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Stunning view Coldplay Navi Mumbai stadium concert

My Experience Attending Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres Concert in Mumbai

Date: January 18, 2025

As a fan of Coldplay since A Rush of Blood to the Head, seeing them live has been a bucket-list item for well over 15 years. Heck, back in 2011 I even went to see a tribute band play in UB City. X&Y (my favourite Coldplay album) had the stadium anthem “Fix You” and Viva La Vida and Death and All His Friends had its stadium anthem with “Viva La Vida”. But we’re now in the era where a “Sky Full of Stars” going viral on social media alone has marketed Coldplay’s Music of the Spheres concert series better than ever before, and introduced the 25-year-old British band to a new stadium anthem.

The album Music of the Spheres was released 2 years ago — Coldplay’s first album produced by my all-time favourite music producer — Max Martin. But the popularity of the concert has made Coldplay continue to tour for so long that it is now, officially, the most attended tour of all time and the second highest grossing tour of all time (first is Taylor Swift’s Eras tour)!

I won’t go into the ticketing headache that was the BookMyShow experience, so I will just talk about the Coldplay experience.

I wanted to get inside the venue early so as to avoid last minute rushes.

Tandoor roti paneer thali Navi Mumbai
I had a hearty lunch before leaving for DY Patil Stadium

From my hotel, I then walked to Turbhe railway station.

Turbhe railway station Navi Mumbai
It was 1.5 kms from Hotel New Elite Inn, where I was staying

A ticket to Nerul station was Rs. 5 ($0.05/€0.05) and the train would arrive in 15 minutes.

Inside Navi Mumbai train
I’m constantly astounded at how cheap local trains are in Mumbai
Outside Nerul East exit station Mumbai
I took the Nerul East exit
Nerul East exit Navi Mumbai
I just pulled up Google Maps and followed the path to DY Patil University
Wall mural Navi Mumbai
My ticket’s entry was Gate 8, so I walked in the direction towards the Architecture College at DY Patil University
Navi Mumbai shops street
Navi Mumbai felt breathable compared to super congested Mumbai
Girls Navi Mumbai Coldplay concert
I could tell I was on the right path once I noticed girls dressed to the tee on my way
Direction boards Coldplay gates Navi Mumbai
There were direction boards plastered all along the route
Navi Mumbai apartments above shops
Navi Mumbai translates to ‘New Mumbai’ and is a better planned city to the messy ‘old’ Mumbai
DY Patil architecture college entrance Gate 8
I was near

I could see scalpers desperate to sell off their tickets outside and I was happy to see them struggle! 🙂 Clearly their attempts to sell tickets at 3~4 times for so long failed, and were now trying get the tickets off their hands.

Gate 8 entrance Coldplay concert Navi Mumbai
My section was Block M, so we had to go through the College of Architecture

DY Patil is a private university offering various bachelors and masters programs.

DY Patil open ground Navi Mumbai
To say the facilities and the campus is awesome would be an understatement!

And yes, even the massive 45,300-seat stadium is part of the campus.

Coldplay LED wristband Moon Goggles Mumbai concert
I went in and collected my LED wrist band and Moon Goggles

What are the Moon Googles for? You will see later.

DY Patil stadium Block M entrance Navi Mumbai
These are the entry point for L1, L2, and L3 at Block M (L = Levels)

Toilets were not too far off from the entry points and there were water stations too. I had carried a tiny juice bottle which I refilled. Otherwise you had to buy a ₹100 cup which you can refill with water as much as you want.

