I need more SNSD!

SM Town Live (after the show)

May 20, 2012 was certainly great day to kick off the summer of all K-Pop fans, who attended SM Town Live World Tour III in Los Angeles. The show started a little past 7 PM and ended around 10:45 PM. On top of that MBC was also present to record and edit this concert to air in South Korea soon with Leeteuk, Taeyeon, and Tiffany as the main emcees! The bad news about all these factors tied together was there were NO CAMERAS OF ANY KIND allowed before and during the show, probably because this concert was meant to be exclusive? I'm not sure. The usher stood close to my seat so there was no way I could sneak a shot during the show, but I wouldn't be surprised if there were some photos or videos leaked online somewhere. The good news though was there were thousands of glow/light sticks (in various colors) seen amongst the crowd, including me. Bobbing your light/glow stick to music is the best part of the experience.

SM Town Live (after the show)

The Honda Center was packed with thousands of people! I don't know exactly how many people showed up, but from what I saw, the stadium was near no vacancy. My seat was very high from the ground, but that didn't take away my pleasant experience whatsoever. Wherever you're seated, there's always a huge projection screen to help you see the artists perform on stage.

The fan support shown for all of the performers that night were truly something to behold. Being surrounded by a bunch of screaming/cheering fans who sing and groove to the music moved me so much that I never got bored. I think Amber was the most popular person that night because she's from LA and there's nothing better than receiving love from your home town.

SM Town Live featured performances from SHINee, TVXQ, SNSD, EXO, Super Junior, f(x), and BoA. Disappointment quickly arose when I found out Kwon Yuri couldn't show up because she is still filming in her drama Fashion King. Likewise, Im Yoona and Choi Siwon were also missing because of their own commitments.

All groups performed in no specific order, and the overall pace was like a game of Russian Roulette, which is good. The shuffling order left me wondering, "Who'll be next?" then be surprised with the results immediately. Aside from the usual track hits, SM Town assembled some special stage concepts such as Max and Kyuhyun singing Just The Way You Are, Jessica and Krystal blowing up the stage with California Girls, and Amber along with Kris and Key bouncing to Like A G6. The loudest fan chant ever heard was when the overwhelming majority screamed, "GG!" when SNSD sang The Boys.

My favorite songs of the night performed by each group were:

• SNSD - Gee
• SHINee - Sherlock
• Super Junior - Sorry Sorry
• TVXQ - Maximum
• f(x) - Nu ABO
• EXO - History
• BoA - Look Who's Talking

Another memorable moment was when Tiffany said how it's amazing that folks from different countries can unite through music. That saying had me thinking for a moment and I eventually understood exactly what such words meant. K-Pop is something I embrace, even though I cannot speak or read Korean whatsoever. However, those wonderful beats and melodies move me into a happy and peaceful frame of mind. I also feel honored to enjoy those same songs with folks from different countries and backgrounds. Therefore in a way, yes music can draw people from different parts of the world to come together and groove to the same beat.

In a nutshell, the concert was so good that I was left with a desire for wanting more. I guess this experience was like attending a great party that got suddenly shutdown around it's peak. I literally couldn't get enough of the event, especially SNSD. If there was an opportunity to attend SNSD's next solo concert, I'd like to be one of the fans to attend. If there's one thing I learned from this is, light sticks look better and shine brighter than glow sticks!