Dawn's Journal: Fangirl

GETTING READY FOR A CONCERT

Hello, everyone! As we all know, Diamond Edge Tour will happen next week and a whole lot of different groups for the rest of the year. If this is your first time attending a concert, I'm thinking this might help.

Going to a concert is very tiring so we have to prepare ourselves physically, emotionally and mentally so I'm hoping this article will prepare you for a very special day.

Here are five tips on how to prepare yourself for concert day:

1. Be sure to get enough sleep!

This is the most important reminder of all. I remember attending two or three joint-concerts when I only had two or three hours of sleep, and it didn't turn out very well. Thank God for adrenaline, but it wasn't really enough. You'll be expecting a lot of fan clubs giving away freebies so we have to walk for hours to look out for them. Believe me, there's also going to be a lot of standing, and lining up just to get the perfect spot, so save all that energy.

You might make it through the day because of the adrenaline as I said earlier, but the effect will last for days. Body aches, nausea, vomiting, and headaches, I was literally in bed for a few days because because I went to a concert with little sleep.

2. Wear comfortable clothes

Sure, we all want to dress-up on concert day, but it's also important that we feel comfortable with what we wear. Like for instance, if you know you're going to stand for a long time, you might want to consider wearing sneakers or flat shoes instead of wearing high heels. Do not sacrifice your comfort just to look good. You can look good and feel good anyway so choose the right clothing to your liking. Unless you know how to rock it, then go for it girl, but personally, I suggest you wear super comfortable clothes.

Another tip: Be sure to use a long-wear, smudge-proof and water-resistant makeup products. Of course, we want to look good as well, because who knows? Oppa might notice you, but you don't want to look cake-y and have panda eyes throughout the day. So be sure to wear the right type of makeup if you want to make it through the day looking on fleek despite the hassle!

3. Bring these necessary items:

Extra fold-able loot bags
Power bank, chargers
Sanitary napkin or liners (if you're not sure if you'll get your period on the day of the concert, better be prepared than sorry, don't make the same mistakes I did!)

As I said, freebies and banners for fan projects will be given away on the day of the concert, if you don't want to struggle like I did, bring an extra loot or tote bag to keep your freebies. That is if you're planning to get freebies. To save time, don't bring large backpacks because they won't let you enter the venue without leaving your things at the baggage counter, it will save you a lot of time from lining up again just to get your bags before going home.
And of course, it's self-explanatory to bring power banks and extra memory.

4. Eat!

Have breakfast before leaving, eat before you enter the venue and have extra snacks in your bag to keep you from starving while waiting.

5. Meet with your fandom friends

It's very important to have someone to share the feels, to have someone take turns in lining up. The fun starts when you have a group of people to past the time while waiting.

Personally, I think that's one of the best parts in attending these concerts, it's when you get to meet new people and develop a friendship with them.
There you go! I think you're well prepared and ready to face the world out there. Don't forget to enjoy and savor every moment with your friends and seeing your idol perform. I promise you that this will be the best nights of your life so go and buy that concert ticket!

That's all the tips I have for today, have fun and enjoy the moment! Take lots of pictures to save the memory but be sure to live in the moment while it lasts.

If you have any questions, feel free to let me know in the comments section!

Oh, and if you're curious, here are some of my favorite concert photos of all time!

2Comments

, by Dawn Flores

In Confessions, Fangirl

My One K Global Peace Concert in Manila Experience

So we woke up at 6 AM, to prepare, have breakfast and all and then we travelled at around 09:00 and arrived at SM Mall of Asia at 11:00 AM. We went out to search for freebies and banners then we got in line for the strapping because we have this perk called the arrival party where we get to greet our bias groups as they arrive at the venue. That's the main reason why we got up early is to make sure that we get the best sight of our idols.

After the strapping, we went straight to the arrival party venue at around 01:00 PM. The arrival party is said to begin at 02:00 PM. It was already past 03:00 PM and nobody was arriving. There were cars passing through the venue and the fans were screaming but it was only the staff members. So at around 04:00 PM, one of the organizers announced that those who have the soundcheck party should fall in line so that they won't be late for the soundcheck party, it means that there might be a chance that the idols won't arrive there and only two groups will come out. We decided to just fall in line for the SVIP lane so that we can get the best sights for the concert.

