#concert thoughts

[deermouth]

more florence thoughts now that it's not 11:30pm on a worknight where i'm dehydrated and shaking from an hours-long vertigo-and-crowd-induced adrenaline response ummmmm

she played all but one (perfume and milk) of the songs i wanted off the new album which is Preddy Fucking Good I Think--and most of the others I was looking forward to as well (I'm kind of a basic bitch when it comes to Florence songs so this wasn't a huge surprise)

i was trying all night to figure out who else her embodiment/gestures/presence reminded me of and the answer is brit marling as the oa in the oa which is ;_________;

set/support performers/lights and tech were INCREDIBLE

during howl, her support singer-dancers were all in long virginal white dresses jumping about wifwolfishly and one of them ran all the way to the end of the catwalk part of the stage and was throwing herself around and then florence beckoned imperiously and the dancer dashed back as if pulled and writhed longingly around her feet and i was like ohhhhh. well i'm not a gay woman anymore but i believe in their BELIEFS

at the end of sympathy magic (last song pre-encore) she walked all around quietly singing "come on, come on i can take it, what else, what else?" over and over and touching and hugging crowd members and whispering thank you to them and it was so powerful i felt like i was receiving that touch too

which is to say, this is a bit twee "oooh my faves are Magical Forest Dwellers" type shit, but i do genuinely feel like she wields some kind of magic. which you could also just say is the power of live music, babeyyyy, but like. yeah

cried during witch dance (second song) a little (came to a clearing full of wailing and keening a well of tears that never runs dry the women said we've been waiting waiting to meet you it was only a matter of time--)

planned parenthood was in the lobby pre-show giving out bracelets that just say ABORTION

[maisonmilli]

armycarat life is wild.

one minute i’m crying over pink coups. next minute i’m staring at bts ticket announcements like “cool cool love that for everyone.”

i’m happy for people who get to go. i promise i am.

but sometimes you get tired of always being the one watching from far away.

it’s not jealousy. it’s just… wanting your own moment too.

one day it’ll be my turn. and when it is? oh i’m not shutting up about it.

[sadboimetal]

First thoughts post-Wembly show

1. AMAZING OBVIOUSLY

2. Poor baby Vessel losing his voice about a quarter of the way through. He was a real trooper though and sounded great despite the obvious strain. I'm sure it meant alot to him that the entire arena was there to back him up.

2. Ohmygod the new masks and costumes are fucking amazing we super called it

3. Uh the dancers?! They killed it and Vessel really showed more of his performance chops with the choreography he had planned with 👋

4. The fucking curling weights oh my god what a goober.

5. You can tell there was obvious melancholy because the tour for the year has now concluded but it seemed more like a celebration than anything. I loved that the whole crew got to come out and bask in the praise for all their hard work

6. "The boys are back in town" being the song that was playing while everyone was leaving is real cheeky I'm ngl

EDIT

7. Iii is back and looked hot af

8. PROJECKT ATLANTIC was a decent success I still got my blue sticker!

9 HE PLAYED BLOODSPORT OMG I CRIED SO HARD

Im sure I have more things to say but this is the initial thought dump!

[inkbybambi]

guitar and bass players play facing each other so close because it’s almost like touching penises. in this easy i will —

[shes-soparticular]

I showed up for Lauv’s show last night with zero energy and not in any mood to be at a concert. Between Sunday Scaries and being totally exhausted/recovering from a hangover, I was miserable to the point of considering leaving before the show started.

I...am so fucking glad I stayed. It was by far the most energetic, most freeing concert I’ve been to in a long time, if not ever. As a performer, Lauv is so unapologetically himself - you can tell he’s having a genuinely good time, dancing his goofy ass off and taking everyone along for the ride. I wish I could say something a bit more intelligible...but what it all comes down to is that I couldn’t wipe the smile off of my face for 90 minutes. For the first time in a LONG time, I was 100% in the moment. THANK YOU, LAUV. Thank you, Ari. You gave me what I didn’t even know I needed.

[deer-sunshine]

Now that the European leg is over, all I’m hoping is for Shawn to rest well and easy. He did so great the past few months, giving his all in every performance. Even off stage before each concert where he’d go around and take time to meet his fans. AHHHH I just hope he’s happy, safe, and well!! 😭😭😭

[phdmama]

Quick Concert Recap

Because it’s going to take me a bit to wind down and go to sleep, I thought I’d write a bit about the concert and just some thoughts I’m having. I took a few videos, I’ll try to post them tomorrow.

The opening act, Gavin James, was great and I immediately went and downloaded his album on Spotify. I’m sure he gets compared to Ed Sheeran all the time, and there’s a huge style overlap (including the falsetto) but Gavin’s voice is lovely and his songs were great. His between-song patter was...not so great.  But it was a lovely opening act.

