YG Family 15th Anniversary Concert
On Sunday night, I went to the YG Family 15th Anniversary Concert, my first K-pop concert. It was like one big 4 hour long party! It was lots of fun! Since the concert was long, this will probably be a pretty long entry. (I'm also looking a a concert setlist as I write this, so I can make sure that I remember the important stuff in order.)
This concert was actually in Saitama at Saitama Super Arena. It still took me almost an hour to get to though. Once I got there I got in the goods line to get my merch. The line was mercifully short compared to the GazettE concert, probably because they had so many different merchandise booth locations at the YG concert. I ended up buying a Big Bang shirt and a Big Bang lightstick. It's the alternate version of the lightstick because that's the one that they were selling at this concert (I had been hoping that they'd be selling the crown lightsticks). I sat outside for a little bit and ate the food that I had bought from the conbini. They were also selling some special YG themed food outside the arena, like Bom's corn soup (lol), Big Bang curry, and some sort of Se7en chicken dish (which makes sense because Se7en owns a chicken restaurant in Seoul). I looked around for a bit, but by then the doors were open and I wanted to get inside and out of the cold.
A poster of the whole YG Family outside the arena.
The YG logo at the front of the stage.
My actual view of the arena.
I found my way to my seat with little hassle. I was at the back of the arena, in the middle of the second level. The stage was a bit far away, but I could also see everything that was going on, so it wasn't a bad seat. It was over an hour until the concert started, but the wait wasn't that bad since they were playing a bunch of YG music videos on the screen at the front of the stage. Right before the start of the concert, they played the video for 2NE1's "Ugly". They pumped up the sound and got the lights going in the arena. By this time most of the audience had their lightsticks out and started waving them along to the video. I joined in with my lightstick. The arena was basically a sea of multicolored lightsticks (for the different YG artists) during the concert and it looked so pretty! By this time we were pumped up and ready for the show to start.
The YG intro then started playing, signaling the actual beginning of the concert. Then, 2NE1 took the stage! Everyone was on their feet as the girls started singing "Fire". So catchy and so much fun to dance to! From the beginning of the show, it was clear that YG had spared no expense on the concert, complete with pyrotechnics and laser lights. I almost couldn't believe it was going on in front of me though because we were kind of far from the stage in the back of the arena. The large screens on the sides of the stage showed close up views of the artists though and though they were far away, they really brought energy to the whole arena. 2NE1 continued with "Can't Nobody", another one of my favorite songs of theirs. It's very high energy and full of attitude. The girls then briefly greeted the arena before performing the Japanese version of "Go Away". The last word in the song is "tonight". As soon as they finished, they seamlessly left the stage as Big Bang appeared to perform "Tonight".
The arena went crazy when Big Bang appeared. I was so excited to see my bbs Big Bang perform for the first time! They're my favorite K-pop group and a large part of the reason why I decided to go to the YG Family concert. They descended on a platform from the top of the stage to sing "Tonight". The performance was great. I especially liked the part where they dropped the lights down and GD smashed the guitar on stage. The boys performed "Hands Up" next. Of course, we all put our hands (and lightsticks) up as we danced along. The boys then did a small MC and introduced themselves. There was an especially huge cheer for Daesung and (to a slightly lesser extent) GD. Both of them also apologized for the troubles of the past year and promised to work even harder. You could tell that they were glad to be back on the stage. They performed "声をきかせて" and asked us all to sing along with them. As they sang, they rose up on a circular platform in the center of the stage, that slowly spun around. An even smaller platform rose up in the center of the circle, which Taeyang stood on (because he's lead vocal in the song). Big Bang then performed "ガラガラGO!". I was pleased that they performed it because it was the first Big Bang song I ever heard (it was actually the first song I heard during my first trip to Japan), so it has a special place in my heart. That was the last song for this set.
