Three of my friends and I flew from Dallas, Texas up to Chicago to see our all time top group, VIXX! Two of my friends were able to see them last year when they stopped in Dallas for their Milkyway tour, but my other friend and I got to experience our first kpop concert in all the glory that is VIXX!
It was a roller coaster of a emotions and and unforgettable experience. I'll try to break down the whole process without being excessive.
Arriving at the venue:
My friends and I arrived at the venue at around 2:30pm. We expected the doors to open at 5 and the show to start at 7. When we arrived there were only a dozen or so people hanging out in the breezeway of the entrance. Everyone was dressed up and many people were cosplaying. There were a cute set of sisters with full On and On costumes (picture in album) as well as a ton of people with hand made fan costumes and variations of VIXX inspired makeup. There were even a few groups doing dance covers while there was still room. The three friends I was with and I were all part of a VOODOO cover dance we did last semester so we went ahead and danced that for everyone on the spot. We were pretty glad we were some of the first people there, within an hour the whole breezeway was full and a crowd started forming outside. We were scrunched together like sardines and ended up standing there together until they finally let us in around 6:30pm.
The Q&A board:
At 6:00pm they announced they were running a little behind schedule. A few staff members brought out a table, a large board, and a bunch of sticky note pads. They asked us to pass around the sticky notes and write down any questions we had for VIXX! I was really impressed by the cooperation of everyone and the orderly manner everyone passed things around and got the board covered (in the shape of a heart!) with the notes!
The Lobby:
Imagine black Friday, but worse. Again, I am super thankful my group was one of the first through the doors because we were able to get to the merch table quickly. The merch table had a lot more items than I was expecting! They had black beanies with the Rovix logo for $25, black snapbacks with the logo for $25, black snapbacks with just VIXX on it for $25, foam thunder sticks with tons of light options for $15, and hoodies either black or white with the Rovix logo for $45. Some girls there mentioned they were shocked at the prices, because with their experiences before at a BTS concert hoodies had been $95. I bought a thunder stick and Rovix snap back, everything was super high quality and definitely worth the price!
The Show:
The show finally started about 7:20pm. I can not fully express to you the feeling I experienced once it finally began. The entire first half of the first song I stood with my jaw dropped because of the unreal-ness of it all. It was an out of body experience. My friends, on the other hand, seemed to all lose their minds in a very vocal way. There. Was. So. Much. Screaming. We made the effort of learning fan chants, but as expected, most American fans don't know fan chants and the crowd was more or less just singing along or screaming at the top of their lungs.
They started off with Error surprisingly. Seeing them dance live was surreal. It is SO different than just watching a recording. Their stage presence is super powerful and they are beyond talented and skilled. Unfortunately security was super tight and it was pretty hard to get pictures or video without being yelled at. That being said, there are still TONS of pictures and video out there.
The Q&A and Host:
Ugh, I could rant about the translator/host lady for days. She was really nervous and wasn't doing a good job translating at all. Her English was pretty poor, and she would sometimes just flat out just acknowledge what the members said and not translate it for the crowd. Other times she would get flustered and gesture too much without holding he mic up to her face. When she did manage to get something out I could tell she was only relaying half of the message, even with my minimal knowledge of the Korean language. Leader N was getting really fed up with the translator at some points and even had moment where he would say something and she would flat out not say anything afterward in attempts to translate (when she was off stage). N would wait a few moments and after hearing nothing, (looking frustrated) would just continue to say whatever he had to say. The crowd would very happily respond to whatever they had to say in unison, despite that maybe less than half the crowd really knew what he was saying, haha.
When it was time for the Q&A readings and break, the lady was so flustered and took such a long time trying to talk and pick questions that we ended up only being able to do 2 in total. The first question was chosen by Hyuk and it read "Can you please wink at me? - Mindy" That Mindy was quick to stand out in the crowd and successfully received a wink from Hyukkie! It was super adorable! The second question was picked by Ravi and read "What is your favorite American food?" this question was actually written by my friend I was with, so that was very exciting! After thinking for a bit Ravi replied "Steak!" and Ken, next to him, very cutely added "Pizzzzaaa!"