L1 section Block M view DY Patil stadium
This is the view from the L1 Section (₹4500). I wouldn’t book a seat in the back row here — your photos WILL be obstructed by the L2 balcony above
View from L2 section M block DY Patil stadium
This is the section from L2 balcony. Now I know why they charged ₹12500 for this section.
View from L3 section M block DY Patil stadium
And this is the view from L3 section (₹3500), up front
DY Patil stadium L3 block M last rows
My seat was L36, all the way up on top
DY Patil stadium P sections Navi Mumbai
Next to mine were sections N, O, and P. Section P were priced lower, so maybe the view isn’t as good?
Lounge section DY Patil stadium Navi Mumbai
That’s the Lounge section, priced at ₹35,000 — watch this Instagram Reel to see what it was like after spending that much!
Courtyard Marriott DY Patil stadium view
The guests at Courtyard Marriott get a free view of the concert too… just not the stage

The view from my seat wasn’t too bad.

Coldplay stage view from Block M DY Patil stadium
Sure, I couldn’t see the performer on the stage much… especially via my phone’s camera, which lacked zoom

But as you will see in the video at the end of this blog, you will see I was still immensely pleased with the view!

Bisleri water booths Coldplay concert
The one benefit I had with my seat was that I only had to bend backwards to fill my bottle with free water

I would manage my water intake so as not feel the urge to go to the bathroom and miss out on the songs I wanted to hear. I’m not a fan of “All My Love” from Moon Music, so I told myself that would be my bathroom break song.

This was setlist Coldplay used for all their India shows.

Activity zone Coldplay concert DY Patil stadium
I decided to go back down and check out the activity zone for this area
Coldplay concert merchandise booth Mumbai
The official Coldplay merchandise booth
Coldplay t-shirts Mumbai concert
Prices for T-shirts started at ₹1500
Dominos Pizza Burger King booths Coldplay concert
Dominos Pizza and Burger King were the main food booths. Prices were much higher than what the same items cost in a restaurant. ₹450 ($5.20) for a 7″ pizza?!
Jameson booth Coldplay concert
Jameson Irish whiskey was the official liquor vendor

I actually looked around to see if any guy would come to this Coldplay concert wearing a black t-shirt of a famous rock band… because I kinda knew there would be at least a few casuals who would do such a thing.

Iron Maiden tshirt at Coldplay Mumbai concert
And voila! Guy wearing an Iron Maiden t-shirt… to a Coldplay concert 🤭

I went back to my seat. It was honestly tiring to climb the flight of stairs to get to L3 section — so be mindful of that when you get a seat up here.

Shone opening act Coldplay concert
At 5pm, the first of three opening acts took to the stage — Shone is a Zimbabwean artist

He was alright, but the next singer was even better.

Elyanna Coldplay Navi Mumbai
Elyanna is a Palestinian-Chilean singer, who sounded AMAZING

Elyanna sang mostly in Arabic and put on a good show with her dancers. She was also featured in Coldplay’s “We Pray” single.

Jasleen Royal Coldplay concert Jan 18
The third and final opening act for the show was Jasleen Royal… who was NOT amazing
Jasleen Royal phone lights Coldplay concert
Initially I thought “maybe she’s sick” — but no, Jasleen sang the same across every India show

How Jasleen Royal became a popular Indian singer is beyond me. She was a mediocre singer at best! What’s even embarrassing was India’s best playback singer at the moment, Shreya Ghoshal, was in the audience as a concert attendee!

Coldplay concert about to start Mumbai
Anyway, time for the main show to begin!

After the concert ends, we’re supposed to return our LED wristbands as they are re-used all throughout the world tour.

Coldplay LED wristband return rate Mumbai
Tokyo currently leads with a 97% return rate (not surprised). Abu Dhabi’s return rate was 79%. I had a feeling India’s return rate would be bad.

By 7:50pm or so, the lights dimmed and the stadium roared as Coldplay’s members walked towards the stage. When our LED lights started to light up to match the programmed sounds… it was an amazing sight to behold!

Stunning view Coldplay Navi Mumbai stadium concert
The view from my seat was spectacular!
Coldplay Mumbai concert LED lights Block M L3
I mean, seeing nearly 60,000 lights dance to the music was a visual spectacle to behold!

As a fan of Coldplay since 20 years, I can enjoy their concert even without the LED lights… but to say the LED wristbands don’t amplify the experience would be such a pretentious lie!