Gummy came out next. She started by performing "ゴメンネ" and my bb TOP came back on stage to do his rap part in the song. I will admit that "ゴメンネ" is the only song of Gummy's that I know. She's lovely and has a beautiful voice, but most of her songs are too low key for me. She performed another song and then her set was done.
Next it was Se7en's turn! He started off by singing "Better Together" and "Digital Bounce". After Big Bang and 2NE1, Se7en was the artist that I most looked forward to seeing. His set was pretty fun. I was a bit disappointed that TOP didn't come back out on stage to do his rap in "Digital Bounce" though. He and Se7en are such adorable dorks together. Se7en was a cutie during his MC and his Japanese speaking ability is one of the best in YG Family. He then performed "Passion" and Jinusean joined him partway through the song.
Then, it was Jinusean's set. I didn't know much of their stuff either because they're old school YG, YG's first group. They had some pretty fun old school hip-hop songs though. G-Dragon (now wearing a plaid suit) joined them and Se7en on stage to perform "Fly Gentlemen". They were indeed some fly gentlemen. Jinusean then performed "A-Yo!", a YG classic. Dara appeared to sing "Tell Me", the last song of Jinusean's set, with them.
Tablo then took the stage. He's the newest member of YG Family, having joined them for his solo activities. He sang a few songs from his new solo album. First, he sang "Bad" and Bom joined him on stage. After that, Gummy joined him for "Airbag". Then Taeyang joined him to sing their song "Tomorrow". "Tomorrow" was definitely my favorite song of Tablo's set.
The next set was really lovely. Se7en and Daesung appeared on stage to sing 2NE1's "It Hurts". Taeyang and Seungri then joined them to sing 2NE1's "Lonely". The boys did a beautiful job singing these slow songs.
GD&TOP's set was next! I was really excited because I love both of them and their GD&TOP album. The arena got really excited when they took the stage. Both of them were looking good, wearing their stylin' outfits from their Japanese "Oh Yeah" single. And TOP was wearing his geek glasses. He looks so handsome wearing them! They started off by singing the Japanese version of "Oh Yeah", which Bom of course joined them on stage for. Then they did a little bit of beatboxing and launched into the Japanese version of "High High". In the audience, we did the "high high" hand motions with them during the chorus. Then it was sadly time for them to leave the stage.
Psy was next. Let me tell you, the audience loved Psy. I think he's the oldest member of YG Family, but boy does he have energy. His set was kind of goofy, but fun. He came out of stage dressed in a vest that looked like he'd killed the Abominable Snowman and gold hammer pants. I didn't know a lot of his songs either, but they were very high energy and he had the audience jumping around. During his MC he read from scrolls of paper in a mock regal sort of way. He asked all the different floors of the arena to take turns screaming, to see who had the most energy. During the next song, a giant inflatable Psy with a cigarette in one hand and a bottle of booze in the other appeared on stage. I think it somehow related to the song, but since it was in Korean I can't be sure. When Psy's set finished, the audience was so enthusiastic that he reappeared to perform "Champion".
Seungri appeared on stage next. He was dressed as Se7en, back in his debut days, complete with visor and heelys. He sang Se7en's debut single "Come Back to Me", while he skated adorably around the stage. Then Se7en appeared in a suit, wearing heelys, and smoothly skated around the stage while he finished the song. After the song, he had to sit down and change his shoes on stage, so he could perform the rest of his set in regular shoes. He cutely joked around about how having to change his shoes on stage wasn't very cool. Then he performed "Lalala" while he was raised up on a platform. Once again, I'm not usually into slow ballad type songs, but damn Se7en was sexy. His last song was his new Japanese single "Somebody Else", which I quite like. I've definitely got a new appreciation for Se7en after seeing him live.