The host asked a question to the group as a whole in very broken English, something along the lines of, "What do you think your fans love so much about you?" Ravi answered with, "Concept, vocal, image, and-" after standing up from his seat, extending a leg, and gesturing at himself "-body?" Of course the crowd lost it. Pretty sure I heard about 50 ovaries burst. It was fantastic.
After the host cut them off after 2 questions she said it was her turn to get "her wish" which was to *hug all of the members*! This of course pretty much started a riot in the audience. Everyone was screaming NO NO NO NO and making X's. Even most of VIXX was saying "noooo" and looked very concerned. After a bunch of dicking around (for an amount of time where at least 2 more questions could have been asked and answered) Hyuk, taking one for the team, volunteered to give her a hug. It was awkward and cringey. No one was happy.
Moving on..
The rest of the show was astounding and beautiful. God bless the costume designers and their choice for the tight white pants. God bless them.
Some highlights I loved:
The white pants
Leo's stage presence, holy balls, that boy is something
Ravi's hands were trembling after the first few dances, I could feel his adrenaline!
Hyuk is quickly leaving his boyhood behind and becoming the man none of us were prepared for.
Ken commented in English "Chicago is very... HOT!" and then shivered, hahahahaha. We all burst out laughing. Pretty sure he just got hot and cold mixed up.
N's dancing is RIDICULOUS. It looks effortless
Hongbin's 5'oclock shadow of only a mustache
Leo's mic going out during a non-dancing song and having to steal everyone else's
Again, those white pants
The High Touch:
This was not something I was spiritually prepared for. We walked down the aisle in the blink of an eye and before I had a moment to think, Hongbin's soul crushing dimples were right in front of me. I was so in shock I'm pretty sure I just looked like a deer in headlights for the first three and only managed to shakily say "kamsahamnida" to the last three, even though I had originally planned on making kissy faces at Ken and saying '"ottokaji." All of that pretty much went out the window.
Honestly it went by so quickly and I was in such shock I have a hard time recalling most of it.
*Hongbin: His eyes lit up when he first looked at me, which I'm pretty sure is what set me up for failure for the rest of the time. I can not explain how freaking FLAWLESS this boys are in person. No photograph will ever show you what you see when you have them right in front of you. They are GORGEOUS. I could have drowned in his dimples and his eyes could light up the deepest pits of hell. No exaggeration.
Hyuk: Fucking HELL that boy is a MAN now! He looks so composed and refined and all of his mannerisms were just so gentle and careful. He was my original favorite when I started with VIXX and he's always pulled at my heartstrings.
Ken: I was doomed from the start with Hongbin, but to be followed by my Hyuk and Ken I was in complete la-la land before I made it to Leo. Once I had Ken in front of me I knew I wanted to make a kissy face at him in hopes he might do it back, but a part of me was just too humbled that I felt it almost would have been.. disrespectful? I noticed Ken just looked tired throughout most of the performance, despite his grins and playful attitude. He's been super busy with his sitcom and other promotions so I'm sure he's feeling overwhelmed.
N: I'm honestly not sure if it was N or Leo first, like I said, I was in shock. N just looked genuinely happy. His hands were, as rumor says, the softest (all though they were all like touching clouds of heaven). He held all the dignity of a leader and the love of a mother proud of her children.
Leo: I've never been a huge Leo fan, but damn he really impressed me. I won't ever believe the things some people say about him being shy or self-concious. That boy is 100% aware of every move he makes and every word that comes out of his mouth. I feel like he plays everyone like puppets, and has everyone wrapped around his little finger. His gaze was striking but almost flirtatious. That little lion has a lot going on in that quiet head of his.
Ravi: Ravi looked particularly tired as well, but he was very dignified and respectful. He gave me a little nod and a smile after I said thank you but otherwise was pretty timid.
10/10 would touch again.
The security was almost a little overboard.. a BUNCH of really intimidating huge guys towered over you while you walked between them and VIXX for the high touch. I think that kind of dampened the mood a bit, but it's understandable.
Overall it was super fun and worth it. The experience was unreal and I feel did alter my opinion about k-pop culture as a whole.