Chris Martin talking Mumbai concert
The LED wristbands would switch off during songs like “The Scientist” and whenever Chris Martin spoke to the audience

Watch the video below, as it is 43 minutes long in 1080p and turn on the captions to get my thoughts throughout all the songs from the show.

Coldplay Sky Full of Stars Mumbai concert
The whole stadium erupted for “A Sky Full of stars” — a song that has now become Coldplay’s most popular, thanks to social media

While it’s true there were many attendees who were simply there to brag about… well, being there… and to shoot social media content, I would say 50% of the audience knew 70% of the setlist very well.

Coldplay concert DY Patil stadium
I could hear enough singing from the real fans echo all the way up my ears — so contrary to some reports, the audience was NOT dead!

Again, watch my video below if you don’t believe me.

Coldplay third stage closer Mumbai
The band came closer to my side for “Sparks,” the band member introductions, and Chris’ impromptu songs segment

Was I disappointed with anything? Sure, I would have loved to hear “Magic” or “Daddy” instead of “Everglow” during the part Chris invites a fan on stage. Instead of “Sparks” I would have liked “Trouble” or “Don’t Panic” from Parachutes instead. Then again, Coldplay have sooooo many good songs from every album that if they included the songs I would personally like to hear, the show would run 4 hours long!

Towards the end of the concert, we were told to put on the Moon Goggles for “Good Feelings” (from Moon Music).

End of concert Coldplay Mumbai
The show ended around 10pm and I absolutely loved it!

What I didn’t love was pretty much everything that happened after the concert ended.

Crowds leaving Navi Mumbai concert
It was a slow flow of people trying to fit through narrow exit gaps

We were told by concert staff — including Coldplay’s own staff from the UK — that we would have to return our LED wristbands, and I did so willingly. Stupid thing was, there were so many trying to keep it as memorabilia! What for I don’t know! Most people wouldn’t know how to trigger the lights because the wristband has no buttons or even Coldplay branding. I just know India would have the worst return rate in the world! What’s even worse is that, after a few years, these LED wristbands will be thrown out by those who kept it after finally realizing they can’t do anything with it. Sigh…

DY Patil stadium after Coldplay concert
As I walked out of the stadium, I still couldn’t believe this massive stadium was part of a university’s campus!
DY Patil campus building
The private college facilities are very impressive!
Navi Mumbai outside DY Patil after concert
Once outside, eateries and restaurants were jam packed!

I managed to find a table inside a bar which also had a good enough menu for dinner. I finished eating before it got even more crowded. I decided to eat first because I only had two restaurant options near my hotel and I still had to figure out how to get back this late at night.

So many were struggling to book Uber and Ola taxis, and prices were three times than usual. Auto rickshaws were no better!

Jeep dealership Navi Mumbai traffic
I walked towards Juinagar train station

Once I got to Juinagar station, the lines were so long for the ticket vending machines that I gave up after 5 minutes and resumed walking. Along the route towards IKEA Navi Mumbai, I stopped auto rickshaws passing by and tried negotiating prices. Finally, as I was talking to one driver, a group of Keralites nearby overheard me and asked me which way I was going. As my luck would have it, they were staying in the same hotel I was. Eventually the auto driver agree to ₹500 for the four of us. Way too much for just 2 kms but what to do, we all got to get back to our rooms safely and quickly. I imagine many struggled that night to find a ride back to the Mumbai side. Makes me glad I took the right decision to book a hotel not far from the venue just for tonight. (I will blog about all that later).

Overall, I was super happy with the concert. I can’t speak for everyone as there were some who faced issues — but I had a blast! It was organized well, I enjoyed the view, the music, and felt it was worth spending to come all the way here to witness it all. Truly a once in a lifetime joy!

Will I go see Coldplay even without the LED light show? Yes, of course I would! I’ve been dreaming about seeing the band live since the X & Y and Viva La Vida days. I can’t wait to see Coldplay again… just, hopefully in Bangalore next time.