Then, 2NE1 came back out. They made a surprise entrance from both sides of the arena on platforms that were pushed around the edge of the stadium! Bom and Minzy were on one side and CL and Dara were on the other. While this was going on, they sang "I Don't Care". When the song was over, they returned to the main stage to sing the Japanese version of "I Am the Best". (I would've preferred the Korean version though because the raps and lyrics sound more badass in the original version.) This was another song that everyone in the arena seemed to love. We were singing "Naega jeil jal naga" (Korean for "I am the best") right along with them. The girls did an MC where they talked about Minzy's recent birthday. CL teased her by saying the reason she was excited about turning 18 was so that she could go to clubs. Then, she had us all sing "Happy Birthday" to Minzy. Gummy then joined the girls onstage and they sang the Japanese version of "Ugly", which I always feel is one of the most meaningful 2NE1 songs. I love it.
Gummy stayed on stage. Once again, she's lovely, but her music doesn't do much for me. She performed a cover of what I assume was a well known J-pop song (because the whole audience seemed to know it). She was also accompanied by a pianist that everyone seemed to know. I later learned that she was covering a song the group Globe and one of the members of the group was accompanying her on the piano. During her next song, Gummy played piano on a moving platform, surrounded by lights. Gummy's last song was definitely my favorite though. She performed a smoky jazz cover of G-Dragon's "Heartbreaker" and it sounded awesome. I only wish that GD had appeared on stage to sing it along with her.
After that, Big Bang returned to the stage! They performed an acoustic Japanese version of "Haru Haru". It was beautiful sounding. I did wish that they had performed the Korean version of "Haru Haru" though. It's such a classic Big Bang song that Japanese VIPs would know the Korean version, too. The Japanese version of "Haru Haru" was recently released with their Japanese Best Of album, but I prefer the Korean version because it's the version that I'm used to hearing. It's got a better flow and I also think that the boys are free to put more emotion into the song when they sing it in Korean because they don't have to worry as much about remembering the lyrics. Perhaps it's just as well though because I probably would've started tearing up, like I did the first time I heard this version. Next, the boys launched into the ever classic "Lies". I'm so glad that there isn't a remade Japanese version of this song because I love the Korean version. The boys did an MC after this where they talked about looking forward to their comeback in March. So excited for it! There was also an adorable moment where they asked TOP about his Japanese (because TOP is notoriously bad at speaking Japanese). TOP replied that speaking in Japanese made him nervous, and you could just tell he was thinking a lot about what he was saying. And he asked if he'd improved and then we gave him a lot of applause. He was precious (which is one of the many reasons why he's my favorite Big Bang member). Then, it was time for the show to end. The boys ended the concert with "My Heaven", their first Japanese single.
There was of course an encore though. The encore was awesome! Everyone came on stage dressed in their YG Family gear. First, 2NE1 and Gummy came out and sang Big Bang's "Baby Baby". It was pretty cool. Then, Psy came on stage in a red dress that matched all of his female dancers and danced to "Poker Face" and "Single Ladies". He even did the actual dances to the songs. It was great and hilarious! Then came my personal favorite part (the part I'd been waiting for), Big Bang covering 2NE1's "I Am the Best"! Seeing them perform that song really is priceless. I love that they gave TOP Bom's part in the song. He brings out the sass and one can't neglect to mention his ChoomTOP dance moves. (XD) The boys were all fierce doing 2NE1's dance, but no one did it better than GD. He had CL's part and really brought out his inner diva to do all of her dance moves. (XD) Then, the rest of YG Family returned to the stage and everyone sang "Tell Me" together. It was fun to watch everyone goofing around together on stage! It was a little hard to keep track because there was so much going on. Taeyang was especially hyper and he was everywhere. TOP's dance moves continued to be the best lol. At some point a fan gave CL a Rilakkuma plushie (because she loves Rilakkuma) and Taeyang a teddy bear. Before everyone left the stage, YG Family took a couple big group photos together. Then, the show really was over. Everyone said goodbye and the stage closed behind them. Taeyang placed the teddy bear he was given in front of the stage right before it closed. And that was it.
Me derping around with my Big Bang lightstick after the concert.
