Borahae, LA 💜
In late 2020, I fell DEEP down the BTS rabbit hole. Thanks to my active contributions to the /r/bangtan subreddit, I lucked out and was able to purchase Day 2 tickets to their short four-day Permission to Dance concert in LA (which they then brought to Vegas and Seoul for similar stints). This was like the Eras tour before Taylor Swift dreamt of it: a "greatest hits" concert that compiled all of BTS's COVID-era releases and served as their pre-military sendoff. I was so thankful to see BTS at this time in my life, when they were most important to me. As the saying goes, BTS is there when you need them the most. And during the COVID lockdown era, boy, did I need them!
I strapped my Chimmy keychain on my backpack, made a whole booklet of fan-chants to study on the plane, and found myself on a flight from Toronto to LA that was absolutely JAM-PACKED with BTS ARMY. The customs officers knew what we were going for. The airline played BTS music on the plane for us as we boarded. The entire flight was composed of ARMY members wearing Fear of God and merch (because anyone on that flight was either rich-rich or crazily obsessed and committed to seeing BTS during our last(?!) chance to catch them as 7). It was lightning in a bottle, I tell ya.
Pre-concert shenanigans
In what would soon become a west coast tradition, our first stop in LA was In-N-Out with Jumanah, Sam, and Shahneela. It was late though, so we quickly headed to the Airbnb for the night.
The next morning, I visited Santa Monica Pier early (TY jetlag) with Jess, Nav, and Meehakk. We biked along the coast to Venice Beach, which was a lot of fun. I didn't realize that Santa Monica and Venice were different cities with their own bylaws. For example, when I was there, Lime scooters were permitted in Santa Monica but not Venice Beach (I think they've exited the area altogether now though). Quite forbodingly, the weather turned super cold and foggy by the time we arrived in Venice Beach. It really matched all the... unhomed tent-dwellers. Nevertheless, we decided to grab breakfast in the area. While the rest went for Eggslut, I got an overly sweet and solid açai bowl. Somehow, we still had room for lunch at Trejo's tacos right after this, then walked around Santa Monica Place. It was a super upscale outdoor mall—what a huge departure from Venice Beach.
The day's progression
The concert!!
After our morning adventures, it was time for the MAIN EVENT: the BTS concert!! The BTS ARMY is so lovely. SoFi stadium was popping all day long, like a mini-festival. We got in line by 3pm (for a 7:30pm concert), and with good reason. There were lines for EVERYTHING, even the express ARMY bomb lane (not what it sounds like, to the non-BTS fans out there) and all the photo spots. Laneige had a cute collab and activation with BTS on-site, but again: the lines were crazy. Overall, I was happy with our timing. We got into the venue comfortably early, even stopping for nachos and a washroom break. Other fans were super nice, handing out goodies like photo cards and candy. People really went all-out with cool outfits, too!
At this time, SoFi stadium was pretty new to concerts post-COVID, and we could tell. The staff didn't have much information about ANYTHING. But whatever: we were here for BTS, not the stadium logistics. And SoFi was really pretty, anyhow. Despite having side-view seats, it actually felt like we could see the boys really close-up when they came over to our side of the stage! Unfortunately, I did come to realize that I enjoy concerts a lot more when I can sing along. If I see BTS again, I'll really have to learn more Korean. I'm a bit sad to admit that this was my peak fandom period, and it was only downhill after this trip. I think I also prefer the crush and energy of music festivals to big seated stadium concerts.
People brought all sorts of fun BTS paraphernalia, like this life-size cutout of V. The concert itself had amazing energy. People also handed out a ton of goodies, although I've never been a photocard type of fan.
Like a crazy person, I live-logged my concert thoughts, so here they are:
- • RM: I give him credit for making BTS what it is. What a great leader. He shone in the "ments" — he was so silly, and gave such strong Dad/Uncle/Teacher-type vibes.
- • Jin was a surprising highlight in Fake Love. His side profile looks better in real life than on-screen.
- • Suga shines in the most aggressive moments (like Idol and So What). People cheered for him the loudest, which surprised me.
- • Hobi really has so much in-person power. The fans always talk about it, and they're right.
- • Jimin was SO CUTE irl. He kept spelling out his name, like: "j-i-M-i-N"!