Enjoy the concert video and enable captions to read the captions I added:

Above & Beyond Live in Bangalore: Photos and videos from TATW 450

Date: November 10th, 2012

Finally! The last time Above & Beyond played in Bangalore, I missed it. I hoped they would return but I never expected my favorite trance outfit to return like this. I couldn’t believe Submerge managed to snag an epic event like this and bring the group down to Bangalore for it! Trance Around the World, my favourite trance podcast, episode 450 – which they announced at the end of episode 449 would be their last – was going to be transmitted live from Bangalore!

Six hours of amazing trance with other Anjunabeats artists such as Jody Wisternoff, Andrew Bayer, Norin & Rad, Mat Zo, and finally Above & Beyond taking the stage for a two-hour set. Since I knew I couldn’t dance for six hours straight, I only made it to the venue at around 5:30pm just as Andrew Bayer was on stage.

Andrew Bayer Tatw 450 Bangalore India
The stage setup, the sound, the impressive venue… it was all really well put together
Andrew Bayer Tatw 450 Bangalore
I really enjoyed Andrew Bayer’s set — pure trance at it’s finest
Norin and Rad TATW450 Bangalore India
Next up was American duo Norin & Rad
Norin & Rad Tatw450 Bangalore live
Didn’t dance a lot to their set, although they were great in getting the crowd pumped up
Norin Rad Tatw450 Bangalore concert
A good hour-long set none the less
Submerge says dance bucket Bangalore
Submerge says dance, and dance we did!
Above & Beyond TATW 450 live in Bangalore
I still couldn’t believe after all this time I waited to see Above & Beyond in concert, it would be for a live recording of the final episode of the trance podcast I’ve been listening to since 2006!
Mat Zo TATW 450 live in Bangalore
Mat Zo, the final ‘warm-up’ act took to the stage for his hour-long set
Mat Zo TATW 450 Bangalore
His set was much better!
Crowd Tatw450 Above & Beyond Bangalore concert
They had streams of colourful cloth spreading through the crowds. It was symbolic for it is the graphic that represents Group Therapy Radio – Above & Beyond’s new radio show
Above and Beyond stage group therapy
As the clock struck 8pm, it was now time for the main act. The crowd went wild as three men took to the stage.
Paavo Jono Tony Tatw 450 Bangalore India
(L-R) Paavo, Jono and Tony – or better known as the legendary Above & Beyond! I won’t mention their DJ Mag ranking… mostly because I don’t give a shit how high they rank!
Above & Beyond Tatw 450 Hello Bangalore
Needless to say all of us were going bonkers seeing all three of them on stage together (Usually two of them go on tour while one stays back in the studio)
Above & Beyond group therapy Bangalore concert
The end of Trance Around the World and the beginning of Group Therapy Radio episode 001
Above & Beyond stage Bangalore Tatw 450
The played classics from like “Liquid Love” and even some world-exclusive first listens. If it weren’t for ‘Tri-State,’ I wouldn’t have heard of Above & Beyond.
Above & Beyond live Bangalore India
But of course, there’s always that one moron who keeps shouting for “Sun and Moon” right from the start. Ugh. (They played it towards the end of course)
Above & Beyond confetti concert India
Epic six-hour long live broadcast ended with an epic shower of confetti!
Paavo hugging Tony end of TATW 450
Paavo and Tony seemed pleased
Above and Beyond members Bangalore concert
So were we
Above & Beyond Group Therapy Bangalore India
I began to leave the venue as they closed out with “Good For Me” (from ‘Tri-State again). I was kinda disappointed they didn’t play “Good Day” as it was the one song I was so looking forward to singing as loud as I could.
Above & Beyond Group Therapy radio Bangalore
But this being a ‘good night,’ play “Good Day” they did. Although it was the vocal mix. Still, it didn’t stop I or anyone else from singing along.
Jaymahal palace concert venue Bangalore
Nikhil Chinapa, who is one of the men behind Submerge, then took to the stage to thank his home crowd for an amazing night