The show was really long, but definitely entertaining. Everything was so seamless that it really didn't seem like it took four hours. YG definitely planned well and kept the show interesting. I'd definitely consider seeing another YG show. Hopefully, I can try and go to a Big Bang show next time they tour Japan! :D
This concert was actually in Saitama at Saitama Super Arena. It still took me almost an hour to get to though. Once I got there I got in the goods line to get my merch. The line was mercifully short compared to the GazettE concert, probably because they had so many different merchandise booth locations at the YG concert. I ended up buying a Big Bang shirt and a Big Bang lightstick. It's the alternate version of the lightstick because that's the one that they were selling at this concert (I had been hoping that they'd be selling the crown lightsticks). I sat outside for a little bit and ate the food that I had bought from the conbini. They were also selling some special YG themed food outside the arena, like Bom's corn soup (lol), Big Bang curry, and some sort of Se7en chicken dish (which makes sense because Se7en owns a chicken restaurant in Seoul). I looked around for a bit, but by then the doors were open and I wanted to get inside and out of the cold.
A poster of the whole YG Family outside the arena.
The YG logo at the front of the stage.
My actual view of the arena.
I found my way to my seat with little hassle. I was at the back of the arena, in the middle of the second level. The stage was a bit far away, but I could also see everything that was going on, so it wasn't a bad seat. It was over an hour until the concert started, but the wait wasn't that bad since they were playing a bunch of YG music videos on the screen at the front of the stage. Right before the start of the concert, they played the video for 2NE1's "Ugly". They pumped up the sound and got the lights going in the arena. By this time most of the audience had their lightsticks out and started waving them along to the video. I joined in with my lightstick. The arena was basically a sea of multicolored lightsticks (for the different YG artists) during the concert and it looked so pretty! By this time we were pumped up and ready for the show to start.
The YG intro then started playing, signaling the actual beginning of the concert. Then, 2NE1 took the stage! Everyone was on their feet as the girls started singing "Fire". So catchy and so much fun to dance to! From the beginning of the show, it was clear that YG had spared no expense on the concert, complete with pyrotechnics and laser lights. I almost couldn't believe it was going on in front of me though because we were kind of far from the stage in the back of the arena. The large screens on the sides of the stage showed close up views of the artists though and though they were far away, they really brought energy to the whole arena. 2NE1 continued with "Can't Nobody", another one of my favorite songs of theirs. It's very high energy and full of attitude. The girls then briefly greeted the arena before performing the Japanese version of "Go Away". The last word in the song is "tonight". As soon as they finished, they seamlessly left the stage as Big Bang appeared to perform "Tonight".
The arena went crazy when Big Bang appeared. I was so excited to see my bbs Big Bang perform for the first time! They're my favorite K-pop group and a large part of the reason why I decided to go to the YG Family concert. They descended on a platform from the top of the stage to sing "Tonight". The performance was great. I especially liked the part where they dropped the lights down and GD smashed the guitar on stage. The boys performed "Hands Up" next. Of course, we all put our hands (and lightsticks) up as we danced along. The boys then did a small MC and introduced themselves. There was an especially huge cheer for Daesung and (to a slightly lesser extent) GD. Both of them also apologized for the troubles of the past year and promised to work even harder. You could tell that they were glad to be back on the stage. They performed "声をきかせて" and asked us all to sing along with them. As they sang, they rose up on a circular platform in the center of the stage, that slowly spun around. An even smaller platform rose up in the center of the circle, which Taeyang stood on (because he's lead vocal in the song). Big Bang then performed "ガラガラGO!". I was pleased that they performed it because it was the first Big Bang song I ever heard (it was actually the first song I heard during my first trip to Japan), so it has a special place in my heart. That was the last song for this set.
Gummy came out next. She started by performing "ゴメンネ" and my bb TOP came back on stage to do his rap part in the song. I will admit that "ゴメンネ" is the only song of Gummy's that I know. She's lovely and has a beautiful voice, but most of her songs are too low key for me. She performed another song and then her set was done.