- • V's voice is the softest and weakest. I felt like he had less stage presence, although he really shone in moody songs like Blue & Grey, Black Swans, and the VCR acting moments. He's a lot cuter when interacting with the others like the true extrovert that he is.
- • Jungkook is my bias. He's objectively adorable, but I didn't feel his presence as much on stage. He clearly loves ARMY a lot though. I saw him lingering with the fans, and was super considerate about getting as close to us as possible by the outer edges of the stage.
Getting home was pretty crazy: we decided to walk a bit out of the way to meet up with Sam (bless him for driving all the way through LA to pick us up). We almost got hit in a motorcycle police car chase through the dangerous streets of suburban LA, which led Meehakk to adamantly demand pickup closer than the pre-arranged McDonald's pickup spot. Sam found us eventually, but the two of them fought over the stress of it all.
From there, I went to the SLS Hotel! It was super opulent with flashy styling, like a picture of Lenny Kravitz outside the elevator and 360º bathroom mirrors. It was very LA.
The friendship tour
The next day, I went to downtown LA with Kenny to check out the Gentle Monster flagship store and eat lunch at Sugarfish. The "Nozawa Trust Me" was a good, affordable omakase, although they were a bit heavy handed with the yuzu and ponzu sauces. The hand rolls were so warm; I totally understood how Sugarfish went on to open Kazunori, too. It was here that I had edamame for the first time, with all credit to Rich Brian for his inspirational song of the same name (Hey little mama, yeah, you heard about me / Imma pop you like a pea, yeah, edamame). Downtown LA was close to Skid Row, but it felt very much like a regular city to me. It gave strong Chicago vibes, and there were far fewer people experiencing homelessness (compared to say, Venice Beach).
Sunnies I regret not buying.
Afterwards, I went shopping at Westfield Century City. It's a nice mall with EVERY (fancy) STORE you could possibly want to visit. It was kinda cold since it was outdoors, but not unbearably so considering it was December. I bought some Japanese baked goods as a Christmas gift for my grandma.
Next, I went to Urth Caffe and met some of Kenny's friends — April, Kyla, and Mika from the Philippines. We bonded over BTS. I found it funny that they didn't fail to mention where they went to high school (Greenhills) — common among the well-to-do crowd in the Philippines. This was also the first time I've tried a caffeine-free Thai tea boba (who knew that was even possible?).
To cap off the evening, I went to Park's BBQ with Will! It was very good, but still not quite at the level of kbbq in Korea. While we don't keep in touch too regularly, I'm glad I've continued to have touchpoints with Will from exchange every now and then.
Fandoms pt. two
The next day, I met up with Meehakk and squad once again to check out the Hayao Miyazaki exhibit at the Academy Museum. Secretly though... it didn't make much of an impression to me, since I'd never seen a Ghibli movie. I guess there was an interesting Toy Story ZooBox carousel? And it had a nice rooftop!
We also checked out the LACMA lights during the daytime. Fun!
Afterwards, we did some food tourism. Only in hindsight do I realize that Mississauga/Toronto friends tend to hop from food establishment to food establishment as a way to hang out with friends. Is it because we were socialized to do so in third-places like malls and Starbucks chains growing up? In any case, we went to Gol Tong Chicken for lunch... then Somi Somi (a taiyaki place for dessert)... and Tan Cha to wash it all down with bubble tea. Near Somi Somi in Japantown, there was an insanely long line for a kpop store. It seems as though all the BTS fans who came for the concert descended on it.
That evening, it was time for the Jingle Ball!! Meehakk sold her ticket, so it was just me, Jumanah, Shahneela, and Kenny (who had gotten his own ticket through work). Capital One gave out fun light-up antlers to everyone. Disappointingly, Dua Lipa cancelled due to illness. But I didn't mind too much since I was there to see BTS, anyway. We ran a few rows up to see BTS open the show (and to wish Jin a happy birthday!). Seeing them so close-up was an out-of-body experience. My knees buckled and I might've started hyperventilating. Hysterically, BTS was then followed up by DIXIE D'AMELIO. It's funny because TikTok stars like her have really faded from the limelight in the subsequent years, and her lack of stage presence was just so jarring after BTS. I had a really fun time seeing the other artists perform too, though. Arguably, I might've enjoyed it more than the full PTD concert two days prior? But that could also be from the energy of floor seats. The vibes of the event overall were slightly more ratchet compared with the super-wholesome BTS concert. And for the life of me, I did not understand why there were so many ads for milk from New Zealand. That stuff probably can't get imported to LA, can it?
