in the future.
Article Written By: Samantha Her & Mariam
- Excited
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