Next it was Se7en's turn! He started off by singing "Better Together" and "Digital Bounce". After Big Bang and 2NE1, Se7en was the artist that I most looked forward to seeing. His set was pretty fun. I was a bit disappointed that TOP didn't come back out on stage to do his rap in "Digital Bounce" though. He and Se7en are such adorable dorks together. Se7en was a cutie during his MC and his Japanese speaking ability is one of the best in YG Family. He then performed "Passion" and Jinusean joined him partway through the song.
Then, it was Jinusean's set. I didn't know much of their stuff either because they're old school YG, YG's first group. They had some pretty fun old school hip-hop songs though. G-Dragon (now wearing a plaid suit) joined them and Se7en on stage to perform "Fly Gentlemen". They were indeed some fly gentlemen. Jinusean then performed "A-Yo!", a YG classic. Dara appeared to sing "Tell Me", the last song of Jinusean's set, with them.
Tablo then took the stage. He's the newest member of YG Family, having joined them for his solo activities. He sang a few songs from his new solo album. First, he sang "Bad" and Bom joined him on stage. After that, Gummy joined him for "Airbag". Then Taeyang joined him to sing their song "Tomorrow". "Tomorrow" was definitely my favorite song of Tablo's set.
The next set was really lovely. Se7en and Daesung appeared on stage to sing 2NE1's "It Hurts". Taeyang and Seungri then joined them to sing 2NE1's "Lonely". The boys did a beautiful job singing these slow songs.
GD&TOP's set was next! I was really excited because I love both of them and their GD&TOP album. The arena got really excited when they took the stage. Both of them were looking good, wearing their stylin' outfits from their Japanese "Oh Yeah" single. And TOP was wearing his geek glasses. He looks so handsome wearing them! They started off by singing the Japanese version of "Oh Yeah", which Bom of course joined them on stage for. Then they did a little bit of beatboxing and launched into the Japanese version of "High High". In the audience, we did the "high high" hand motions with them during the chorus. Then it was sadly time for them to leave the stage.
Psy was next. Let me tell you, the audience loved Psy. I think he's the oldest member of YG Family, but boy does he have energy. His set was kind of goofy, but fun. He came out of stage dressed in a vest that looked like he'd killed the Abominable Snowman and gold hammer pants. I didn't know a lot of his songs either, but they were very high energy and he had the audience jumping around. During his MC he read from scrolls of paper in a mock regal sort of way. He asked all the different floors of the arena to take turns screaming, to see who had the most energy. During the next song, a giant inflatable Psy with a cigarette in one hand and a bottle of booze in the other appeared on stage. I think it somehow related to the song, but since it was in Korean I can't be sure. When Psy's set finished, the audience was so enthusiastic that he reappeared to perform "Champion".
Seungri appeared on stage next. He was dressed as Se7en, back in his debut days, complete with visor and heelys. He sang Se7en's debut single "Come Back to Me", while he skated adorably around the stage. Then Se7en appeared in a suit, wearing heelys, and smoothly skated around the stage while he finished the song. After the song, he had to sit down and change his shoes on stage, so he could perform the rest of his set in regular shoes. He cutely joked around about how having to change his shoes on stage wasn't very cool. Then he performed "Lalala" while he was raised up on a platform. Once again, I'm not usually into slow ballad type songs, but damn Se7en was sexy. His last song was his new Japanese single "Somebody Else", which I quite like. I've definitely got a new appreciation for Se7en after seeing him live.
Then, 2NE1 came back out. They made a surprise entrance from both sides of the arena on platforms that were pushed around the edge of the stadium! Bom and Minzy were on one side and CL and Dara were on the other. While this was going on, they sang "I Don't Care". When the song was over, they returned to the main stage to sing the Japanese version of "I Am the Best". (I would've preferred the Korean version though because the raps and lyrics sound more badass in the original version.) This was another song that everyone in the arena seemed to love. We were singing "Naega jeil jal naga" (Korean for "I am the best") right along with them. The girls did an MC where they talked about Minzy's recent birthday. CL teased her by saying the reason she was excited about turning 18 was so that she could go to clubs. Then, she had us all sing "Happy Birthday" to Minzy. Gummy then joined the girls onstage and they sang the Japanese version of "Ugly", which I always feel is one of the most meaningful 2NE1 songs. I love it.
