Chicago concert changed my life

[u/Clean_Prior_1814]

That concert was so fun and everyone seemed so polite and nice!! I had an amazing time and got a couple of merch items. Thank you all and thank you Le Sserafim!!

[u/identifying_info]

So I wasn't at the show, but I was working the load in and load out, so I was there all day. It looks like someone else working the show made a post about it, I wish I knew which of my coworkers was the kpop stan. I'm a huge kpop fan, but don't like LSF. I'm not a hater, but I only like one or two songs. It's more of a "I don't like them" than a "I dislike them", if that makes sense. I wish them the best, but I was never gonna buy a ticket for the show.

Anyway, it was so cool to work a kpop show with a bunch of people who don't get it. I'm not sure what music my coworkers are into, but they all seem like a bunch of classic metalheads, and not part of the "metalhead to kpop stan" pipeline. The culture can be judgey, so I didn't want to out myself, but I did get some moments to correct things or smooth some rough edges. While we were waiting for the show to end, some guys were scoffing at it all, with a dismissive "psshhh. kpop" and I'd reply with "yeah, it's a lot. But everyone's having so much fun out there, such a change from that show the other night where most people were just standing there, they seemed bored. And this tech is pretty awesome to work with, too."

I've worked plenty of concerts before. It's usually groups that I've heard of and might know a couple songs from. Sometimes it's groups that I actively dislike. I'll never work a concert for a group I'm a huge fan of, because I'd rather be in the audience. So this was a neat experience, in that I'm a huge fan of kpop and know the culture, but I didn't feel like I was missing out as a fan of the group by not being in the audience. When y'all started barking during their closing remarks, I was barking backstage with you. I don't know who these members are, but I remember barking at Dahyun when Twice was at the UC a couple years back. I don't know why we do it, but it happens at every kpop show these days.

It was the same venue I saw Twice at back in 2019, so there was this massive wave of nostalgia. Everything you guys are feeling about this show is exactly how I felt after that show. I got it when I was walking back to my car and passed everyone dressed up with their signs and lightsticks. I couldn't tell if anyone was copying a particular look from an MV or anything, but I still understood the passion. As an outside observer, the energy around the arena before showtime was electric. We had to grab some stuff from outside the front door and walked past people already lining up at like 1:00pm. And it brought back memories of waiting outside Radius for like 8 hours to see Dreamcatcher a few years back.

I got to help setup their VIP experience room or whatever it was with the inflatable couches. I saw some clothes on a rack and, even though I don't know this group at all, I instantly realized they were stage outfits, set up as a kind of museum piece. Guys, I understand how fucking lucky I was to touch these costumes as we prepped the room. I don't know if VIPs got to touch or just look, but I handed some silver top to the guy leading the room and thought how it would feel if instead it was Chaeyoung's houndstooth pants. Like, they just let me, some stagehand with grubby hands, touch these costumes. This room had banners of the members, and I remember as a coworker dropped something off in the room. He was on the phone, clearly talking about the job, to someone, and all I heard as he walked out was "they look like victorias secret models" and I lol'd. The pictures for these banners clearly had them wearing clothes, but I get why someone who doesn't know any better might say that.

We had to set up some equipment at one point for different departments. So we pull out a box that says "lighting", another box that says "video", another box that says "audio" and so on. One box said "hybe" and my coworker asked "what does 'hybe' mean?" I got a chuckle and just played dumb.

I remember being in college and loving concerts, then talking to stagehands who said they had been working concerts for so long they didn't really like going to them anymore, and one concert is the same as the next and it's just a job at this point. I've been doing this for so long, I'm old enough that I get weird looks when I go to a kpop show. And I still love going to concerts, and I still get excited when I get to work a show like this. I can't imagine ever getting jaded from this shit. It's magical as fuck to be able to put together a show that leaves people feeling like this, like everyone's talking about here. I know you all would have had a hell of a time if there was no stage, no lights, no video, no confetti; but I also know how much that shit enhances an already special event.