THE MAIN EVENT. Niall sounded AMAZING. It’s really incredible, what he’s done with his voice. He sounds so great, his intonation live is fantastic. His voice sounds so rich and smooth, so versatile. Fool’s Gold just blew me away. AMAZING. Flicker and Paper Houses just broke my heart - I think those are my two favorite songs on the album (almost with Too Much To Ask, yes I am a ballad girl, what can I say), and he sounded fantastic. Every song seemed tight and the band did well, though they were sporting some really unfortunate ‘staches.

They did an impromptu bit of Shipping Up to Boston and YAY. He seemed really excited to be here, and there was a lot of love for Ireland in the room! I am so thankful I got to see him in such an intimate space, and I was about 23 rows back, so it was amazing to be so close!

It was really interesting to me, seeing Niall after having seen Harry, because the shows felt very different to me, and I was talking to @becomeawendybird, trying to figure out what the difference was. 

Although I like Niall’s music better, it’s just a better fit for me overall, there was a way in which Harry’s show was more welcoming? In part, it *really* stuck out to me that Niall had *no women* on stage with him (and his opening act was a guy) and that all the guys in the band appear to be about Niall’s age. Obviously, he can pick whoever he wanted, and the band was fantastic, don’t get me wrong! But I did not resonate with them at all, not the way it felt to see a woman on the drums and the keys with Harry, not the way it felt to see MUNA open. 

I think Harry really is working to create a different kind of space and experience in his shows that Niall is not. I’m not saying one is better than the other - the musical experience at Niall’s show is clearly the top priority (including it seemed to me at a couple of moments that he was getting genuinely frustrated by the screaming and repeatedly told the crowd to be quiet, and he’s obviously spoken repeatedly about how enjoyable it is for him to have people actually listen to his music). Whereas Harry’s show felt like a party, felt like we were all included and welcomed. I think Niall’s show felt more like the real world to me, which is why Harry’s show stands out, that what he’s doing is about the music, but it’s about something else too.

Anyway, just some thoughts off the top of my head! Both were amazing shows and I feel so, so thankful that I got to see them both!!  

[palepinkimpulses]

this is going to be a mess.

 okay so i just was at day 2 of the wings tour in newark and it felt surreal. i wanted to cry so many times. bts has helped me so much, especially the past year, with allowing myself to feel happy. after the concert i couldn’t even think really, i just thought that i’m so lucky to feel this happy. all the fan projects, whether they were noticed or not, were beautiful and i appreciate all of them. people across cultures and more banded together, worked together, supported one another to express their love for music, which as namjoon said, transcends nations and all boundaries. the rainbow ocean? i loved it. as one group, the audience did something beautiful to show how we appreciate how much bangtan has impacted our lives for the better. all the banners with beautiful quotes on them “let’s fly together” etc. when namjoon asked us if we would stay with bangtan forever. when he taught us what together in korean was, because that means “you never walk alone”. when the audience kept singing “woo-ohhhh” in spring day after it ended and the members just admired us. when they didn’t sing their parts and pointed their mics towards us so we could sing. when they cheekily smiled, as if saying “that’s ok” when we all sorta mumbled bc we didn’t know the exact words. when jin took a pink army bomb to play with. when all of them were so gracious and humble and tried so hard to convey to us in english their thanks for us. when they expressed their amazement at how they, a south korean boy band from a small company is succeeding across the globe, selling out the prudential center in the usa for two nights straight in mere minutes. 

one of the parts that touched me the most was when namjoon addressed our rainbow, probably after first seeing it on thursday. he said something along the lines of, “i don’t care whether you’re purple or green or blue or whichever color, y’all make a beautiful rainbow” (smth like that) and i think that is very important. bangtan appeals to such diverse audiences because of the universal truths and appeals of their music, which is why fans are from all walks of life to make up an open-minded, loving fanbase. not only this, it also means that they don’t care if you are a certain type of person or another. you will always belong to the fandom, the wings to allow the group to fly, as just another beautiful spot on the rainbow spectrum. this also reminded me of one side of the banner i got, a 21st century girl lyric: “you’re the best to me, just the way you are”. i actually cried because of this bc bangtan makes me feel so loved. sure, i wanted to be up close at the stage for any chance to actually see them and for them to see me, but i still feel their love as purely and strongly as i could ever feel it up close. they do so much for me, for us, that it makes me feel worthy of such appreciation and attention. i cheered as loudly as i could so they could realize even a fraction of the gratitude i have for them.

this isn’t goodbye, if i have a chance i’ll try to see you again. if not, thank you for everything, and my heart will always be with you, bangtan. thank you so, so much.