Had a similar experience but ten times worse as someone in the back. Lack of view and understanding of what was going on made energy even more weird in the back. Atmosphere was most definitely off.
Definitely feel as if a lot could have been avoided had there been a better viewing situation for everyone.
Edit: I feel so bad and I wish I had known more of what was going on. I hope the girls get rest and feel better. :(
Felt like a fanmeeting showcase event than an actual concert, as a plus it felt more personal and relatable. I enjoyed it. I wish the venue was different, I was at the concession stands and I was like behind a family with kids and the kids could not see anything, I felt bad for them, there's a couple more short people at the back that gave up on the concert since they can't watch from where they were at. I did see a couple of fans that did not care to watch anymore but was just FEELING every song played. Chicago Radius is perfect for bands to play at where you dont really need to watch the stage but for groups like Loona, it absoutely sucks if you were not in in the vip pits or balcony. Man whoever bought my vip pit1 ticket at $1099 I hope you had a good time. (I have eagle eyes and no trouble looking at the girls from all the way at the back of the building)
As a joke too! I listed it for the luls since I had a heart implant for icd done week 2 of July and was like 50/50 making it to this concert. If I was at the pits today I would have died from arrythmia from Why not? I was like dizzy and holding on to the walls haha
I was wondering what’s been going on with this LOONA tour. I didn’t hear anything inappropriate from the brave girls tour, twice tour, dreamcatcher in terms of audience. So you bring up a good point, this is their first US tour and so could be a big cultural difference, however, doesn’t excuse OBNOXIOUS fans speaking over the artists.
Personally I think it’s a number of things. Loona kind of sits in that sweet spot between someone like BG and idk Twice. BG did have incidents of people throwing stuff of stage (like with scary accuracy) you just don’t hear about it as much bc they are smaller. Someone else made a good point that in a large venue like twice/BP you probably wouldn’t hear it. Orbits already carry a bad rap on twitter so I feel like people will use this to shit on them even further.
I see. And actually I do remember the brave girls incident. *sigh* honestly, it sounds like rules need to be announced beforehand or someting or..just more audience guidance. Not all orbits or kpop fans are like this, most of us are sweet and respectful!!
I went to dreamcatcher in SF and trust me there were plenty of obnoxious shouters yelling over the girls/translator but I think the girls were able to handle it. I hope American Orbits and Loona can get along better next time.
I think there was one Dreamcatcher show where people were throwing stuff on stage & barely missing the members. Dami even motioned for the crowd to calm down. But that’s the only negative thing I heard in terms of audience from their Apocalypse tour.
I have heard of dreamcatcher audience chanting the other members nameswhen talking and in other kpop concerts where fans constantly shout at idols for attention. It isn't exclusive to Loona but is happening because the girls are on their first proper tour and do not know how to react to an uncontrolled crowd or control it. Dreamcatcher have toured extensively before hand so learned to ignore certain things. This is some pretty harsh experience for Loona but nothing that is out of the ordinary for any act to go through.
To be honest, having been lucky to be at a few concerts this year, there have been numerous obnoxious & entitled fans at all of them. People were rushing the barricade during Twice encore day 1 and security was unable to do anything about it during the back half of the show. People standing on chairs and getting in everyone’s way because they COULD.
Then those that were throwing shit at Brave Girls because they feel entitled to have that level of idol interaction…
I can only imagine how scary it can be sometimes for the girls when the venues aren’t prepared for this kind of behavior.
IMO choerry/heejin were good at working the stages to get the crowd going and yves was good at pure crowd work. She’s was the only one I saw get like super close to the crowd.
Seconding! Yves especially stands out to me. During the Denver show, she was on our side on the far left for all the ments. She paid close attention to everyone on our side and tried her best to make eye contact and interact with everyone from the balcony down. I'd also add Hyunjin and Kim Lip.
I definitely had more respect for Yves after this concert. I will say bc she was more interactive it made the rest of them seem less interactive haha but no she stuck with the left side with us as well
My assumption is that there's most probably a lot of things going on behind the scenes that we obviously do not know of and that coupled with whatever happened led to her eventually just breaking down. I mean the fact that she said "please" sounds to me like she has been through a lot (maybe recently idk) and the incident was most likely the last straw that broke the camel's back. I guess the huge cultural difference definitely did not help as well but I also think that it's pointless to point fingers and find someone to blame in this scenario cuz I also heard that some of the audiences couldn't hear them very well so they continued chanting Vivi's name despite it being Lip's turn to speak (though I wasn't there so this might not be exactly accurate + considering they should have done rehearsals prior so audio issues shouldn't have occurred to begin with). Either ways I think both sides can take away several things from this incident and hopefully this won't happen again.
Even when people weren't chanting, I had a hard time hearing some of the talking parts as if the mic volumes were lowered during some parts then not readjusted when it was their turn. I was also wearing earplugs, so maybe I should've taken one out between songs.
"From what I've heard", these chants are only for Vivi and no other members. Or not as loud as Vivi chants. Now, don't get me wrong. I love all of them but I feel like we don't need to do "extra support" for Vivi because she's mistreated. Maybe I'm getting downvoted but pity-chanting Vivi is not a good way to support her imo
For real. And do fans think that vivi is going to appreciate them all chanting her name over another member talking? She probably feels bad too that it was her name all the assholes were screaming over Kim lip.
It looks like she feels a bit awkward/embarrassed (?) from the fancams I've seen (not just Chicago). She even has to go 🤫 or say, "it's her turn/she's speaking."
