BTS CONCERT: Melbourne 2015

So I went to go see BTS live in Melbourne on July 12 with a friend. Best. Night. Ever.

I actually started writing this yesterday, the day after the concert, but I got so caught up with feels and trying to remember the night, and ended up getting completely distracted. This is me attempting to record the beautiful memory. 

I went to sleep thinking about BTS and woke up thinking about them. Mind you, I spent several hours after I got home just reading through fan accounts, looking at photos taken by fans and watching fancams posted by others. Anything to somehow relive those moments. I ended up sleeping at 6AM due to pure exhaustion, and woke up at 1 in the afternoon. While lying in bed yesterday reading up on everyone's posts from the concert, I thought I may as well write a little something. It's honestly just a big blur right now since it happened so fast, but it'd be nice to have something to read over in the future.

The concert didn't start until 6.30pm, and doors opened at 5.30pm. My friend and I decided to go into the city a bit earlier though, to have lunch (Korean, of course) and kill time. We actually ended up having too much time to spare, so we headed to the venue just after 4pm. The weather was the worst that day, it was raining all day and it was cold and miserable #winter. Not the best weather to welcome BTS.

Everyone was able to get a cute little banner, prepared by the Australian BTS fan club. We were expected to hold them up during the chorus in 'I Need U'. It was super thoughtful, and a nice way to show our love. Not to mention, a nice little souvenir for fans. 

They gave out little BTS photo cards too, organised by the Australian BTS fan club on twitter.

We must've got to the venue around 4.30pm. I knew some Korean fansites came to both Sydney and Melbourne concerts, and were giving out free gifts. The fansites usually post info on twitter but I could't check it earlier that day, so we were too late and missed out on the freebies. I just wanted a V slogan :( We ended up waiting inside the venue building for about an hour once we arrived. The place was already packed with people by then, just chilling around in their BTS gear, some even cosplayed. We waited just outside our door, so we could hear some sound coming from inside the actual venue. It was probably just sound check, but the thought of BTS inside just metres away was dkvbirwugkbj to say the least. 

We found our seats as soon as we got in. My friend and I had balcony seats so since we were so high up, we expected to have a pretty good view of the stage. It totally exceeded my expectations once I actually sat down though. My view was so good, I could see the whole stage clearly. We were fortunate enough to get second row seats, so were super close to the front. Being my first time in the venue, I didn't expect the balcony seats to be so steep, which was fab because we could see over the people in front of us. Since my friend and I had individual tickets with different seats, we had a whole plan to talk to the people in between us about possibly moving over. We were literally 9 seats away. Luckily, no one ended up sitting in the seat next to me so we were able to fangirl together throughout the whole concert. Despite not having light sticks, we ended up making good use of our extra glow sticks and just waved them around throughout the whole thing.

I didn't end up bringing my camera since I didn't really want to risk it. Security didn't even end up doing a bag check though, so I totally could've. I did have my phone at least. Security was pretty tight with photography, and they even warned all of us about live streaming, taking photos, and filming. So what do I do? I film. Although I did manage to film short snippets of some performances, they're all around 10 seconds long and I decided that I just wanted to enjoy the concert honestly. I was in a deep trance throughout the whole concert anyway, so I really didn't bother taking out my phone for most of it.

Someone had already put up the setlist from the BTS Sydney show, so I had an idea of what they were going to perform. The songs went in this order:

Opening VCR

N.O

We Are Bulletproof Pt.2

We On

힙합성애자 (Hiphop Lover)

Let Me Know

Rain

이불긱 (Blanket Kick)

하루만 (Just One Day)

예기 봐 (Look Here)

Outro: Propose

VCR

No More Dream

Tomorrow

Miss Right

좋아 (I Like It)

If I Rule the World

Cypher Pt.3: Killer

호르몬 전쟁 (War of Hormones)

Danger

I Need U

상남자 (Boy In Luv)

Predebut VCR

Road/Path

쩔어 (DOPE)

흥탄소년단 (Fun Boys)

지겍의 방탄 (Rise of Bangtan)

Time for the good stuff! I feel like I've forgotten a lot of it to be honest, but I do remember some things here and there. I'll just attempt to go through what I can remember and what stood out to me. 

