As promised, I’m writing my account of what went on while I was in Malaysia for what was probably one of the best EXO concert stages that I’ve seen. (Yes, being very bias here lol).  It was held in an open stadium which I personally like (albeit it would probably not be that enjoyable had it been raining heavily).

Nevertheless, it’s like the great Lord has graced EXO’s presence in Malaysian soil by giving us a clear sky for when the concert began, and fate even decided to throw in some random fireworks (totally unplanned, but awesome all the same. More details on that later~)

It’s not to say that everything was smooth sailing to begin with. My Malaysian friends did mention beforehand that Malaysia’s experiencing very hot and humid weather. I didn’t think much of that because my own place was pretty hot so I thought it would all be fine and dandy. But a few minutes after stepping out of the airport, I had the urge to run to the bathroom for a shower xD I was sweating like a pig!

After that I proceeded to check in my hotel and we just chilled at the hotel for a bit before heading towards the venue. When we went to check out the venue it was pretty alright, everyone seemed hyped and they were busy getting free merchandises. That was pretty fun, although I was too lazy to get any. It was really crowded though, and I was quite worried someone was gonna get a heatstroke or something.

If there’s one major complaint I’d have is that the organisers obviously forgot to take into account the fact that their concert venue was held in a stadium that’s also undergoing major renovations, hence many road closures and narrow entrances. Also, they should have estimated their amount of staff better. I could not find any concert staff while we were all loitering around outside the stadium.  Another point that could be improved on if they knew they had properly planned things was to open the entrance gate earlier. The concert was supposed to start at 8, and I was still in line to enter the stadium at 7:45. And the queue in front and behind me was still pretty long.

There was also a massive confusion as no one knew which line is for which ticket category.  It was extremely annoying and a bit unprofessional on their part, they should have stationed some staff to walk outside of the venue and give proper explanations. Apparently some said there was some announcement, but the speakers were barely audible and with such a huge space they should have known better. In fact, if they were so short handed the easiest thing was for them to simply update their FB to notify the fans. Simple as that.

So their idea was to have everyone, regardless of their category (Rock Zone, CAT 1, CAT2 and CAT3) to go through one barrier first. The officials will release batch by batch into the stadium, and it is in the stadium entrance only do I see the label and entrance for each category. They definitely look short-handed, and all their staff was just there, waiting in the entrance. Frankly I thought that was badly done and left a bit of a sour note to an otherwise perfect evening.

But I will say this. EXO delivered very well. The concert started with the intriguing VCR which I think is the same in all their concerts. I really liked that, and the English subs were definitely well done. Their first performance was Overdose, which definitely hyped up the crowd. I think it was followed by History, and my personal favourite, (I screamed extra loud), El Dorado. Complete with lightsaber dance and all. I can’t remember the exact sequence, but I think they sang about 27 songs. Including their first Christmas album songs!!!!!!!!!  I LOVED that they sang all them! Especially Miracles in December, that is like my ultimate favourite for a long, long time.

Also, when Kai and Sehun, I think, danced to Baby Don’t Cry and their solo involved them dancing in a pit of water. Which they proceeded to splash to the near fans. GORGEOUS. They were totally drenched, and there’s absolutely nothing ier than that.

Oh, and Playboy. That was when something extraordinary happened. I mentioned earlier that it was an open stadium. And it was during Playboy when suddenly there were fireworks exploding, and NO, they were not from the stage. Turns out a company near the stadium had something celebratory event going on and released their own fireworks. Now that is what I call a beautiful coincidence. Such impeccable timing!

The boys then blasted their more upbeat songs such as Run, Let Out The Beast, Machine, Drop That, Exodus  etc. It was so funny cause they tried to make the fans sing ‘wanbyeokan areumdaun’ part from Machine. They even asked us all to stand up and jump throughout this segment!