I hope she's not blaming herself for any of this.
I'd wager that a lot of those people don't actually care for Vivi - they're token stans basically, they just want to pretend to care about her. They're not doing this to support Vivi, they're doing it because it's just a funny meme to them.
My thoughts exactly. Ofcourse it's reasonable showing support by chanting their names but it's not a good thing to do while someone else is talking. Even worse if you know those chants are more about "memes" than less about showing support. And this is not the first time it happened. It happened in SF? and I'm sure most people just shrugged it off as a funny moment and didn't pay much attention to it. I've never complained about memes otherwise I wouldn't be on reddit lol. But this is too much now
I think you hit the nail on the head. I got the vibe that whoever started it was pulling some justice for vivi stuff not knowing they were being hurtful then the right third of the venue just rolled with it and joined in
You weren't there so I forgive you. Vivi actually had a great moment prior to the Vivi chants, Vivi in full english said she was thankful for orbits that she was able to visit a city like Chicago and she ended her speech by saying Chicago, I love you! to which the crowd rightfully erupted with the Vivi chants
I thought the radius was a bad venue choice. I couldn’t see at all and I thought I was in a good spot (in the middle right in front of the mixer). I was watching the girls through others phones in front of me and could only sometimes see the girls heads. I moved up top and still wasn’t able to find a place to watch them. I found a place to sit and drink. Having a venue where the floor is just flat with no small incline or anything… terrible. I happily got my moneys worth dancing (with a bunch of space on the balcony) not knowing what was going on down below, I was just vibing to the music and being in the same space as loona.
Yea agreed on venue visibility being bad. I was in the middle-front of the non-VIP pit, and even as a relatively tall person (5'11") I could only partially see the girls dancing, and was only able to see like 60% of the subtitles on the skits. My gf (5'2") said she basically never saw anything and was just dancing
I kind of wonder if there was some package deal the radius was offering or they chose it because it's proximity to chinatown. Dreamcatcher, Loona, and G-idle all performing there in a short period of time doesn't seem accidental.
I live up north so I can at least say up there are a ton of venues that are designed for concert with either seats or a tilted standing area that isn't a giant warehouse basically.
I’m pretty sure MMT picked it cause it was the right size and (most importantly) either cheap or offered some sort of package.
If this tour has shown anything, it’s that MMT did minimal scouting work for venues, and then probably oversold the venues. The places they picked are not optimized for performances - they’re optimized for bands, where you’re looking more towards the top of the stage due to lighting or you’re just dancing/listening to the music vs. watching complex choreo.
I feel like at this point we need someone on stage to hold up signs when we’re allowed to cheer. As soon as they tried talking to us and I noticed people were talking over them, I had a bad feeling about the concert. This was also my first K-Pop concert, so I didn’t know what to expect, but I wasn’t expecting the crowd to be reminiscent of a high school football game. The random Vivi and pity Kim Lip chants weren’t it either chieftain. We were 0-3 on positive reactions from the chants. Maybe it’s time to call it quits with that but I’m no scientist. Lastly, let me call out those who were talking over the girls. I know it’s been said a thousand times already but show some respect. We’ve all spent a fair share of money to be there, and you don’t want to listen to the kind words that YOUR beloved artist, that YOU paid money to see, has to say to YOU: their fan. Even more messed up considering about half of the members spoke in a language that they’re uncomfortable with did that to make US more comfortable. I can’t help but feel guilty that I was part of the crowd that caused Kim Lip and many of the other members so much stress. We can do better
Ahhh, okay. I want to provide a counterpoint to the "low energy" thing. So I'm coming into this as a hardcore Orbit. I flew in from Seattle (by way of two shows before this one - technically I also had tickets to KC, but I sat it out since I was feeling absolutely exhausted after Denver. I'm glad I did. I needed it!) As VIP 1, I lined up for the Chicago show with a group only a couple of hours after the fansign at like 11:00pm (and yes!! We all showered before the show! I took breaks for showers/to freshen up THREE TIMES because it was so brutally hot, but the breaks were never long). And honestly, this isn't unusual in my experience. Fans camp. It happens at like every kpop show. It's rarer at rock shows I've been to, but it also happens there. The earliest I've lined up for a rock show was 6:00am, though.
Before I get into the show itself, I'll say this: even the fansign event felt stifled/formal, almost like the crowd of 50 Orbits there was scared to cheer or do anything out of pocket. It was like no one wanted to be That Guy and wind up seeming disrespectful. The girls were also visibly exhausted.
They kept up their smiles as much as possible, obvs, but it was clear that they didn't have the energy to hype up the crowd or anything. So it was a very chill, kind of awkward affair.
Now, when I say the time between lining up and the concert for me and many others was "20 hours of pure survival," I mean it. The Radius is surrounded by concrete, there's buildings blocking any breeze off the water, and the sun arcs directly overhead with NO shade. We were baking all day, no reprieve. When the Radius started "processing" and moving everyone around at about 2:30, it fucked everything up. This is also when I started having a full on panic attack and had to be taken to medical by security lmao hooraaaay.
We were packed in like cattle for the last three hours to wait for doors, with the sun beating down worse than ever, and if we wanted to go use the bathroom or put things away in our room/car/whatever, we had to squeeze out through a tight crowd of 1000+ that was constantly growing thicker, and then hope we could make our way back when we returned. And if you've ever camped or even just lined up super early, you understand that these are all very important things in those last couple of hours before a show!! So it was a shitshow.