When it was time to start, the lights were dimmed and everyone started screaming. Not long after, they started playing a VCR. It was a school classroom concept, so the VCR showed dialogue of a teacher taking BTS' attendance. They then played an epic clip of BTS storming into the classroom all badass, full guyliner and all. The lights were dimmed again after the VCR and not long after, 7 figures walked out onto the stage in the dark. They must've worn white, since I remember being able to see their bright silhouettes despite it being so dark. All of a sudden N.O started playing and they started walking down the little set of stairs to the main stage. I can't even explain it in words, that feeling. They started performing N.O straight away and I was just left in awe. I was so fixated on them all, I was like a fat kid eyeing candy. I couldn't take my eyes off them, let alone come to terms with the fact that these 7 beautiful people were performing just metres away from me. I was in the same room as them. I remember just frantically tapping my friend and shrieking "oh my god they're real!" 

The fanchants throughout the whole concert were really really impressive. I feel like most of us just ended up singing (screaming) the entire songs, though it was obvious that a lot of people had memorised the official fanchants. BTS had a little break and greeted us after the first 2 songs. Their English though, omg. They all introduced themselves in English and we all screamed for each member. It's not clear, but I do remember Rap monster talking about how deep and meaningful their songs are and how he wanted to convey that to us. His voice is so soothing, I don't know what it is but I'd be happy to just listen to him speak all day. I remember him asking us, "Can you guys understand our songs?" and we just screamed back as if saying yes. He was like, "Wow, you guys must be good at Korean!" He also talked about how their series of concerts is a trilogy, and emphasised that there would a third part and that we should look forward to it. J-Hope was hella cute too, they all had a drink and J-Hope was like, "It's so hot... hot, hot, hot!" in his usual dorky manner. Cutie. 

Blanket Kick was such a cute performance. I remember seeing Jungkook running backstage just after they finished singing Rain. I had watched the dance practice to the song on youtube before so I knew the choreo. They had a little break just before performing again and Rap monster said something about being BTS being cute. The stage people pulled out a bed on stage and the whole audience went crazy. If you've watched the dance practice, you'll know that Jungkook pops up from under the covers at his part. The music started playing and it wasn't until I realised there were only 6 of them on stage that I turned to my friend and screamed while pointing "Omg Jungkook... he's gonna pop up!" So cute, ugh. I want to pick them all up and put them in my pocket. There was also a little J-Hope/Jimin action on stage during the middle. J-Hope made it look like he was kissing Jimin and full on pushed him onto the wall behind him.

Rap monster, Suga and J-Hope left the stage for Propose so it was just the vocal line. Man, they can sing. They all sound as good as the real track, Jungkook still manages to sound so soulful live and Jimin can definitely hit those high notes. They were all sitting on spinning stools for the performance, but they got up and started playing around on stage. I think it was during this performance where Jin kept looking at the big screen behind him to check who was on big screen. At one point he even spun his whole stool around and just sat there staring at it. He kept turning around to check who was on, and would turn back around as if to check on our reaction (mainly consisting of screaming and loud noises). He was still looking at the screen when the camera suddenly focused on him at his part, and he turned back around with a sort of expectant expression. Of course, we couldn't not scream for our pink princess. The amount of Jimin/Jungkook action though. Jimin went over to Jungkook, then Jin came and Jimin pulled Jungkook away as if he was playing the role of a jealous boyfriend (Jikook shippers hola). That went on for pretty much the whole performance, though I can't say Jungkook looked like he particularly hated it. The Jimin/Jungkook ship sailed so hard that night. V seemed to be in his own world, from what I can remember. 

No Dream came on after another VCR. I'll be honest, the only thing I remember from that performance is Jimin's abs. I think we were all expecting it. When it came time, I made sure to really focus on him. Safe to say, everyone went crazy. I got such a good look of them despite being so far up. They're so defined, just his whole body skcsbfukjf his arms. I was blessed that day. Tomorrow came on after No Dream and omg. My jam. I've loved that song ever since their album dropped. The body rolls though. Enough said. Miss Right was next and it was super cute. The boys got us to sing along to the chorus, karaoke style with lyrics on the big screen. They made us practise once before they started singing. Everything was great honestly, though there was that one line that had really complicated Korean and we all like "sjdsdbigjkg... saram" V was being hella cute too and tried covering the song lyrics on the big screen with his arms. The instrumental would stop during the chorus at times, and BTS would make us sing the chorus back to them. 

