As you may or may not know, I am an EXO-L. As in, I am a huge fan of EXO, a Kpop boy group. Since last year, many of the fans, including myself, have had some heartbreaking moments as 3 of the members quit and etcetera and etcetera. However, with the beginning of 2016, the group announced that they are going on their first North America tour and soon, through voting, the dates and cities for the tour were chosen.
Unfortunately, Calgary was not one of the 5 finalized concert locations, but Vancouver was included as the only Canadian venue. After lots of negotiating and compromising, I was able to convince my parents to go to Vancouver for the long weekend (12th is the concert).
Long story short, these are the things I have done/am doing to prepare myself for this pivotal moment of my life. I’m sure he fangirls out there will agree with me.
Tickets
The record time for an EXO concert to sell out was 1.47, so I knew that if I were to buy tickets, I had to be fast. The tickets for this concert started selling on the 6th at 7:00 on Ticketmaster, so I set an alarm for 6:50, to give myself 10 minutes to log in and get on the tickets page.
I was going for the GA (the pit) tickets, so the competition for the best seat was intense. I kept the app on my phone as well as my laptop logged on as I waited for the sale to open.
Though I was not fast enough to get GA0 tickets (the rows in this particular venue are numbered 0 – 9), I got GA5, and I will be the second section to enter the arena on the day of the concert.
Merchandise
Unfortunately, in this particular concert, there are no merchandise being sold at the venue, but instead, fans can pre-order merchandise such as light sticks and shirts and pick them up at the concert. Some fans made custom made shirts and made them available for others.
For myself, I got a crewneck shirt and 2 lightsticks.
For other concerts though, you need to make sure that you save up enough to snatch every merchandise possible. (My friend went to the One Direction concert in Edmonton this summer and she spent around $300 just on merchandise).
Outfit
Personally, this concert will be the first that I’ll ever attend, so I’m taking extra care in my outfit for the concert. As I know that at other EXO concerts, one fan has always been brought up on stage to be serenaded, I will want to dress nicely, just in case that lucky fan will be me. I will definitely be wearing my WOLF (the EXO fans will know the reference) hat and EXO shirt to show support. Maybe I’ll match that with a back skirt?
You should always dress nicely for a concert. Who knows? Maybe you’ll be the one on stage.
Physical/Mental
At this concert, I’ll be in the pit, standing the whole night. I need to mentally and physically be prepared for that physical strain. But also, I know that I will cry from joy when I first see them. (Yes, I’m a fanatic). I will have to prepare myself to cry, laugh, and stand for a long time.
Songs
I don’t know about other singers, but definitely for Korean groups, there are things called fan chants. These are lyrics not part of the actual songs, but synchronised chants that fans call out to go with each songs. I’ve never had to memorize any of these, as I’ve never been to a concert before, but I will be studying them diligently. I won’t be the only fan there who’s not part of the chant.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8E6y-KcLMVU
Overall, I am just super excited to see my favourite singers. When I get there, I might be too crazy to actually sing along or do the fan chants. I might just cry through the whole concert.