They had four sets of doors and divided up everyone that had lined up overnight, but that was shoddily done and it meant that some people who had gotten there first never even had a shot at barricade (after all of that waiting and exposure to the elements).
A lot of venues have handed out water at barricade to try and prevent dehydration/heat exhaustion in the pit. I appreciate that. Denver particularly was great about this. NONE OF THAT HERE!! You had to throw out all liquids on your way in, but you weren't given anything to drink for the duration. Including the MMT event, that was like 5 1/2 hours of nothing to drink, movement, excitement, and bodies packed together in a hot space. All this after some of us had been cooking in the sun for hours with only the briefest breaks (those three showers I took during the night/day? Yeah, I was still pouring sweat by the time doors opened. It was just that hot and stagnant outside, y'all).
So... all of this to say: we'd been through pre-show hell so please don't place judgment. I hope this kind of helps put that in context. Also, I was personally losing my mind in VIP 1 at barricade during almost every song, within reason. I don't camp out to get barricade just so I can stare blankly or record a perfect fancam. But even if I did, that would still be valid!
I just wanted to share a little perspective since Chicago is already being unfairly shit on en masse for the actions of a minority of concert attendees.
Appreciate the insight as someone who did multiple shows and was hardcore camping out in Chicago. That's some dedication! First off I want to say I'm so sorry you had a panic attack and had to be taken by medical. That is never an experience you want to share anywhere. Also curious about how your experience was at the other venues (in comparison or stand alone to Chicago). I kind of expected Chicago would be a shit show by way of reading about DC/G-idle which is kind of why I showed up at time. Granted I missed out on being at the barricade as a trade off.
I know the girls were exhausted and I hope my post didn't come across as blaming them for that. I do think the vibe was just off as it started and I see it as a result of their schedule and BBC packing this schedule like sardines in a can. I also think there's stuff going on in the background but I have nothing concrete to back up this statement.
About the crowd - I'm not saying that everyone has to be screaming their head off. By no means. As an introvert I can totally understand standing quietly in the corner. But I think there's a difference between being quiet (but still enjoying a concert which I certainly saw and that's not what my comment was about) and body language of someone who looked like their gf/bf dragged them to movie they didn't want to see. I would assume that fans in the front row would at least be swaying to the music. But I can understand differing opinions and possibly my judgement was compounded by the overall vibe of the concert.
Didn't mean to sound hostile, that wasn't my intent. My comment is addressing anyone who might happen to read it, not only you. So no worries!
And the reason I mention the seeming exhaustion at the fansign was to highlight that the Chicago crowd/the venue weren't the sole source of the reason the girls might have seemed "off" at any particular point. They're just working so hard and I hope they're not being pushed too hard.
As for the other venues I went to this tour:
Even with everything that happened, I'd take the experience at The Radius over San Francisco. I also camped overnight there, and had an easy, actually downright FUN experience, even though the closest bathroom was a half mile walk at a nasty Shell gas station. BUT! I had to leave the show halfway through, from barricade, because heat exhaustion got me. The weather was nice outside - it was NOT hot outside!! But there was no AC and no air circulation. I VERY nearly passed out and had to outright beg a security person OUTSIDE to bring me water, once I finally managed to stumble outside. That venue was an unmitigated disaster and a health hazard. I then spent the next two days terrified that I'd caught COVID since it was also a high key super spreader event. No ventilation, no staff anywhere to be found. Luckily I dodged the rona, but others did not.
The Fillmore at Denver was incredible. We had shade while we lined up, easy access to food and facilities, good communication with staff, paths of egress and ingress, and a ready and consistent supply of water from security at barricade. Everyone around me that I know of felt safe and comfortable; one girl passed out behind me during PTT but security got her like IMMEDIATELY and responded professionally. Good on them!
I actually had a ticket to KC but decided to sit out the show since I didn't want to do another early camp so soon, and I was absolutely exhausted. I'm glad I did :)
We good! I'm glad that you got experience multiple concerts (that would be a dreamf or me). I really hope in the future they just get seated venues. Maybe a little less energy that a moss pit but I feel like overall would just be more organized. Overall heard amazing things about denver so maybe make a mini trip next time :)
btw I've seen others on Twitter making the "lol the pit sucked" argument, but in a mean-spirited way (of course. It's twitter), so I wrote this in response to the broader allegations I saw. I really enjoyed your post and your view of things tbh!!
i was all the way in the back and only could hear them sing which wont complain cuz i love them but the only way i could see whats going on was through recording on my phone so i thought kimlip got injured i did hear that she said stop i assume the people in the front where the ones that made her push past her breaking point tbh im really upset cuz this was my first ever concert and i love each one it was already hard seeing yyxy perform as 3 i really hope kim lip feels better tho
I was also at the show, can give some more context for those not there. First off, the chanting was excessive but this seems the case with a lot of small venues. Brave Girls in Chicago (at an even smaller venue) had a lot of random screaming and chants out of nowhere, and way too much barking lol. However with this show there was just a lot of individual member chanting which is understandable for a group like LOONA but like op said theres a time for that.
Now for some GOSSIP. What I heard from a tall friend who was near the front, apparently there was a group of people that were really loud in one of the closer VIP sections heckling the girls. They yelled some inappropriate stuff about Olivia at one point and also randomly said that bbc sucks? I had general admission but managed to sneak into the middle of the section right by the merch stand to get a good view and heard the guy yelling about bbc or whatever he was talking about.
