my thoughts on HighlightATL
I know a lot of people have been saying things about the Atlanta show, but I wanted to get a couple points straight. First, the centerstage staff (venue staff) was EXTREMELY organized and accommodating as everyone was lining up to check in. The general line for check-in stretched out pretty long, but once you made it to the front, they separated VIPs from all other passholders to make sure that everyone was able to make it in time for the autograph session (which was being held before the show). Right after you get your wristbands from check in, you line up in a second line inside to pick up your tshirt (they split the t-shirt line into 2 mini lines based on your last name). Inside the venue, centerstage staff reserved a special lounge/holding area for all VIPs. I thought this was really nice, because they actually had bathrooms. If you were GA, you had to line up again outside behind the check in line. Because the autograph session was right before the show, they moved all the VIPs from the lounge into the actual concert area where they seated us into 6 sections of 50 people each based on the number on our wristbands. I was in the second to the last group, because my number was G-5 #28. The people who had autograph passes but not VIP were seated inside to wait for their turn after all VIPs were finished with autographs. When I went through, I actually had several seconds to talk to each member (a lot more than what I was expecting based on sf and houston). I actually considered recording my turn, but the staffs were watching everyone like a hawk, so I decided against it lmao. Right before each event (autograph, hitouch, photo), a staff member is there to check your wristband and stamp it to prevent people from sneaking back in line. Also, the $50 shirt holders with no hitouch had a different colored wristband from $70 so it was impossible for them to sneak into hitouch at all.
Right after finishing with their autographs, each section of VIPs was brought back into the concert area to choose where they wanted to stand/sit during the concert. This was based on the order that you checked in (aka section 1 went to do their autograph first, so they were the first to pick their seats/spot), first-come first-serve. Afterwards, once all autographs were done, they allowed people to start coming in based on the type of pass/ticket they bought (which you can see based on the color of their wristband). Even though I was VIP, I chose to sit because first row pit was completely gone by the time I finished the signing.
The venue itself was suuuuuper intimate, and I already knew from Nadia's tweets that they had oversold the ATL show, so I made sure to line up at 12 when check-in was supposed to start. Honestly, there's no excuse to oversell a venue in the first place. TGM was completely wrong for doing that to fans, especially when they knew how big of a turnout BTS would have in ATL with all the passes being the first to sell out of all the four stops. However, in terms of organization, centerstage staff's did an EXCELLENT job of directing fans and shuffling them back and forth in between each of the fan engagements. I remember that one of the security guys found a girl's id on the floor, and he went to each section AND the pit to find the girl that lost it! If anything, please don't blame the venue staff, because they did their jobs really well last night.
