Monday, January 28, 2013

[CONCERT REVIEW] BIGBANG Wraps Up Concert Tour, Still Very Much Alive


After 24 cities, 12 countries, and a countless number of fans, BIGBANG finally returned back to where it all began at the Olympic Gymnastics Arena in Seoul on January 25, 26, and 27.

We had the opportunity to catch the opening night show on the 25th, but not before we missed donating to the ’10,000 Won Miracle Project’.

But despite our tardiness and the unforgiving cold, the atmosphere around the arena was filled with excitement, nervousness, and expectation to what will unfold in the next two hours and thirty minutes.


Once we entered the arena, all that excitement ramped up even more - there were thousands of fans, some dressed as the BIGBANG members, waving their VIP crown sticks in the air and screaming as they watched the BIGBANG music videos that played on the screen.

Soon enough, the fans got even louder - and with good reason, as the arena dimmed down, and the only lights came from the wave of bright yellow crowns, as Alive began to play.

With screaming ringing in our ears and our bodies being squashed by the fans in the standing section, the BIGBANG members entered the stage in giant capsules, which led to the first performance of the night, Tonight. It was quickly followed up by Hands Up, Fantastic Baby, How Gee, and Stupid Liar.


Following the performances, the members greeted the audience, expressing their excitement at being back in the arena. Knowing the year-long concert would soon end, they felt a new sense of nervousness and excitement that they weren’t able to experience before.

The members thanked the fans, since without them, the feat of touring the world for an entire year, could have never been accomplished.


G-Dragon at one point even commented that he felt so happy that he could cry. He didn’t.

But the happiness in the air got through to some of the BIGBANG members as they urged each other to attempt the ‘Giyomi’ song.

Perhaps because it was only the first day back in front of Korean fans, T.O.P refused to pull out the aegyo, making the BIGBANG members boo at T.O.P and encourage the fans to do so as well.

Despite all the jeering in the entire stadium, T.O.P did not come through with the ‘Giyomi’ song on the first day.


Whether it was G-Dragon Crayoning in his red dress (?) or Daesung flying through the air, all the solo performances put on by the members were all very noteworthy as they charismatically held the stage on their own, even without the help of the other members.

The concert continued with many of BIGBANG’s hit songs, such as Café, Bad Boy, Love Song, Haru Haru, Monster, and more. The organization of the song order had us flying back and forth from past to present, allowing us to bask in nostalgia, yet remember just how far the group has come in its career.


While all the performances were definitely a sight to see, our personal favorites were the times when the members interacted with the fans.

After traveling all around the world and struggling to speak to fans of all different languages, they must have felt some sort of comfort to return to their home country and say exactly what was on their minds without the fear of something being lost in translation.

The members talked about everything from promoting what is coming up (G-Dragon’s first world tour, Daesung and Taeyang’s new album, T.O.P’s movie, and Seungri getting more handsome) to T.O.P calling the fans old (Perhaps, his revenge for getting booed earlier in the night). BIGBANG laughed and so did the 40,000 fans in the audience.

Before we knew it, BIGBANG sang their final songs, Lies and Last Farewell, fitting for the end of the concert.


When BIGBANG exited the stage, the fans began to chant, “Mutshisuh!” meaning “You’re cool/handsome,” demanding that the group return.

Soon, the BIGBANG members were back, jumping up and down the stage, more energetic than they were at the beginning of the concert. The Seungri-cam was on and Taeyang took off his shirt once again.

The last note to the final encore song echoed throughout the stadium, but it seemed that the BIGBANG members weren’t ready to leave yet and asked the live band to start up a beat.

One by one, the BIGBANG members flaunted their dance skills (we were able to witness the awesomeness that is Choom-T.O.P), and when it was Taeyang’s turn to show the fans and the members how it should be done, the live band hilariously stopped playing, allowing a layer of awkwardness to settle upon Taeyang.


Nevertheless, the members held hands and said their final good-byes with bright smiles on their faces before leaving the stage for good. But surprise, the concert didn’t end there.

A video began to play, highlighting BIGBANG’s journey through each country and each city that the group visited during its epic tour. It was a fantastic sight to see all those fans singing along and cheering for BIGBANG, despite the language and cultural barriers that may have existed along the way.

BIGBANG has come a long way since their debut in 2006, and it’s no wonder why BIGBANG was able to successfully complete their amazing journey through the world, touching the hearts of more than 800,000 fans along the way.

Source : YG Entertainment,enewsworld

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