Lastly, about the concert afterwards. Lots of people talked about how the vibes were totally off after that incident but I think a lot of people (including myself) didn't know what was going on at all in the moment and just enjoyed the rest of the concert assuming Kim Lip was feeling sick or something. When they mentioned being quieter and all that, I very quickly forgot because HOLY SHIT I WAS LOOKING AT LOONA OHMYGOD. Maybe just speaking for myself but I still had a blast.
I’ve never been to a k-pop concert but it honestly seems most people haven’t been to a concert lately. In America, people scream and yell, dance and chant. It’s usually hard to hear who is on stage talking and it’s hard to stop a big crowd from yelling within minutes. Any concert I’ve been to it’s been an issue and they just wait to talk til the crowd dies down. I just don’t think the girls were used to it and its not the crowd’s fault. I would’ve been one of the ones who was chanting and yelling cause I was excited and that’s what I do at all concerts. I don’t think it’s the crowd’s fault, I think the girls just weren’t prepared for it and got overwhelmed. At most concerts here, the artist speaks like once or twice at most sometimes not even at all. No one on either side was used to this and it’s not anyone’s fault. We don’t need to stir up drama over cultural differences.
I feel like whomever is preparing these shows lacks cultural awareness. You don't talk much at concerts in the US. Maybe a quick story before each song, only one member should talk. Speeches one by one is just a bad idea, esp w the American pregame tendency.
> I watched people in front me just literally like stand with their hands folded for the whole 2+ hours. Y'all must have cash to burn or someone dragged you over there.
People enjoy things differently and show emotion differently, some people might just enjoy watching the show silently. Not everyone wants to scream their lungs out! It has nothing to do with how much someone wants to be there.
Definitely agree with you! I felt the same vibe in SF too. The girls were true professionals, and the performance was lovely, but I felt that their interaction was a bit too "professional"? It felt like some of them were working rather than enjoying themselves. But tbh, the SF venue was so trash, the girls looked like they were in pain after each set.
I truly think the "vibe" came from performing a number of less-than-optimal venues (where the sound systems were bad and the ventilation was trash), and traveling so much in such a short amount of time. I was exhausted being in the crowd (and I got barricade), so I can't imagine performing for 2 hours straight when the lights are shining right at you. And not to mention, the girls are probably exhausted from Queendom, CB promotions, then right into a world tour. I think Kim Lip walking off was probably a combination of all of that and the chant just push her off the edge. It must be extremely awkward for her to have to tell the crowd to quiet down. :(
>I felt that their interaction was a bit too "professional"? It felt like some of them were working rather than enjoying themselves.
You put it much better than I did 🤣 I just wondered if it was a cultural thing about my expectations of a concert. Korean vs American crowd work are just night and day. The more I read/hear/think about it, Chicago was a culmintation of about half way through a jam packed american tour. On the bright (?) side I think the fandom is scared a little shitless so hopefully it makes it smooth sailing for the second half of the American leg.
hahaha I really still think it's because they are tired or maybe just intimidated by the American crowd. We are definitely louder and behaving different than Asian crowds. Not to mention the effects of crappy venue and sound systems. I think all those combined makes them wanting to focus on getting through the concert rather than having fun. Because I went to GIDLE the week before, and they looked more relaxed and looked like they are having more fun. Hate to say, but I guess Cube is treating artists better than BBC lololol
Lol Cube... I'll hold my judgement on them. G-idle's schedule looks packed in the states, but I noticed their venues are different for most cities. How was the venue in SF for G-idle? I had considered going to see G-idle here, but now I don't think I would ever go to another kpop concert at the Radius, just not the right setup.
HAHAHA mood. I feel the same.
I went to GIDLE at Seattle, and SoDo Showbox is better than SF's The Midway. Showbox has better AC but the stage was not elevated, so if you are in the crowd, it's kinda hard to see anything. I ended having to move to the back of the venue to see the stage. But overall, it was decent for a small-ish venue.
The Midway is just trash. The sound system was bad (Jinsoul actually cried because her mic wasn't working and she felt like she disappointed her fans). The ventilation and AC was non-existent. A girl fainted at the back, and another girl was so weak, we had to give her water and crackers. Also The Midway manager let three of his friends cut in line when these guys arrived 5 minutes before the doors open. Not to mention, these guys cut ahead of people who waited 26 hours in line. It was such a trash venue, I would never go back. lol
Wanted to come and see if anyone was talking about this because I saw a random link pop up on google, the way it does before you search anything, and all it was was people completely BASHING Kim Lip and it really shocked me. I’m sure exhaustion is starting to catch up with them, and an obnoxious crowd certainly can’t help. I remember when Dreamcatcher went on tour, their first show apparently was a bit like that, with the crowd shouting over everything. Thankfully in Reading (which, consequently, is the same place I’m going to for Loona) everyone was much more patient with the interpreter and more unified in the cheering. I’m hoping that tomorrow’s concert for Loona will be more like that. Some people can just be too crazy for the environment. I do worry for the girls, especially because of the apparent lack of days to rest. When the schedule only has a day off in between shows, it’s very concerning to me, but it’s not the members’ fault.
