BANGTAN FOR LYYYYYFE!
I am issuing a warning *RED ALERT* - most of this trip is about the Korean pop group BTS. If you're not interested in this, you might as well just keep on moving because the whole point of going to LA was to do stuff with, because of and related to BTS. Natalie has been a fan of BTS since 6th grade, and I only just started getting into them at the beginning of the pandemic. We actually got really good tickets to see the Map of the Soul tour at MetLife in northern New Jersey, but the show got postponed from it's original May 2020 date and eventually, cancelled. We were really sad. The biggest reason we wanted to see one of these particular shows in Los Angeles was the fact that the oldest member, Jin, only has one year left before he needs to do his mandatory military service for the Republic of Korea - something that has already been postponed. With Covid, we have no idea if they will be able to tour in 2022, so if we wanted to see the original 7 members, we knew we had to get to LA. Because once Jin joins the Army, then Yoongi will have to join, then J-Hope, Namjoon and so on... it may be many years before they are all together again (and Jin might be nearing 40 HA HA!) Of course, it's possible that they will all join the military together and then we will only be without them for 2 years, but we really have no idea.
BUT WE HAVE FINALLY ARRIVED! I PROMISE I WILL NOT TYPE IN ALL CAPS FOR EVERY POST ON THIS TRIP! We arrived late on Wednesday, got a rental car and then had to drive up to Hollywood to our hotel, which was on the same block as Capitol Records. SO cool. Although I got a migraine on the flight to LA, which stayed with me, off and on for another two days. Super frustrating.
But I didn't let that stop me because we had to go see BTS! The morning of the show (our first day there), we decided to walk down to the BT21 store, which was about a 20 minute walk from our hotel. On our way there, I spotted this - my favorite band from when I was a kid! (Yes, before the REM years!)
We also saw this cool Kobe Bryant street art on our way there - only... what does that say there? He knew about Randy Quaid Jr? That's so LA of you...
OMG QUEEN. I bow to this. Someone get out here and fix the cracks in Betty's crown, STAT.
And forever our King, blowing up in countries all around the world, the great Phil Collins. Can't believe I found this epic star on Hollywood Boulevard.
The line to the BT21 store wrapped around the building and right next to the Hotel Roosevelt, where Marilyn Monroe used to live, and the site of the first Academy Awards. It's the oldest continually operating hotel in LA, so... superlative, check!
And of course, right across the street from BT21 is the famous Chinese Theater! Among so many other things, it was the first commercial theater to have air conditioning. So... superlative, check!
What IS BT21, you ask? BT21 was created by BTS and Line Friends and is a set of cute characters that correspond to each BTS member. If you're a member of the BTS Army (from here on out known simply as Army), you definitely have a favorite character. And it doesn't necessarily correspond to your bias (or favorite) BTS member. There are eight characters in total: Tata (V/Taehyung), Mang (J-Hope), Chimmy (Jimin), RJ (Jin), Koya (Namjoon/RM), Cooky (Jungkook), Shooky (Yoongi/Suga), and Van (Army). My favorite is Shooky - he's a prankster cookie with attitude who hates milk, which I also hate. The hilarious part about Shooky is that he isn't at all what Yoongi envisioned/developed when they came up with the BT21 characters. He wanted a character modeled after his dog Holly. I think Shooky is super cute though! Look at him! He's a prankster cookie!
Natalie (and many other people here) started screaming when Taehyung's face showed up on the Chinese Theater jumbotron. We were a little confused because it was a birthday message to Tae - and his birthday isn't until the end of December. Meanwhile, Jin's birthday was the Saturday after the concert! No birthday wishes for Jin?
We couldn't get into BT21 because the line was so long and we had to get to the concert. We did swing by Amoeba Music at my brother's suggestion though. It's the largest independent record store in the world so... Superlative, check! They have locations in Berkeley, San Francisco and Hollywood.
We went back to the hotel to refresh ourselves and then made our way south to Inglewood to SoFi Stadium! EEEK! We made it!
If there's one thing I learned on this trip is that BTS = long lines. FOR EVERYTHING. Want a picture with the Permission to Dance sign? Get ready to wait in line for well over an hour. Or you can take a picture of it from across the pond and reverse the photo in your iPhone. Bam.
There were a lot of people there but the atmosphere was very cool. A lot of people were giving out freebies, and Army are insanely awesome. I've never seen so many vivid hair colors (mostly purplel!)
But if you want anything at the show, be prepared to stand in a line! We got some freebies from Laneige and from the Tiny Tan booth but some of the other lines were too long, even for Natalie. As you can see, just about everyone in this picture has their masks on even though we are outside. Some people were eating as they were selling hot dogs and churros and kettle corn.
I told Natalie that we needed to get in line to get into the stadium because on day 1 of the concert, people were still in long lines outside as the show was starting! I did not want that to happen to us, so after we got our freebies AND we were able to score some Map of the Soul 7 tour merch, we headed back to the car to drop it off and grab some snacks from the trunk. I was able to get an Army Bomb and I was pretty excited about that (please: refer to this as a Light Stick if you are going through TSA). Do not be fooled into thinking you don't need an Army Bomb at a BTS concert. You do. We actually had tickets to the Map of the Soul tour so we were happy with getting some (any) merch from the tour we never got to see. As the sun set and we were in line meeting new Army friends from Kentucky and Minnesota, it was starting to get chilly!
