(The author flew to Los Angeles to watch the BTS Permission to Dance concert in Los Angeles yesterday November 28–BTS’ first in-person concert in two years since the start of the pandemic. This week, until December 2—December 3 in the Philippines—tens of millions of ARMYs the world over, as the mammoth fan base of this global band is known, will watch the concert live at SoFi Stadium or catch clips on social media or watch the livestream concert on its last day.
Here’s the account of this Filipino lawyer ARMY for TheDiarist.ph. — Editor)
My BTS day started at 2:45 p.m.. I was ready and off to SoFi because I wanted to be early. I got there at around 3:30 to meet with my concert buddies, Darwin Mariano, his partner Carlo and friend Jong.
Walking to SoFi at 5:30 p.m.
This was the line to buy concert merch. I am so impressed with the patience of ARMY. My friend, Darwin, lined up for eight hours yesterday to purchase concert merch. And I thought the ticket buying process was the most difficult part.
Then at 6 p.m. people started heading for the entrance. SoFi didn’t seem at all organized. There was no line and so this craziness happened.
That was the crowd to enter the stadium. Everyone was starting to fear not being able to enter the venue on time. But being the loving and patient fans that we are, everyone just waited for one’s turn.
The stadium staff attempted to check each person’s vax card, ID and clear bag. Only clear bags were allowed to be brought inside and it must be no bigger than 12x12x6 inches.
After two hours of waiting, SoFi finally realized that if they continued to check at the pace they were doing, the fans wouldn’t be in until 9 pm. It was then they just decided to open the gates and let everyone in.
Oh at around 5:30 p.m., sound check started. You could hear it outside and that gave the waiting area some party vibe. ARMY was already screaming and cheering during sound check.
So once we all got in, the excitement was already at its peak. People were walking quickly to their seats. ARMY bombs got sold out even before the show started.
For this concert, BTS released a Special Edition ARMY Bomb that is blue tooth-enabled and you could pair it with your seat using an app. So cool!!
Darwin and I can’t contain out excitement! Seeing the boys live was a dream about to be realized.
They opened the concert with ON! This song has never been performed before a stadium live audience. This opening set the tone for a concert that had me hooked from one song to the next. What an amazing start. This was immediately followed by Fire. Another awesome high-energy song that got the crowd staying up on its feet – which was for almost the entire concert except for when BTS went for costume change.
Then third segment opened with Life Goes On, a song released during the pandemic. Many of the songs of the second and third segments were performed for the first time in live concert. And that made it an even more memorable experience. So many firsts in this concert.
Between Dynamite and Butter was an awesome dance break that they made just for this concert. As usual, BTS danced like a single unit, insanely in sync and with moves that would make your jaw drop in awe.
Telepathy is one of my favorite songs. Made even more special by this surprise move of going around the stadium for the fans to see them up close. You could really feel how happy they were to see ARMY.. Their smiles, their eyes and most of all their energy radiated in the entire concert.
No concert is complete without IDOL!
They started the encore with a song dedicated to ARMY. Truly, what makes BTS bulletproof is its loyal, loving ARMY.
My favorite part of every concert is when each one of them gives a heartfelt message. You can feel they were holding back tears as they expressed how much they missed performing in front of a live audience and how they are so grateful to ARMY for patiently waiting for their return to the stage. As Suga said, the ARMY’s cheers affirm that performing is what he is meant to do.
The encore for the On Stage concert was different from the On Line concert. I love that they sang songs close to the ARMY’s heart like Answer: Love Myself. This song is one of my favorites too. And of course, the concert is not complete without Permission to Dance!
Goodbye for now BTS!! This will surely just be the first of many BTS concerts in my life. Thank you for making traveling half way across the world, with my whole family in tow, so so worth it! You were my bright light and source of happiness the past two years. Today, I realized why I love you so much. It is because you love your fans, maybe even more than we love you. You work hard, you push and always do better than your best to make us happy. Thank you for making BTS ARMY the luckiest fandom there is.
The stadium was filled to the brim. Not a single empty seat in the house. And not a single person who was not on his feet. But the most amazing part was how almost everyone one of us knew every single song by heart. I can not get over hearing an international audience sing Korean songs. It was amazing!
I felt like I was in the biggest ARMY party. It truly was a party more than it was a concert. I can now understand why an online concert or just watching one on videos isn’t the same. What made this concert the experience that it was was the exchange of energy between BTS and Army. You could so feel that the boys were fueled by ARMY’s enthusiasm and love. They were tireless and performed even harder song after song because ARMY matched them in every way. In return, ARMY partied harder as we watched BTS perform. I have never experienced anything like it. It is that connection between BTS and its fans that truly sets them apart.
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