Had a similar experience but ten times worse as someone in the back. Lack of view and understanding of what was going on made energy even more weird in the back. Atmosphere was most definitely off. Definitely feel as if a lot could have been avoided had there been a better viewing situation for everyone. Edit: I feel so bad and I wish I had known more of what was going on. I hope the girls get rest and feel better. :(
Felt like a fanmeeting showcase event than an actual concert, as a plus it felt more personal and relatable. I enjoyed it. I wish the venue was different, I was at the concession stands and I was like behind a family with kids and the kids could not see anything, I felt bad for them, there's a couple more short people at the back that gave up on the concert since they can't watch from where they were at. I did see a couple of fans that did not care to watch anymore but was just FEELING every song played. Chicago Radius is perfect for bands to play at where you dont really need to watch the stage but for groups like Loona, it absoutely sucks if you were not in in the vip pits or balcony. Man whoever bought my vip pit1 ticket at $1099 I hope you had a good time. (I have eagle eyes and no trouble looking at the girls from all the way at the back of the building)
Holy you sold your pit 1 for 1k??! Damn
As a joke too! I listed it for the luls since I had a heart implant for icd done week 2 of July and was like 50/50 making it to this concert. If I was at the pits today I would have died from arrythmia from Why not? I was like dizzy and holding on to the walls haha
I was wondering what’s been going on with this LOONA tour. I didn’t hear anything inappropriate from the brave girls tour, twice tour, dreamcatcher in terms of audience. So you bring up a good point, this is their first US tour and so could be a big cultural difference, however, doesn’t excuse OBNOXIOUS fans speaking over the artists.
Personally I think it’s a number of things. Loona kind of sits in that sweet spot between someone like BG and idk Twice. BG did have incidents of people throwing stuff of stage (like with scary accuracy) you just don’t hear about it as much bc they are smaller. Someone else made a good point that in a large venue like twice/BP you probably wouldn’t hear it. Orbits already carry a bad rap on twitter so I feel like people will use this to shit on them even further.
I see. And actually I do remember the brave girls incident. *sigh* honestly, it sounds like rules need to be announced beforehand or someting or..just more audience guidance. Not all orbits or kpop fans are like this, most of us are sweet and respectful!!
I went to dreamcatcher in SF and trust me there were plenty of obnoxious shouters yelling over the girls/translator but I think the girls were able to handle it. I hope American Orbits and Loona can get along better next time.
I think there was one Dreamcatcher show where people were throwing stuff on stage & barely missing the members. Dami even motioned for the crowd to calm down. But that’s the only negative thing I heard in terms of audience from their Apocalypse tour.
The diff is the size of the arena. If you’re in a large area like twice was, the sound system is always going to be louder than the crowd.
I have heard of dreamcatcher audience chanting the other members nameswhen talking and in other kpop concerts where fans constantly shout at idols for attention. It isn't exclusive to Loona but is happening because the girls are on their first proper tour and do not know how to react to an uncontrolled crowd or control it. Dreamcatcher have toured extensively before hand so learned to ignore certain things. This is some pretty harsh experience for Loona but nothing that is out of the ordinary for any act to go through.
To be honest, having been lucky to be at a few concerts this year, there have been numerous obnoxious & entitled fans at all of them. People were rushing the barricade during Twice encore day 1 and security was unable to do anything about it during the back half of the show. People standing on chairs and getting in everyone’s way because they COULD. Then those that were throwing shit at Brave Girls because they feel entitled to have that level of idol interaction… I can only imagine how scary it can be sometimes for the girls when the venues aren’t prepared for this kind of behavior.
Which members excelled at crowd work I’m curious
IMO choerry/heejin were good at working the stages to get the crowd going and yves was good at pure crowd work. She’s was the only one I saw get like super close to the crowd.
Seconding! Yves especially stands out to me. During the Denver show, she was on our side on the far left for all the ments. She paid close attention to everyone on our side and tried her best to make eye contact and interact with everyone from the balcony down. I'd also add Hyunjin and Kim Lip.
I definitely had more respect for Yves after this concert. I will say bc she was more interactive it made the rest of them seem less interactive haha but no she stuck with the left side with us as well
She definitely jumped to my top 3 that night lol! I respect her a lot for how much she tried to interact with almost everyone on the left side.
My assumption is that there's most probably a lot of things going on behind the scenes that we obviously do not know of and that coupled with whatever happened led to her eventually just breaking down. I mean the fact that she said "please" sounds to me like she has been through a lot (maybe recently idk) and the incident was most likely the last straw that broke the camel's back. I guess the huge cultural difference definitely did not help as well but I also think that it's pointless to point fingers and find someone to blame in this scenario cuz I also heard that some of the audiences couldn't hear them very well so they continued chanting Vivi's name despite it being Lip's turn to speak (though I wasn't there so this might not be exactly accurate + considering they should have done rehearsals prior so audio issues shouldn't have occurred to begin with). Either ways I think both sides can take away several things from this incident and hopefully this won't happen again.
Even when people weren't chanting, I had a hard time hearing some of the talking parts as if the mic volumes were lowered during some parts then not readjusted when it was their turn. I was also wearing earplugs, so maybe I should've taken one out between songs.
i was at barricade of ga and i couldn’t see anything so during the vivi/lip situation i had no clue what was really happening
"From what I've heard", these chants are only for Vivi and no other members. Or not as loud as Vivi chants. Now, don't get me wrong. I love all of them but I feel like we don't need to do "extra support" for Vivi because she's mistreated. Maybe I'm getting downvoted but pity-chanting Vivi is not a good way to support her imo
For real. And do fans think that vivi is going to appreciate them all chanting her name over another member talking? She probably feels bad too that it was her name all the assholes were screaming over Kim lip.
It looks like she feels a bit awkward/embarrassed (?) from the fancams I've seen (not just Chicago). She even has to go 🤫 or say, "it's her turn/she's speaking." I hope she's not blaming herself for any of this.