This year marked the 10th anniversary of Submerge, an institution that started out as a platform for Indian DJs back in 2002 and which has since grown into a tour de force in the promotion of electronic dance music in India. You’ve really got to hand it to them. Even Nikhil Chinapa said he never expected they would get this far, but all the applause he got from the crowd was well deserved. Sunburn Festival, all the international DJs they bring to India, and the Submerge nights… Nikhil has done EDM in India a world of good!

As for videos from the night, here are a bunch of clips recorded on the Samsung Galaxy SII (also used for all the above photos). You might want to turn down the speakers as I was close to the stage, and so there’s a lot “brrrr brrr”. Also, if you’re epileptic, you have been warned!

You can listen to TATW 450/Group Therapy 001 in full here.

Photos from K-Pop Nation 2012 concert in Macau: U-KISS, B.A.P, SHINee, and Girls Generation

I wanted to put up this post that very night the concert ended. But considering I only got back to Hong Kong around 2am, I was too damn tired to do anything but sleep. To say it was a hectic day would be an understatement — but I’ll write about my Macau experience when I begin my Hong Kong travel series.

This post is going to be all K-pop!

I chose to go to Macau on 2nd July, 2012 (Monday) because the K-pop Nation concert was happening that evening. I got up early and took the ferry from Hong Kong in the hopes of reaching Macau airport before the flight from Incheon (Seoul) landed at 10:40. That didn’t go according to plan for reasons I’ll rather talk about in the Macau post, but long story short, there was no need for me to go to Macau airport. You see, my biggest (K-pop) dream is to see the members of SNSD up close and in person. But as soon as I got past immigration, I saw a bunch of Shawols (SHINee fans) waiting outside. I was wearing my custom-printed SNSD t-shirt when a considerate girl approached me and told me in her limited English that SNSD arrived yesterday night at this very terminal! She told me it would be of no use to stand around if I was hoping to see the girls.

I thanked her for that bit of information, but as disappointed as I was, I thought “what the heck” and waited to at least see SHINee up close.

Macau Shawols ferry terminal
SHINee fans had been waiting long
Macau Shawols waiting for Shinee
But SHINee was to land in Hong Kong only at 2pm
Shinee fans Macau terminal
The boys wouldn’t land in Macau for another hour
Macau Shawol Diablo sign for Shinee
I can see how this is appropriate, ‘cos you know, SHINee are South Korean… and practically everybody is playing Diablo III right now!
Shinee arriving Macau terminal
As it neared 4pm, the screams began
Taemin Key Onew Shinee Macau arrival
But as they quickly made their way out of the ferry terminal, there was one tall guy missing: Minho
Onew Jonghyun Shinee Macau arrival
Sorry for the blurry shots, but it all got a bit crazy as you can imagine. I couldn’t use flash either.
Macau Shinee ferry terminal arrival
It got chaotic pretty soon

Despite the hour long wait, my experience of seeing SHINee (or whatever I could see of their faces – I couldn’t even see Taemin’s face), lasted less than a minute. Just like that it was all over. There were sunglasses and other things belonging to fans scattered on the floor in the frenzy as girls ran all over the place to get a glimpse of their idols. But fortunately nobody got hurt, and SHINee’s asshole manager didn’t punch anybody either.

I left the ferry terminal and took the bus to The Venetian Macau to get my tickets to the concert as my return ticket back to Hong Kong was only at 11:45pm. I got the HK$780 (Rs. 5,500/$100/€82) ticket and decided to spend some time sightseeing until sunset.

Cotai Arena counters Macao
I headed back to Cotai Arena around 7pm. Although I had to handover my Canon 7D camera and tripod to security, I still managed to keep my Canon 450D in my bagpack
Inside Cotai Arena Macau panorama
This is Cotai Arena – and my HK$780 seat was in front of the girl in white top

As the clock struck 8pm, a DJ came on stage and started playing some dance music to pump up the crowd.

