LA K-Pop Festival

This past weekend was #TeamSiliconValley's roadtrip adventure to SoCal! We hung out around Arcadia and Irvine, but the main attraction was the LA K-Pop Festival Concert celebrating the 111th anniversary of Korean-American immigration. :> The concert--okay, the entire trip--was lots of fun!

The line-up at the concert was: CNBlue, INFINITE, SHINee, SISTAR, 2PM, Girl's Day, Lena Park, Kim Taewoo, Baek Jiyoung, Song Sohee, Seol Woondo

Suuuuch a good line-up, and especially for a FREE concert! I feel like beneath the SNSD level of sunbae supremacy, the next tier of the bests includes CNBlue, INFINITE, and SISTAR. (SHINee and 2PM arguably but they're slightly more sunbae status.) I mean, they have the talent, looks, popularity, stage charisma, personality, good music, and the formulas for fame and longevity in the industry. ^^

I must admit that I had some expectations (heh) for Girl's Day whereas I didn't think much of 2PM, for some reason. It had always stuck with me that 2PM only has one really, really strong capable vocalist and that the group is more dance-oriented. (I kind of forget that Wooyoung and Junho are pretty good singers.) BUT WOW this reversal--Girl's Day's performances fell short for me while 2PM exceeded anything I could've asked for. It conveniently slipped my mind that half of Girl's Day doesn't really..sing.. and while Minah is amazing, it didn't feel like she was at her best and it's difficult to carry an entire group by your lonesome.

But holy shit 2PM why did I ever doubt you? My respect for them has increased tenfold, and while they're not my favorite group, they may have been my favorite act. Everyone held their own and it didn't feel like there were weak links. They delivered such an incredible, solid performance and most importantly: they brought boundless energy and enjoyably engaged in audience interaction. They reeked of confidence and it really seemed like they cared about making sure their fans had a good time. It really helps that they were the only group that had a clubby sound HAHAHA. I liked Hands Up but I never knew how much I FREAKING LOVE HANDS UP. Dancing and cheering along to that song was probably the highlight of the concert for me; the performers and audience alike were immersed in the music, company, and atmosphere. :D



SHINee and INFINITE were fantastic, surprising nobody. They are the current kings of live performances, after all. They're always perfect vocally and in their choreography, ever so in sync and powerful.

I didn't know how much I liked SISTAR until this concert. I didn't know I liked the song Loving U. I also didn't know that I liked Soyu this much--I found her serviceable due to her soft but decently solid voice, but homegurl can also belt and that versatility is respectable. Go Soyu.

CNBlue delivered the other high points of the concert for me. HONESTLY IDK if I would've made the trip for the concert had CNBlue not come. I like them. I like Yonghwa. I like all of them. I like their music. They're amazing performers and it's a shame that their overall ability is hard to gauge when they have no choice but to strum-sync to the music track for most performances. So really, Minhyuk and Jungshin are there to look pretty--EXCEPT THEY ONLY SHOWED ONE SHOT OF MINHYUK ON THE SCREEN so I was sad. :'( The songs they performed were very Yonghwa-centric so it was a shame that Jonghyun really had to step back. BUT YONGHWA WAS WONDERFUL AND GODLY AND. He sounds so good live, falsetto in perfect control and all<3 God dammit Yonghwa, who said you could be a charming MC and then show up on a white piano and sing with the ring of the heavens and then sling a guitar over your shoulder and all the while having a very nice face. How dare you? And he blew so. many. kisses at the audience?! SUCH FANSERVICE. I also enjoyed Love Love Love which was another crowd engager.

One thing I was pleased with was the amount of collabs. ^^ When Baek Jiyoung stepped out, my first thought was, "Oh hey, Taecyeon's here too... Maybe you two should..WINKWINK...." and then they did actually perform their duet, My Ear's Candy! The SHINee-INFINITE duo Toheart performed as well, and they were pretty impressive. Or well, Key was impressive. I always knew Woohyun was an awesome singer. AND THE 2PM-SISTAR COLLAB<3 It was what caught me off guard the most. Wooyoung, Soyu, Jun.K, and Hyorin sang If I Ain't Got You as pairs, which was sweet. They were all great! I remember going starry-eyed because Hyorin and Jun.K--both representative main vocalists--were singing together. It's like another Taeyeon-Jonghyun duo hehe.

There were plenty of flaws in the organizing/management and even down to the camerawork, but I guess I have to remember that it is a free concert. Free. But still, isn't it common broadcasting knowledge to not drastically change your shot when your camera's hot and LIVE FOR TENS OF THOUSANDS OF PEOPLE who are depending on watching the concert through the tiny screens because the stage is even tinier?

Yano's and my original seats were in row 89, aka the 5th row from the top of the coliseum LOLOL. Birds flew by and almost seemed in arm's reach (okay, total exaggeration). It's all really fascinating until your fear of heights is triggered!!

I SERIOUSLY regret not knowing about the glowsticks though. If I had one, I would've waved it for the entire concert to show my support. ;^; I mean, we're all just little dots to the performers, but at least you make a bit of a difference if you're a glowing dot...!!