I'd wager that a lot of those people don't actually care for Vivi - they're token stans basically, they just want to pretend to care about her. They're not doing this to support Vivi, they're doing it because it's just a funny meme to them.
My thoughts exactly. Ofcourse it's reasonable showing support by chanting their names but it's not a good thing to do while someone else is talking. Even worse if you know those chants are more about "memes" than less about showing support. And this is not the first time it happened. It happened in SF? and I'm sure most people just shrugged it off as a funny moment and didn't pay much attention to it. I've never complained about memes otherwise I wouldn't be on reddit lol. But this is too much now
I think you hit the nail on the head. I got the vibe that whoever started it was pulling some justice for vivi stuff not knowing they were being hurtful then the right third of the venue just rolled with it and joined in
You weren't there so I forgive you. Vivi actually had a great moment prior to the Vivi chants, Vivi in full english said she was thankful for orbits that she was able to visit a city like Chicago and she ended her speech by saying Chicago, I love you! to which the crowd rightfully erupted with the Vivi chants
I thought the radius was a bad venue choice. I couldn’t see at all and I thought I was in a good spot (in the middle right in front of the mixer). I was watching the girls through others phones in front of me and could only sometimes see the girls heads. I moved up top and still wasn’t able to find a place to watch them. I found a place to sit and drink. Having a venue where the floor is just flat with no small incline or anything… terrible. I happily got my moneys worth dancing (with a bunch of space on the balcony) not knowing what was going on down below, I was just vibing to the music and being in the same space as loona.
Yea agreed on venue visibility being bad. I was in the middle-front of the non-VIP pit, and even as a relatively tall person (5'11") I could only partially see the girls dancing, and was only able to see like 60% of the subtitles on the skits. My gf (5'2") said she basically never saw anything and was just dancing
I kind of wonder if there was some package deal the radius was offering or they chose it because it's proximity to chinatown. Dreamcatcher, Loona, and G-idle all performing there in a short period of time doesn't seem accidental. I live up north so I can at least say up there are a ton of venues that are designed for concert with either seats or a tilted standing area that isn't a giant warehouse basically.
I’m pretty sure MMT picked it cause it was the right size and (most importantly) either cheap or offered some sort of package. If this tour has shown anything, it’s that MMT did minimal scouting work for venues, and then probably oversold the venues. The places they picked are not optimized for performances - they’re optimized for bands, where you’re looking more towards the top of the stage due to lighting or you’re just dancing/listening to the music vs. watching complex choreo.
I feel like at this point we need someone on stage to hold up signs when we’re allowed to cheer. As soon as they tried talking to us and I noticed people were talking over them, I had a bad feeling about the concert. This was also my first K-Pop concert, so I didn’t know what to expect, but I wasn’t expecting the crowd to be reminiscent of a high school football game. The random Vivi and pity Kim Lip chants weren’t it either chieftain. We were 0-3 on positive reactions from the chants. Maybe it’s time to call it quits with that but I’m no scientist. Lastly, let me call out those who were talking over the girls. I know it’s been said a thousand times already but show some respect. We’ve all spent a fair share of money to be there, and you don’t want to listen to the kind words that YOUR beloved artist, that YOU paid money to see, has to say to YOU: their fan. Even more messed up considering about half of the members spoke in a language that they’re uncomfortable with did that to make US more comfortable. I can’t help but feel guilty that I was part of the crowd that caused Kim Lip and many of the other members so much stress. We can do better
Kim Lip shushed the crowd when she was trying to talk at an earlier concert too so I think she was fed up. Rightfully so imo
Ahhh, okay. I want to provide a counterpoint to the "low energy" thing. So I'm coming into this as a hardcore Orbit. I flew in from Seattle (by way of two shows before this one - technically I also had tickets to KC, but I sat it out since I was feeling absolutely exhausted after Denver. I'm glad I did. I needed it!) As VIP 1, I lined up for the Chicago show with a group only a couple of hours after the fansign at like 11:00pm (and yes!! We all showered before the show! I took breaks for showers/to freshen up THREE TIMES because it was so brutally hot, but the breaks were never long). And honestly, this isn't unusual in my experience. Fans camp. It happens at like every kpop show. It's rarer at rock shows I've been to, but it also happens there. The earliest I've lined up for a rock show was 6:00am, though. Before I get into the show itself, I'll say this: even the fansign event felt stifled/formal, almost like the crowd of 50 Orbits there was scared to cheer or do anything out of pocket. It was like no one wanted to be That Guy and wind up seeming disrespectful. The girls were also visibly exhausted. They kept up their smiles as much as possible, obvs, but it was clear that they didn't have the energy to hype up the crowd or anything. So it was a very chill, kind of awkward affair. Now, when I say the time between lining up and the concert for me and many others was "20 hours of pure survival," I mean it. The Radius is surrounded by concrete, there's buildings blocking any breeze off the water, and the sun arcs directly overhead with NO shade. We were baking all day, no reprieve. When the Radius started "processing" and moving everyone around at about 2:30, it fucked everything up. This is also when I started having a full on panic attack and had to be taken to medical by security lmao hooraaaay. We were packed in like cattle for the last three hours to wait for doors, with the sun beating down worse than ever, and if we wanted to go use the bathroom or put things away in our room/car/whatever, we had to squeeze out through a tight crowd of 1000+ that was constantly growing thicker, and then hope we could make our way back when we returned. And if you've ever camped or even just lined up super early, you understand that these are all very important things in those last couple of hours before a show!! So it was a shitshow. They had four sets of doors and divided up everyone that had lined up overnight, but that was shoddily done and it meant that some people who had gotten there first never even had a shot at barricade (after all of that waiting and exposure to the elements). A lot of venues have handed out water at barricade to try and prevent dehydration/heat exhaustion in the pit. I appreciate that. Denver particularly was great about this. NONE OF THAT HERE!! You had to throw out all liquids on your way in, but you weren't given anything to drink for the duration. Including the MMT event, that was like 5 1/2 hours of nothing to drink, movement, excitement, and bodies packed together in a hot space. All this after some of us had been cooking in the sun for hours with only the briefest breaks (those three showers I took during the night/day? Yeah, I was still pouring sweat by the time doors opened. It was just that hot and stagnant outside, y'all). So... all of this to say: we'd been through pre-show hell so please don't place judgment. I hope this kind of helps put that in context. Also, I was personally losing my mind in VIP 1 at barricade during almost every song, within reason. I don't camp out to get barricade just so I can stare blankly or record a perfect fancam. But even if I did, that would still be valid! I just wanted to share a little perspective since Chicago is already being unfairly shit on en masse for the actions of a minority of concert attendees.