Kpop Nation Cotai Arena glowsticks
All the glowsticks up in the air gave a good indication as to many seats were unoccupied
Cotai Arena unsold seats kpop concert
The concert was far from ‘sold out’. A good 40% of the seats were vacant. The HK$780 I paid was the fourth highest in a six-tier pricing — meaning there were three more ticket prices that cost more.

And then, seven guys walked on stage. Then walked off. Then walked back on again.

U-Kiss Kpop Nation Macau concert
U-Kiss!
U-Kiss Kpop Nation stage performance Macau
They kicked off their performance with their best song to date, “Neverland”
U-Kiss concert Macau China
The boys performed “Believe” “0330” “Bingeul Bingeul” and “Man Man Hi”
U-Kiss performing Kpop Nation macau
But it was fairly apparent that the boys were lip-syncing
U-Kiss performing Macau kpop concert
Which was kinda disappointing considering how good they are as live performers

The organziers were pretty strict about anyone recording video, but some people (as always) managed to record fancams.

B.A.P entrance kpop nation Macau concert
Next up were a hot rookie group
B.A.P performance K-pop Nation Macau concert
B.A.P began their set with an R&B ballad behind curtains before unveiling themselves
B.A.P K-Pop Nation Macau concert
They sang all their singles to date: “Warrior,” “Burn It Up,” “Unbreakable,” and “Power”

After two songs or three, every group would take a break to introduce themselves to the audience. The audience had a laugh when one of the B.A.P members said something along the lines of: “… I’m excessive to be here”. He meant “excited” but that’s not how we all heard it 🙂

B.A.P performing Macau China
Despite the fact I’m not a huge fan of them…
B.A.P Kpop Nation concert Macau dancers
… B.A.P put on one heck of a performance! I was really impressed!

After B.A.P’s energetic performance, it was now time for the big guns of K-pop. The hugely popular SM Ent. artists were up next. I was a little disappointed to not see Minho since SHINee are not Super Junior — even if one member is missing, their choreography just doesn’t feel right.

Shinee kpop nation concert
But come out as a four-piece SHINee did
Shinee Kpop Nation Macau concert
They began with with “Lucifer”. I had a blast singing along to the whole song, as it remains my favourite K-pop song!
Shinee performing in Macau
But despite the expected awesomeness that comes with being SHINee… they were lip-synching too
Shinee on-stage Macau China
After performing “Stranger,” they paused to speak to the audience. Jonghyun also explained why Minho wasn’t here tonight.

Or at least that’s what I assumed he was talking about, because he spoke in Korean and the translator only spoke in Cantonese(?). Maybe Minho was filming his drama.

Shinee Sherlock live in Macao China
The crowd went wild when “Sherlock” came on
Shinee Sherlock live in Macau China
Fans were itching to chant/shout “SHINee’s back!”
Shinee Sherlock dance Macau concert
“Oh-I’m-curious yeah…” Love that chorus! 🙂
Shinee Sherlock Kpop Macau concert
Taemin is such an energetic dancer

After “Sherlock,” I assumed “Hello” or “Replay” was next. But no. The boys looked at each other and awkwardly just walked off stage waving goodbye to the audience. I was like: “huh?”. The deal was that each artists would perform five songs each. I assumed SHINee would do an encore of two more songs later. At least that was the hope.