Once again, I live-logged my thoughts on each set and stack-ranked them to commemorate the experience! In order from my favourite to least-favourite set...
- BTS was obviously #1. It was such a treat for them to wheel out a cake for Jin's birthday, sing My Universe, and the holiday remix of Dynamite.
- Surprisingly... Lil Nas X??! He is SUCH a great performer. It was so iconic to see him throw it all out there. I admired the way he transcended from being a one-hit wonder risk to a legitimate star that represents Black queer men everywhere. His performance was a celebration, and it really got the people going.
- The Kid Laroi was also up-there for me. I seemed to be the only person in the whole stadium who enjoyed him more than Djoa Cat? He performed so many bangers like Still Chose You, Go Go, F You Goodbye, Always Do, Stay, and Without You. Shahneela fell asleep here (I guess he's not popular with the young'uns). I was disappointed that he couldn't hit the high notes in Without You though.
- Bazzi. He said something along the lines of, "I will play old songs because I haven't had a hit in a year and a half. Sad but true. It was fun hearing some of my favs like Paradise, ifly, Beautiful, and Mine though. But where was my personal fav, 3:15??!
- Ed Sheeran. I just wish he played some of his older hits, especially Thinking Out Loud, A Team, and Lego House. Instead, we got Perfect (which was perfect), plus some others from DIvide that I never came to love as much (namely, Shivers, Shape of You, and Bad Habits).
- Black Eyed Peas. Will.i.am was perpetually flat, and Fergie was nowhere to be found. They closed out the concert, so a lot of people left early. It was sad seeing people perform past their prime. As a middle school girlie of the late 2000s though, it would've been sacrilege to leave without bopping along to I Gotta Feeling.
- Doja Cat. I just don't get the hype. I only liked Kiss Me More, and SZA sings most of it.
- Dixie D'Amelio. Poor girl had to go after BTS, enough said.
- Saweetie. I honestly forgot all about this performance until I reviewed the night. Uh... something icy?
- Tate McRae. Andrew's sister Allison would hate to hear it, but she just wasn't there yet. Why didn't she perform her main hit at the time, Working?!
Closing time
To close out the trip, I visited Griffith Observatory with Kenny and saw the Hollywood sign in the distance. Unfortunately, it was very foggy and Griffith was closed. Next time! Instead, we pivoted to the Getty Museum. I loved this place! The central garden and the aesthetic artsy walls were so pleasing.
Me giving my best impression of falling out of a coconut tree, and Kenny giving his best impression of an angsty emo album cover.
We then checked out Abbot Kinney near Venice Beach. It's a shopping street with cute boutiques. I found this a lot of fun. I nearly bought a sweater with a cute embroidered carrot on it. There was a day market that also had cute animal stickers and magnets, colourful streetwear, and strangely... a bunch of astrology / crystal-type stuff. From here, we HAD to make a visit to Erewhon. I actually hadn't heard of Erewhon at the time; it hadn't blown up yet with Hailey Bieber smoothies and the like. Instead, I was just struck by the wide variety of juices.
Afterwards, I went to a Mexican restaurant with Kenny, Brandon, Ellen, and Andrew S (Ellen's boyfriend). I ordered carne asada nachos, for which there were far too many. From there, we hopped to the Blind Barber speakeasy and Dwit Gol Mok k-pocha. Lots of people there were evidently pre-ing for Arena (the Easy / Mission of LA). It was funny to see ABGs furtively drink Hennessy in their car with Arena guestlist on their phones. We were a bit old for this, and finished the night at the pocha by 1 am. After all, I had a 3:30 am wake-up to catch my flight!
Overall, trip MVP was Kenny for hanging out and driving me all over LA. Big ups to Meehakk for assembling a motley crew of passionate fans. I'd also be remiss not to give a shoutout to the lovely ARMY Redditor who selected ME to transfer BTS tickets at face-value after we failed to secure our own tickets through the presale. And finally, thank you to BTS for walking by my side throughout COVID and coaxing me out into the world for their concert. 보라해 💜
Trip date: November 30, 2021 - December 5, 2021