It was so funny when they were singing Peter Pan, cause then they did that freeze moment and Chanyeol went running across the stage and tried to get Chen and Suho (or was it Xiumin?) to kiss. I was just internally dying at that like OMG my feeeeeelllssss. And they also, surprisingly and to the great delight of my Malaysian friends, did that part of concert where they went behind a partition to change their shirts. Malaysia has had some problems with certain conservative parties, my friends had explained, so they didn’t think that that segment could happen. Well I guess the power of EXO prevails over anything. Either that or Malaysian fans are a scary and powerful bunch. (And if that’s the case kudos to you Malaysian fans, you guys rock!)

Alas, the ending came too soon. I swear a part of me died when the boys said it’s time to go, and then another awesome thing happened! The crowd started singing a birthday song! Heck, even I was a bit confused, until I remembered it’s freaking March and Xiumin’s birthday month! The boys themselves seemed surprised, and I swear Xiumin looked extremely flattered when he realised it was meant for him. So then the boys said to sing it again all together, and hotstuff Xiumin pretended he was conducting us as we all sang. Utterly amazing!!

While we waited for encore, another wonderful thing happened. Fans started singing the chorus of Sing for You non-stop. There was nothing more beautiful than that. There was the stage, already dark and the lightsticks really created the most stunning silver ocean. Even I was feeling teary as I joined them in singing along, it’s just soooooooo beautiful. And then another VCR popped out, this one with the instrumental of Promise. I can’t remember the exact words in the VCR, but it was just unbelievably touching, heartbreaking and made me love them more and more. Then encore kicked off with Sing for You and everyone held up a similar banner. Best part was they actually asked to see the banner and commented on it! Such incredible work by the fans really!!!

Last song was Unfair, which is very apt since I bet all the fans were thinking how unfair it is for the concert to have to end so soon. Two and a half hours really flew by quickly, even I was left devastated. Their closing segment was basically just them thanking fans and waving goodbye, although I think Chanyeol donned a fox mask? It was hilarious!!!

Sorry the post was really long, and I hope my facts are accurate enough. Everything seemed to pass by in a blur, and I think I have certain sequence of songs wrong since I’m writing based on memory. Overall it was a good show, and I have absolutely no regrets. The concert itself was perfect. The boys performed flawlessly and there was plenty of fan service that would probably start another round of fanfics!

My friends mentioned that the organisers did post an ‘apology’ for the massive delay in entrance and information, but when I read it they seemed to be a petty ‘sorry not sorry’ kind of excuse. Forgive me if I’m wrong, perhaps I’m still blinded with dissatisfaction.

Whatever it is, I had a GREAT time. I would do it again and again any day. I got to see my EXO boys performed, all nine boys and there’s nothing more that I could possibly ask of from them. They themselves seemed to have a swell time, although I think the heat and humidity was killing them too. It killed everyone, basically ^^

Again, this might be a bias opinion on my part, but I really enjoyed the concert and felt it was good that they did it in Malaysia. Pushing the crazy hot weather aside, the fans were pretty well behaved and there didn’t seem to be any argument or much shoving. Perhaps it just didn’t happen to me, I dunno. I loved that Sing for You project, and while I only remembered the fanchants, the Malaysian fans literally sang through most of the songs. Heck, when Miracles in December was performed I think everyone sang along to everything! That was so awesome!!!!

I feel so blessed to be a part of the Malaysian silver ocean, and I look forward to more of their Malaysian concerts to come. I was even able to make new friends and experience a little of the infamous Malaysian hospitality which is really no joke. I think if I had stayed longer I would be so fat trying out all the delicious food my old and new Malaysian friends forced on me!

I hope you guys enjoyed my account of the concert day. Granted, it wasn’t a perfect start, but the most important thing was that it ended perfectly. Imperfection is perfect, as some would say.

Thanks for reading this, and I hope I haven’t offended anyone. This is purely my own opinion and feelings, and not intended to malign and throw dirt at anyone else. If anything, let me know and I’ll be happy to make changes.

Lastly, for those who also went to the concert, comment and let’s spazz together!

Also, sorry but I didn’t really take a lot of pictures and they were pretty blurry cause I was too excited. If anyone’s got better pictures, can they give me pretty please? Or post it up in your blog and I can check it out!