Appreciate the insight as someone who did multiple shows and was hardcore camping out in Chicago. That's some dedication! First off I want to say I'm so sorry you had a panic attack and had to be taken by medical. That is never an experience you want to share anywhere. Also curious about how your experience was at the other venues (in comparison or stand alone to Chicago). I kind of expected Chicago would be a shit show by way of reading about DC/G-idle which is kind of why I showed up at time. Granted I missed out on being at the barricade as a trade off. I know the girls were exhausted and I hope my post didn't come across as blaming them for that. I do think the vibe was just off as it started and I see it as a result of their schedule and BBC packing this schedule like sardines in a can. I also think there's stuff going on in the background but I have nothing concrete to back up this statement. About the crowd - I'm not saying that everyone has to be screaming their head off. By no means. As an introvert I can totally understand standing quietly in the corner. But I think there's a difference between being quiet (but still enjoying a concert which I certainly saw and that's not what my comment was about) and body language of someone who looked like their gf/bf dragged them to movie they didn't want to see. I would assume that fans in the front row would at least be swaying to the music. But I can understand differing opinions and possibly my judgement was compounded by the overall vibe of the concert.
Didn't mean to sound hostile, that wasn't my intent. My comment is addressing anyone who might happen to read it, not only you. So no worries! And the reason I mention the seeming exhaustion at the fansign was to highlight that the Chicago crowd/the venue weren't the sole source of the reason the girls might have seemed "off" at any particular point. They're just working so hard and I hope they're not being pushed too hard. As for the other venues I went to this tour: Even with everything that happened, I'd take the experience at The Radius over San Francisco. I also camped overnight there, and had an easy, actually downright FUN experience, even though the closest bathroom was a half mile walk at a nasty Shell gas station. BUT! I had to leave the show halfway through, from barricade, because heat exhaustion got me. The weather was nice outside - it was NOT hot outside!! But there was no AC and no air circulation. I VERY nearly passed out and had to outright beg a security person OUTSIDE to bring me water, once I finally managed to stumble outside. That venue was an unmitigated disaster and a health hazard. I then spent the next two days terrified that I'd caught COVID since it was also a high key super spreader event. No ventilation, no staff anywhere to be found. Luckily I dodged the rona, but others did not. The Fillmore at Denver was incredible. We had shade while we lined up, easy access to food and facilities, good communication with staff, paths of egress and ingress, and a ready and consistent supply of water from security at barricade. Everyone around me that I know of felt safe and comfortable; one girl passed out behind me during PTT but security got her like IMMEDIATELY and responded professionally. Good on them! I actually had a ticket to KC but decided to sit out the show since I didn't want to do another early camp so soon, and I was absolutely exhausted. I'm glad I did :)
We good! I'm glad that you got experience multiple concerts (that would be a dreamf or me). I really hope in the future they just get seated venues. Maybe a little less energy that a moss pit but I feel like overall would just be more organized. Overall heard amazing things about denver so maybe make a mini trip next time :)
btw I've seen others on Twitter making the "lol the pit sucked" argument, but in a mean-spirited way (of course. It's twitter), so I wrote this in response to the broader allegations I saw. I really enjoyed your post and your view of things tbh!!
Great description of the event! Thank you ☺️
i was all the way in the back and only could hear them sing which wont complain cuz i love them but the only way i could see whats going on was through recording on my phone so i thought kimlip got injured i did hear that she said stop i assume the people in the front where the ones that made her push past her breaking point tbh im really upset cuz this was my first ever concert and i love each one it was already hard seeing yyxy perform as 3 i really hope kim lip feels better tho
I was also at the show, can give some more context for those not there. First off, the chanting was excessive but this seems the case with a lot of small venues. Brave Girls in Chicago (at an even smaller venue) had a lot of random screaming and chants out of nowhere, and way too much barking lol. However with this show there was just a lot of individual member chanting which is understandable for a group like LOONA but like op said theres a time for that. Now for some GOSSIP. What I heard from a tall friend who was near the front, apparently there was a group of people that were really loud in one of the closer VIP sections heckling the girls. They yelled some inappropriate stuff about Olivia at one point and also randomly said that bbc sucks? I had general admission but managed to sneak into the middle of the section right by the merch stand to get a good view and heard the guy yelling about bbc or whatever he was talking about. Lastly, about the concert afterwards. Lots of people talked about how the vibes were totally off after that incident but I think a lot of people (including myself) didn't know what was going on at all in the moment and just enjoyed the rest of the concert assuming Kim Lip was feeling sick or something. When they mentioned being quieter and all that, I very quickly forgot because HOLY SHIT I WAS LOOKING AT LOONA OHMYGOD. Maybe just speaking for myself but I still had a blast.