This is the place where we waited for our idols to arrive, doesn't look like a party at all. The Arrival Party perk was so misleading. (This photo was captured by one of my fangirl friends, Joy

Photo captured by Joy <3 td="">

We tried to go to the help desk to try if we might get the soundcheck party perk because we waited for THREE HOURS just to wait for the idols to arrive, not knowing that they already arrived at the venue long before we got there. What they did is they let two groups out, SHINee, and I'm not sure what the other group was. Surprisingly, the staff members of All Access Production were not aware of what's happening at the arrival party. Some staff members listened but the one who was supposed to help us just ran away, pretending that she was doing anything so we never got the soundcheck party perk. It was so tiring. Running, standing for long hours, waiting, we were really frustrated.

So we just waited until the guards could let us in, when we got inside, we had to wait until the doors finally opened. We went inside at around 06:30 PM, and the show was supposed to start at 07:00 PM. The fans were so hyped while they play the music videos but as time goes by, they kept the music videos on repeat until 08:00 PM and to be honest, I lost all my energy already, my head is beating like hell.

The program started at 08:00 PM, with a video about the Korean war and how the Philippines participated on it which showed that since then, Korea and the Philippines has this huge connection already.

It started with a formal event where the international delegates were introduced, Cesar Montano was also there, and to launch the Global Peace Concert in Manila 2017, they released dove balloons as a sign of peace. I forgot to mention that One K Concert is a part of the week-long event, Global Peace Convention 2017 which is an international movement aims to promote peace and good relations with Korea. Manila is their first stop for 2017.

After the formal event, the concert started as Choi Minho of SHINee and Seolhyun of AOA hosted the event. I cried by the way when I saw Minho cause it was my first time seeing him. Hehe.

B.A.P was the first act where they sang Skydive, One shot and No Mercy. Now, I was so happy with B.A.P, they are one of the groups whom my heart holds dearly. I was so happy that Zelo and Youngjae, my bias and bias wrecker were so close to me. Zelo saw me and Youngjae, even though they might not be aware that they saw me eye to eye. It's okay.

followed by B1A4, who performed Beautiful Target, What's Happening and Baby Goodnight. They were so cute and fresh and lively! I've been a fan of B1A4 for 6 years now and seeing them perform live for the first time, gosh! It was a dream come true. Baro was always on our side of the stage so I got the chance to have an eye to eye moment with him.

Then special stages performed by Choa of AOA, Sandeul of B1A4, then B.A.P's Daehyun and Youngjae singing the most popular OSTS of the most loved Korean Dramas in the Philippines. After that, AOA performed followed by BTOB, wherein the arena was filled with screams as Sungjae who played Deok Hwa at the famous Korean drama Goblin introduced himself. After that, a special stage performed by BTOB's Eunkwang and Hyunsik performing Anak by Freddie Aguilar together with Cesar Montano.

The stage was followed by CN Blue wherein Yonghwa's fan service was so extra. He even said that Manila is so sweet like Vanilla. His cheesy pick-up lines was so funny. It was so intense.

Now for my long awaited act, SHINee. I cried and sobbed so hard when I saw them up close. My eyes couldn't believe what I was seeing. They were so angelic. I kept asking myself if I was really there. They were the highlight of my evening.

And as usual, they devoured us with their great vocals and energetic dance moves. It was an emotional night for us shawols, most of the fans that were caught on camera were either crying or screaming their lungs out. It was intense.

The last performer was PSY where he made everyone emotional by his song, father and also made the whole arena dance to his most popular songs like Gentlemen, Gangnam style and etc. His performance was followed by the artists and the producer coming out of the stage and sang the theme song for One Dream, One Korea.

At first, I hesitated to go for VIP standing because I know my level of tolerance for long events like these plus we stood for how many hours waiting for our idols so throughout the day, we were mostly standing and I only had less than 2 hours of sleep. So the adrenaline saved me and gladly, I survived, I would definitely go for standing again as I've made so many eye contacts with the idols and they were very close to me. I'm glad I went for the standing lane, I had no regrets at all!

Anyway, we've all read the news about what happened that night but it's still not over after weeks, even after a month, the fans are still crazy about it including myself.

Me and my new found friends talk about the event almost everyday because we couldn't get over it. It was such a great experience for fangirls like me. This is also one of the best concerts I've attended so far but Coldplay is still on the number one spot. :D

Anyways, these are my thoughts about the event. How did you spend the concert and what did you do after it? I also want to hear your experiences on the comments below. :)

Note: All of the pictures above were taken by me so please repost with proper credits.