Kpop nation concert dj
Anyway, the DJ came back and I got ready for the final act
Kpop Nation Macau concert stage
For it was now time for the pink glow sticks to come out!
Sunny Sooyoung Seohyun screen
Because it was now time for the biggest act in the concert line-up
Jessica Yoona Yuri screen
The loudest cheers were for this group
Taeyeon Tiffany screen
Heck, they’re the main reason I came to Macau today
Snsd Macau kpop nation concert
I spent $780 mainly to see them
Girls Generation Kpop Nation Macau entrance
Because they’re my absolute favourite group in all of K-pop
SNSD Kpop Nation Macau China
SNSD a.k.a Girls Generation!
SNSD Girls Generation Kpop Nation concert
It was only because I was this far that I could manage to fit all nine of them in one frame 🙂
Girls Generation leg dance Macau
The girls ‘kicked’ off their set with “Genie (Tell Me Your Wish)”
Yuri Hyoyeon Snsd dancing Macau
I wonder what Yuri found funny
Tiffany Genie performance SNSD Macau
“Macau, put it back on!”

Snsd screen graphics kpop nation Macau

Girls Generation Genie end pose
And that was song number one
SNSD Macau Genie line dance
Next up was “Run Devil Run”
Sunny behind Sooyoung Genie dance
Poor Sunny – the shortest member right behind the tallest girl in the group 🙂

SNSD close up Macau concert

Run Devil Run dance SNSD
As impressive as their choreography usually is, it’s funny when you capture such frames. Looks like they’re creepily trying to exit the stage 😀
Girls Generation on-stage Cotai Arena
The girls then took a break to introduce themselves
Ice Princess message for Jessica Macau
This Jessica admirer got his message on the big screen
Sooyoung Girls Generation Macau
Sooyoung raises her hand, Sone raises his hand — just when I click. Ugh.
Taeyeon Girls Generation Macau
Hello dorky leader 🙂
Girls Generation Macau audience interaction
The girls introduce the next song
SNSD Hoot graphics
Time to “Hoot”! And thanks again Sone’s hand. Ugh!
Girls Generation Macau Hoot performance
But just before hitting the first chorus…
Girls Generation technical problem Macau concert
… the music suddenly stops!
Taeyeon surprise Macau concert
Best part? Taeyeon goes: “Surprise!!!!”
Yoona talking Macau concert
The girls make small talk while the team behind the scenes try to sort out the technical glitch
Girls Generation Hoot down dance
When the music began a second time, it was time to go “Down, down, down” again
Girls Generation Hoot Macao
Seohyun was doing her line before the first chorus
Girls Generation technical problem Macau
And the music stops again! And Taeyeon went: “Surprise!” – again! LOL
SNSD on stage Macau
But thoughtful ‘manager’ Tiffany still gave a shout out to the technical team for their efforts. While Yuri checked up on Sooyoung.

It was really funny, but at the same time we all wondered what was going on. Here’s a good fancam of the goof-up(s):

The girls were about to walk off stage…

SNSD Hoot third time Macau
Just then the song restarts a third time… the girls embarrassingly walk back to their positions
Hoot SNSD Macau Kpop concert
Third time proved to be a charm as it went without a hitch
Girls Generation Macau concert
The girls followed “Hoot” with “The Boys”
Girls Generation The Boys live in Macau
Which was a moment everybody was waiting for as we finally got to shout “GG!” at the top of our lungs
Girls Generation hair Macau concert
Ahh, hair freeze moments
Snsd hair funny picture
Seems everybody but Tiffany had their hair moment 🙂 LIKE A BOSS!
Girls Generation The Boys Macau concert
You don’t realize just how cramped for space SNSD’s choreography is until you see them live. How do they not bump into each other? 🙂
Snsd The Boys live in Macau
“Girls bring the boys out!”
SNSD lights Macau concert
Confetti began to rain even though we had one more song left
Girls Generation Taeyeon jig
The girls spoke one last time before getting into their final song (that’s Taeyeon doing a jig)
Taeny Macau Kpop Nation concert
TaeNy is so real, it’s no joke!
Snsd Macau stage
Everyone was up on their feet and ready to fan-chant like crazy for the final SNSD song
Snsd Gee performance Macau
For it’s SNSD’s signature song, and the one that introduced me to the group
Girls Generation Gee crab dance
“Gee, gee, gee, gee, gee, baby baby”
Girls Generation Gee dance Macau
Even though I’m tired of hearing “Gee,” seeing it live is another feeling altogether
Sunny Hyoyeon Jessica Girls Generation
Sunny smile!
Kpop Nation SNSD confetti Macau
Confetti marked the end of the girls’ performance
Kpop Nation Macau crowd Cotai Arena
The crowds were pleased, and so was I!
Empty seats Kpop Nation Macau
Ignore the empty seats below, the upper sections were full
Girls Generation SNSD saying goodbye
The girls cheerfully walked off stage with Yuri giving us all a big “muaahh”!