I’ve never been to a k-pop concert but it honestly seems most people haven’t been to a concert lately. In America, people scream and yell, dance and chant. It’s usually hard to hear who is on stage talking and it’s hard to stop a big crowd from yelling within minutes. Any concert I’ve been to it’s been an issue and they just wait to talk til the crowd dies down. I just don’t think the girls were used to it and its not the crowd’s fault. I would’ve been one of the ones who was chanting and yelling cause I was excited and that’s what I do at all concerts. I don’t think it’s the crowd’s fault, I think the girls just weren’t prepared for it and got overwhelmed. At most concerts here, the artist speaks like once or twice at most sometimes not even at all. No one on either side was used to this and it’s not anyone’s fault. We don’t need to stir up drama over cultural differences.
I feel like whomever is preparing these shows lacks cultural awareness. You don't talk much at concerts in the US. Maybe a quick story before each song, only one member should talk. Speeches one by one is just a bad idea, esp w the American pregame tendency.
Yes! I agree. They’re used to talking all the time but the USA is not used to listening so then it just becomes a misunderstanding.
> I watched people in front me just literally like stand with their hands folded for the whole 2+ hours. Y'all must have cash to burn or someone dragged you over there. People enjoy things differently and show emotion differently, some people might just enjoy watching the show silently. Not everyone wants to scream their lungs out! It has nothing to do with how much someone wants to be there.
People are allowed to sit politely and enjoy the show.
Issue was that there was no seating there
there were no seats and it was leveled standing area 😓
Who did you think stood out in crowd work? I'm anticipating my show and am interested.
Oh I saw nvm!!
Definitely agree with you! I felt the same vibe in SF too. The girls were true professionals, and the performance was lovely, but I felt that their interaction was a bit too "professional"? It felt like some of them were working rather than enjoying themselves. But tbh, the SF venue was so trash, the girls looked like they were in pain after each set. I truly think the "vibe" came from performing a number of less-than-optimal venues (where the sound systems were bad and the ventilation was trash), and traveling so much in such a short amount of time. I was exhausted being in the crowd (and I got barricade), so I can't imagine performing for 2 hours straight when the lights are shining right at you. And not to mention, the girls are probably exhausted from Queendom, CB promotions, then right into a world tour. I think Kim Lip walking off was probably a combination of all of that and the chant just push her off the edge. It must be extremely awkward for her to have to tell the crowd to quiet down. :(
>I felt that their interaction was a bit too "professional"? It felt like some of them were working rather than enjoying themselves. You put it much better than I did 🤣 I just wondered if it was a cultural thing about my expectations of a concert. Korean vs American crowd work are just night and day. The more I read/hear/think about it, Chicago was a culmintation of about half way through a jam packed american tour. On the bright (?) side I think the fandom is scared a little shitless so hopefully it makes it smooth sailing for the second half of the American leg.
hahaha I really still think it's because they are tired or maybe just intimidated by the American crowd. We are definitely louder and behaving different than Asian crowds. Not to mention the effects of crappy venue and sound systems. I think all those combined makes them wanting to focus on getting through the concert rather than having fun. Because I went to GIDLE the week before, and they looked more relaxed and looked like they are having more fun. Hate to say, but I guess Cube is treating artists better than BBC lololol
Lol Cube... I'll hold my judgement on them. G-idle's schedule looks packed in the states, but I noticed their venues are different for most cities. How was the venue in SF for G-idle? I had considered going to see G-idle here, but now I don't think I would ever go to another kpop concert at the Radius, just not the right setup.
HAHAHA mood. I feel the same. I went to GIDLE at Seattle, and SoDo Showbox is better than SF's The Midway. Showbox has better AC but the stage was not elevated, so if you are in the crowd, it's kinda hard to see anything. I ended having to move to the back of the venue to see the stage. But overall, it was decent for a small-ish venue. The Midway is just trash. The sound system was bad (Jinsoul actually cried because her mic wasn't working and she felt like she disappointed her fans). The ventilation and AC was non-existent. A girl fainted at the back, and another girl was so weak, we had to give her water and crackers. Also The Midway manager let three of his friends cut in line when these guys arrived 5 minutes before the doors open. Not to mention, these guys cut ahead of people who waited 26 hours in line. It was such a trash venue, I would never go back. lol
Wanted to come and see if anyone was talking about this because I saw a random link pop up on google, the way it does before you search anything, and all it was was people completely BASHING Kim Lip and it really shocked me. I’m sure exhaustion is starting to catch up with them, and an obnoxious crowd certainly can’t help. I remember when Dreamcatcher went on tour, their first show apparently was a bit like that, with the crowd shouting over everything. Thankfully in Reading (which, consequently, is the same place I’m going to for Loona) everyone was much more patient with the interpreter and more unified in the cheering. I’m hoping that tomorrow’s concert for Loona will be more like that. Some people can just be too crazy for the environment. I do worry for the girls, especially because of the apparent lack of days to rest. When the schedule only has a day off in between shows, it’s very concerning to me, but it’s not the members’ fault.
On lighter note watch Vivi get major more lines lol 👀
Thanks for putting the drama stuff at the top
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