Gummy stayed on stage. Once again, she's lovely, but her music doesn't do much for me. She performed a cover of what I assume was a well known J-pop song (because the whole audience seemed to know it). She was also accompanied by a pianist that everyone seemed to know. I later learned that she was covering a song the group Globe and one of the members of the group was accompanying her on the piano. During her next song, Gummy played piano on a moving platform, surrounded by lights. Gummy's last song was definitely my favorite though. She performed a smoky jazz cover of G-Dragon's "Heartbreaker" and it sounded awesome. I only wish that GD had appeared on stage to sing it along with her.
After that, Big Bang returned to the stage! They performed an acoustic Japanese version of "Haru Haru". It was beautiful sounding. I did wish that they had performed the Korean version of "Haru Haru" though. It's such a classic Big Bang song that Japanese VIPs would know the Korean version, too. The Japanese version of "Haru Haru" was recently released with their Japanese Best Of album, but I prefer the Korean version because it's the version that I'm used to hearing. It's got a better flow and I also think that the boys are free to put more emotion into the song when they sing it in Korean because they don't have to worry as much about remembering the lyrics. Perhaps it's just as well though because I probably would've started tearing up, like I did the first time I heard this version. Next, the boys launched into the ever classic "Lies". I'm so glad that there isn't a remade Japanese version of this song because I love the Korean version. The boys did an MC after this where they talked about looking forward to their comeback in March. So excited for it! There was also an adorable moment where they asked TOP about his Japanese (because TOP is notoriously bad at speaking Japanese). TOP replied that speaking in Japanese made him nervous, and you could just tell he was thinking a lot about what he was saying. And he asked if he'd improved and then we gave him a lot of applause. He was precious (which is one of the many reasons why he's my favorite Big Bang member). Then, it was time for the show to end. The boys ended the concert with "My Heaven", their first Japanese single.
There was of course an encore though. The encore was awesome! Everyone came on stage dressed in their YG Family gear. First, 2NE1 and Gummy came out and sang Big Bang's "Baby Baby". It was pretty cool. Then, Psy came on stage in a red dress that matched all of his female dancers and danced to "Poker Face" and "Single Ladies". He even did the actual dances to the songs. It was great and hilarious! Then came my personal favorite part (the part I'd been waiting for), Big Bang covering 2NE1's "I Am the Best"! Seeing them perform that song really is priceless. I love that they gave TOP Bom's part in the song. He brings out the sass and one can't neglect to mention his ChoomTOP dance moves. (XD) The boys were all fierce doing 2NE1's dance, but no one did it better than GD. He had CL's part and really brought out his inner diva to do all of her dance moves. (XD) Then, the rest of YG Family returned to the stage and everyone sang "Tell Me" together. It was fun to watch everyone goofing around together on stage! It was a little hard to keep track because there was so much going on. Taeyang was especially hyper and he was everywhere. TOP's dance moves continued to be the best lol. At some point a fan gave CL a Rilakkuma plushie (because she loves Rilakkuma) and Taeyang a teddy bear. Before everyone left the stage, YG Family took a couple big group photos together. Then, the show really was over. Everyone said goodbye and the stage closed behind them. Taeyang placed the teddy bear he was given in front of the stage right before it closed. And that was it.
Me derping around with my Big Bang lightstick after the concert.
The show was really long, but definitely entertaining. Everything was so seamless that it really didn't seem like it took four hours. YG definitely planned well and kept the show interesting. I'd definitely consider seeing another YG show. Hopefully, I can try and go to a Big Bang show next time they tour Japan! :D