The Cypher stage was probably one of my favourite stages on the night, or it really stood out to me at least. It was rapper line, so only Rap moster, Suga and J-Hope were on stage. I was always aware that they were great rappers but damn, they really outdid themselves. Suga is so underrated, his live was so on point! The stage was so hyped overall and their rap was so clear and powerful. I hadn't really paid much attention to the track in the past but after hearing it live, I can't get enough of it. After Danger, Rap monster introduced I Need U as one of their most recent songs. When it came to the chorus, we all held our banners up like planned. It was so beautiful, just being able to look down on the audience under us holding up their banners too. I hope the boys appreciated it. It must've looked so nice from their view on stage.

After Boy In Luv, they played a VCR of clips from their pre-debut phase and clips from debut. It was really heart-warming and there were English subtitles for us so it was even more meaningful. We were all "Awww"-ing in unison. I remember discovering them a couple of months before they officially debuted, and just how pumped I was to finally see them perform on TV. It really made me think of just how hard-working these boys are, and how much they've grown as artists. I'm sure all fans can relate. They played Road/Path straight after and it was a nice time to just chill and appreciate their voices. I don't quite remember if any of the members said anything, but all the boys left the stage after it ended and the lights were turned on, as if to signal the concert was over. Not long after, everyone started chanting "BTS" Next thing we know, they casually walk out on stage in their changed outfits. Rap monster said a little something and finally introduced the next song Dope. 

Dope was probably another one of my favourite performances. It's been my jam ever since they released their new album. It was so hyped, everyone on the balcony ended up getting up from their seats. We had been sitting down for a majority of the concert, but I guess the adrenaline just got to us. The boys were hyped, we were hyped. It was just a really fun performance.

The last 2 songs were Fun boys and Rise of Bangtan. Jungkook suddenly came out with a gopro camera during Rise of Bangtan, so he was filming here and there. All the boys were really playful, they still sung while doing the choreography, and they handed the camera around to each member. I assume they'll do something with the footage, so I guess we'll just have to wait and see.

I knew the end was nearing so it was really bitter sweet. After they finished performing they talked to us one last time. Everyone said their thank you's and Rap monster did most of the talking, as expected. He spoke about the time he was in New Zealand 10 years ago. He said he watched the Melbourne Cup (A horse racing event in Melbourne), and talked about how great it was to see all the horses running. Then he said how funny it was that back then he watched the horses run, but 10 years later we (the fans) are here watching BTS run around on stage. He probably would have never guessed that he'd be where he is now 10 years later. He also taught us the Korean word for thank you (kamsahamnida) and made us repeat after them.

They finally said their last goodbye's and started leaving one by one. V and Jimin were the last to leave the stage. I Need U started playing in the background so Jimin started singing along, before he and V finally left. They played another cute VCR once they left the stage, with rolling credits and extra scenes of BTS being adorable. We all stayed to watch till the end, while still singing along to I Need U playing in the background. Once that was over, Dope started playing and we all (reluctantly) started to get up and exit. Once we were out I had to sit down and take a breather, I needed time to let everything sink in. It was like I had just watched a 3D movie, and we were casually leaving. Back to reality.

Extras: There were definitely some other cute moments throughout the concert, like the boys playing rock paper scissors to decide which one had to do aegyo. It might've been during Miss Right, though I can't quite remember. Rap monster asked us if we knew the Korean word aegyo and spelt it out for us. It came down to Rap monster versus V, but V ended up losing. Regardless, all of them ended up doing aegyo that night. They also spoke a lot during their breaks and Rap monster said some really meaningful things. I could probably go on writing to be honest, but I feel like I've covered a lot already. I may or may not add to this if I do end up remembering more. Nonetheless, it was a really memorable night and one that I'll never forget. Now excuse me while I wallow in my own self pity.

Bonus selfie from the night ^^