We laughed when one of the food workers who was selling kettle corn walked by and said, "Namjoon's favorite snack is kettle corn! Get your kettle corn here!" Props to that guy for knowing his audience!
But thankfully, we got in line early enough to have plenty of time to find our seats, enjoy the "pre-game" videos that were playing, grab some food and even a beer. Weirdly... the migraine I had actually disappeared during the show. It promptly returned on the drive home though. But at least I got to enjoy the show. And yes. We definitely had nosebleed seats. We were a bit disappointed that the sound system at SoFi (that black Samsung thing at the top of the picture above) was partially blocking our view of the screen. But have no fear. I brought my good Canon camera and the long zoom lens, in which I took a total of 777 pictures during the 2+ hour show. Hilarious!
OH MY GOODNESS THERE THEY ARE! Ok so this is a funny story... BTS opened up with On, which Natalie and I absolutely love - in fact, it was the song that pretty much made me a fan of BTS when Jungkook sings his solo part near the end of the song (what a voice!) I think we were so in shock when they came out, we completely forgot to take any pictures. I did take a video, but that was all. Notice all of the Army Bombs. The show simply isn't the same if everyone doesn't have one. (Well played Big Hit/Hybe - I see what you did there!)
Oh. My. Gosh.
A wide view of the show.
FIRE! Errbody say la la la la la!
Look at Jimin in the front! Bultaoleune!
Jungkook and Tae leading the group to the front of the stage (Tae might be levitating?)
I only included this picture because my boy Jungkook is going crazy on the right side! Also, if you look closely, up between J-Hope, Jimin and Jin on the floor beside them, you can see a lyric screen with "Bow wow wow" on it! HA!
Hot! Hot! Hot! Hotter! Yeah I'm talking to you Jimin and Jungkook!
The dancers joined them for the end of Fire!
Taehyung (V), Yoongi (Suga), Jin, Jungkook, Namjoon (RM), Jimin and J-Hope!
They also gave little speeches - most of them in Korean with a translator.
This is Taehyung giving his speech! I'm sure he was just telling everyone that the love of his life, Natalie Bailey was in the audience tonight.
Two days after our show (which was the last of four shows), it was Jin's birthday, so there were a few Army outside giving out little hearts that everyone was holding up during his first speech. He was really touched! Natalie will tell you a grumpy version of this story about how we got these, but we (I) left them in the trunk of the car on accident. I'm not sure Jin could see us way up in the nosebleeds anyway!
And then there was my boy Jungkook.
This picture made me laugh - J-Hope looks like he is falling over, Jin and Yoongi are dancing on one leg and Jungkook looks like he needs to tie his shoe!
Namjoon says PEACE!
I love it when they're dancing together in sync - only Jin seems like he's too far away! Also, Jimin's hair here is just something else!
LOL, still pictures are so funny! Jimin, J-Hope and Jungkook ha!
One of the best songs of the night was one that isn't even my favorite - Blue and Grey. It's a really beautiful song - a slow song, with a really cool visual of the members looking at themselves in mirrors. Taehyung wrote this song when he was at a really low point in life, and we couldn't see the members - only their reflections singing to us in the mirrors.
It was just really beautiful. In the end, they turned around to face us.
The last line of the song is "good night" which you can see on the screen behind Jungkook, Suga and J-Hope.
And then we finally got to see one our favorite songs - Black Swan! This wasn't my favorite song when it came out initially because it was more of an interpretive dance without the beat to it but the beat is really what makes this song amazing. Dancers did some of the interpretive dance prior to the song starting and it was really beautiful.
This is the song that everyone who loves Jungkook looks forward to ha ha. HIS ABS!
After Black Swan, they hung out, drank some water and and chatted with us for a a bit.
Jimin just can't face us!
Jungkook is busy thanking me (specifically) for coming to his show.
I caught this picture of Jungkook flipping his water bottle JUST PERFECTLY!
Awww, Tae was looking so cute!
Now Jungkook is pretending to be a flamingo! I love their smiles here.
One of the most fun songs that they do is Life Goes On, which they all sing from a bed that roams around the stage.
After Life Goes On, they transfer over to an oversized couch to sing Boy with Luv (no Halsey sightings on the night we went, sadly.) I also really liked the Polaroid type photos they put on the big screen - you know, if I could actually see them.
Namjoon was having way too much fun on this couch.
Because he just laid down on the back of the couch ha!
That pic of Tae on the big screen is hilarious! Look! Jimin is also giving us a heart!
During Boy with Luv, a live band played behind them! I love what is going on here with Tae and Jimin!
Meanwhile, Tae went back to sing and dance with the backup singers. Can I be a backup singer for BTS? DREAM JOB!
Look closely and try to find Taehyung has moved on and is now trying to play the keyboard with the band! J-Hope is having so much fun out there by himself!
Namjoon levitating is HILAROUS and Jungkook is saying talk to the hand.
Looks like they found the cameras and everyone is smiling!
Whoa, settle down there...
Next up was Dynamite! So much fun! This is when the confetti started flying around.
This is a fantastic hair shot of BTS - everyone bouncing around to Dynamite! Stay tuned for more pictures from the show - there were just too many to pick from!