The DJ came back on again and some of us waited to see if there was going to be a encore. I was hoping for more SHINee, but there was none. The announcer said ‘thanks for coming’ and I left the arena.

Kpop Nation The Venetian Macau
I collected my Canon 7D and tripod and made my way out
B2ST 4minute Macau concert
Next up, B2ST and 4Minute!
Kpop Nation tickets
So was it worth it?

Well, kind of. I can now say I saw Girls Generation live in concert. And U-Kiss, B.A.P and SHINee. Add to the fact I’ve seen Jay Park and three-fifths of BIGBANG, I guess I’m lucky to have seen enough K-pop acts compared to most fans back in India. On the other hand, K-pop Nation 2012 wasn’t a well put together concert. For something that promised to be an unique show with the artists interacting with the fans and sharing stories… yeah, there was none of that. Pretty much all the interaction went like this: “We are _______” “Hello Macau, I am _______” “What’s up Macau, how you doing?” “Our next song is _____” “Goodbye Macau, we hope to be back”. That’s it – standard concert talk. In fact, SNSD spoke the most, and it was thanks to technical difficulties.

As much as I loved seeing SNSD, it was B.A.P’s set that I can say was the best without any bias. Their segment was if that’s how they would have done their stand alone concert. From start to finish, their act packed quite a punch. So I appreciate the effort they put in putting on an impressive show for what was a multi-starrer concert.

I’m proud of the fact SNSD were pretty much the only group who didn’t lip-sync! Every other group danced well, but didn’t bother singing live (did B.A.P sing live? some vocals sounded like it did). Girls Generation did both live, and were funny… god, tell me why I love them so much again?

It would have been cool if the venue was sold out as the experience could have been wilder, but that’s what you get when you price a concert out of the reach for most K-pop fans (who are really young). I know K-pop concerts in general are more expensive (heck, I’ve seen world famous David Guetta and Metallica for less!), but I can imagine the cost of bringing down such acts to such a small place like Macau, and that too in an expensive venue. Still, it’s baffling to see how many seats were empty for a concert that had U-Kiss, SHINee and Girls Generation in the line-up! That last group alone could fill up a stadium.

Of course I would have wished I was closer to the stage so I could see the girls better, but in some ways I’m glad I only paid HK$780. SNSD barely came forward to the smaller stage up front, so there was quite a bit of distance even for those who were seated in the most expensive section. It would have been nice if they had like a T-shaped stage, but anyway… I’m saving up and hoping for an SM Town in either Singapore or Bangkok later this year.

Otherwise the concert was alright. Oh yeah, there was one moron who showed up with his girl to the venue and accused me of taking his seat. I didn’t want to argue with him so I just let him sit in my seat. SNSD were just finishing up “Gee” and I wanted to click as much as I could before they left the stage. I don’t know what his problem was.

All-in-all, looking at the above photos, I’m happy I was there. My love for K-pop remains the same and I don’t think my urge to see the SNSD again has died down one bit.

As for the rest of my day, I’ll begin writing about my Hong Kong trip soon.

P.S: I did take a few more photos of U-Kiss and B.A.P, so if any of you fans/clubs want to see those, just ask. I’ll e-mail them to you. I didn’t take any videos as the Canon 450D can’t take videos, plus I didn’t want to get into trouble as the usher was right behind me.



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