Sorry I’ve been MIA lately. I’ve been bogged down with school so anime watching has almost come to a screeching halt. I’m also sorry if I have been inconsistent in reading your material. I hope to find time to catch up on everyone’s blogging. I did complete my first 8-week class with an A, so I am proud of myself. I guess my old mind hasn’t completely left me yet.
At the end of September, BTS announced a four-concert residency at Los Angeles’ SoFi Stadium. Being able to see BTS live has been long-awaited since the cancellation of their last tour due to COVID. I was shocked to learn that they were going to come to the United States to make that happen. I knew immediately I had to get tickets.
They’ve slowly been winding down. They did their last show in their Run BTS web series. In this show, they hosted their own variety show. Some of my most memorable moments of BTS is from Run BTS. It’s a staple on my YouTube playlist. BTS and their staff kept reassuring fans throughout the show that it was going to be a brief pause and not the end, but that isn’t the vibe I got AT ALL. Even season 2 of “In the Soop” (A planned 4-day forest vacation for BTS) has this very “end of the road” vibe to it. Let’s be honest. They’ve worked hard for eight years. They have routinely released an album every year. It does not surprise me that I’ve been getting the “winding down” vibes. In addition, a few of the members are nearing their deadline to join military service as that is mandatory in South Korea. I think I see the writing on the wall, although, you always try to stay positive and hope your favorite group isn’t disbanding.
That made me more determined to get concert tickets. I really felt like this would be my last and only chance to see them live.
Y’all. It was the hardest thing I have ever done! Who knew getting tickets to a concert could be that hectic.
TICKETING PROCESS
Let’s talk about the ticketing process. It was complicated. There were five rounds of presale tickets. The first presale opened up only to fans that purchased VIP tickets to the recently canceled tour. The next day, the second presale opened up only to fans that purchased general tickets for the recently canceled tour. The next day, the third round of presales opened up. These were only available to BTS Global Official Fanclub Army Members. That’s right. I had to pay $22 to become a member of the global fan club. Even then, you were not guaranteed a presale code. I was luckily assigned a code. The next round of presales went to “verified Ticketmaster” fans. The last presale was to open the remaining tickets to the general public. Tickets sold out before even reaching the last stage of the presale. Obviously, fans were pissed.
MY EXPERIENCE
On the day of ticket sales for Army members, I was actually sick with a stomach bug. I had tried to return to work the day of the ticket sales and didn’t make it. About halfway through the day, that “feeling” you get in the stomach where it is going to come out of both ends hit me. I worked from home the rest of the day, so I think that worked to my advantage. I was actually going to try to purchase the tickets from work and stay there as long as I needed to get the job done. I guess thank you upset stomach?
After throwing up and engaging in other stomach virus actions, I sat at my computer excitedly counting down the minutes to my husband. The waiting room opened exactly at 5 p.m. It is important to point out that I used the link Ticketmaster gave me and told me to use to access the presale. This point is important for later in the story. I clicked on the link and it took me to a waiting room. From here, Ticketmaster puts you in the order that you entered the waiting room. At least, that is how I understand it. Then, when tickets go live, you remain in that order. So, when tickets went live, I was 2000+ in line. They don’t even tell you what number you are after 2000. I waited for an hour and a half before my turn came up. I got excited. I look at the ticket screen. There aren’t many tickets left. Then, I look at the date of the show. IT’S WRONG! I needed the December 1 show, and the link took me to the November 27th show. I panicked! I was literally at the point of tears. My husband was trying his hardest to be positive and to calm me down. He tells me that there is a listing for the December 1 show and tells me where to find it. I immediately click on the correct show’s waiting room with tears welling up in my eyes. I screwed up. And, then I see it. I was 2000+ in line. I was devastated. If the November 27th show was any indication of what was left, I had no chance. My husband encouraged me to stick with it. When the line started moving really fast, I was even more defeated. That definitely had to mean people were ditching the queue because there were no more tickets. When my turn came up, there were only maybe 200 left. No VIP seats, no floor seats. Only nosebleed. I clicked maybe 20 sets of tickets before I finally was able to lock two seats down. It wasn’t a matter of where I wanted to sit. It was a matter of grabbing what you can and being grateful.
I had done it. I had never experienced something so stressful in my life. Do people do this for concert tickets?! I heard stories about how hard BTS tickets were difficult to get, but now I truly know. It is cutthroat and brutal. When I received my confirmation, I almost cried. I was happy, I was irritated, excited, and scared all at the same time.
Following, I immediately booked plane tickets and our hotel in Los Angeles. Now, the next obstacle is hoping Southwest Airlines figures their shit out and actually keeps my flights. This is a true worry. If they can just get me there, I’ll be happy. If they want to screw anything up, please let it be the flight home. I would be able to mentally accept that.
It sounds silly, but I feel like this is a major achievement in life. I’ve never been much of a concert-goer, so to go all out like this was definitely out of my comfort zone. My therapist keeps telling me to “treat yo’ self” and to take better care of my mental status. When I told her what I did, she was truly happy for me. That felt good. Doing things like this is not normal for me. For some of you, it might happen naturally and you don’t think twice about it. For me, it was a major stressor that had me waffling back and forth about whether to do it or not. This is where my therapist would wag her finger and say, “Take care of yourself.” And, I did. I’m finally going to do something I’ve always wanted to do. Buy tickets to a show out of town and make the most of it.
Filthy Casual for Life 