SNSDave

As somebody who listens to country occasionally, I've deduced that country really sounds like

 

 

In all honesty, the vibe struck me as more R&B, than country, if anything else, like the above mentioned.

 

Country, really, is more

 

That is indeed very stalkerish.

But grats on not disturbing the peace.

Hello everyone, I'm Dave(SNSDave), Stylist @ Soshified and this is my fan-account for the SM Town NYC week-end + the fan-meet.


10.20-22(Leading up to the concert)


My trip began departing from LAX at 7:45 on Thursday, courtesy of Virgin America, bound for JFK Airport in NYC. First time going coast-to-coast solo, so I was a little nervous.


5 1/2 hours later, my fears were averted, and I touched down in NYC for the first time in my 20 years of existence.


I was due to be picked up by Soshified member bridgeen, who I'm eternally grateful to, when a funny incident occurred as I made my way out of the Men's restroom.


Security guard: "Excuse ma'am, the women's restrooms are over th-...oh man, sorry bro, thought you were a girl."


Har. Har. Har.


(For those of you who don't know, I've got long locks that normally exceed the length of girls' hair)





Upon meeting up with bridgeen, we went out to eat(Katz's Deli, a place so magical, I teared up), and assisted me in making my way to New Jersey, to a friends house I would stay at for the night.


The next day, after returning to New York from Jersey, I met up with my roommates for the weekend: 1.0, itseumi, and we spent the day exploring the city and trying not to get lost.


Saturday, we were joined by taeyeonsheart, Will C. and chubbaymoo, and while the Project Leaders in my group went to work, I took it upon myself to explore the city and to not go anywhere near the artists hotel, due to my dislike for stalkers.


And of course, I cannot forget wes4x, who joined me in my first meal of White Castle.





Shortly after getting White Castle, Wes and I went to the Soshified Bundle Distribution, where-upon I met with fellow SoCaler Ghost, and famed Project Leaders bbzidane, Jerzideva, and Cara...who SSF name escapes me right now. At that time, Wes and I, joined by Sweet T, made our way to Sweet's hotel, where I spent an hour talking about the pros and cons of rapping in K-pop...because that totally relates to this fan account.


That night, we had an amazing "Staff" Party that led to many a good laugh, and a $500 tab/bill...well, that was worth it.





10.23 Concert


After waking up early, my roommates and I made our way to the venue to help distribute Bundles again and flyers for the 1st US Fanmeet. This went on for several hours, as the serpentine line for fangoods at MSG grew ever larger, but thanks to the upbeat nature of the Staff, we hung in there until less than 10 bundles remain...and after I made a pizza run for the benefit of the other Staff members.



Heading to the Hotel Penn with my friend RageX, I dropped off my dSLR as I didn't want it to be harmed in any way by potentially crazy fans in the concert...which I knew would happen, because c'mon, this is K-pop.

Fast forward about an hour or so...



Now that's my kind of view.

The concert, without going into too much detail, was every bit as good as SM Town LA, if not better. From Kang-ta to Kyuhyun, Sulli to Seohyun, everybody looked at the top of their game, and the famous MSG atmosphere definitely had a hand in it.

Some of my favorite performances were:

All of Super Junior (If you've yet to see them live, do so. They pumped up the crowd like "No Other")
DBSK (Nobody sat down when they came on-stage. Nobody)
SHINee's Ring Ding Dong (Excellent dance break coming from those boys)
SNSD's "The Boys" in English (Debut performance of the song, so definitely special)
Key and Krystal "My First Kiss" (Hilarious in it's own right)
Onew singing "Nussan Dorma" (Many artists are talented. Not many can sing opera like that)

SNSD were definitely the top girl group of the night, but to me personally, Super Junior had them beat when it came to fanservice, which doesn't surprise me, and DBSK won when it came to reaction. No matter, every group was amazing, and worth the full price of admission whether you were in the nosebleeds or 10-feet away from them in GA.

Some pictures for your general enjoyment:










After that was finished, I went to eat with my fellow Staff members, before assisting a few friends in returning to their home/airport respectively. I managed to return to my hotel at the totally-normal time of 4 A.M...only to be woken up at 8 A.M for...

10.24 Fanmeeting

This is it. This is where everything switched to overdrive, and things just become exhausting.

Prior to this day, they had announced they would be taking volunteers through applications, though due to unforeseen circumstances, they were forced to retract that. However, thanks to the recommendation of several Project Leaders to Soy, I was invited to help Staff the event as a Photographer/Media Specialist...which meant I took pictures and set-up video cameras.

At 8 A.M., as stated before, I was kindly awakened by taeyeonsheart and told we had to be at the venue(Best Buy Theater) ASAP, to help set things up. Not to mention that we had to check out of the hotel by 11 A.M., I quickly showered(quickly = under an hour), and packed, with some help from fellow roommate sekshi. By 11 A.M., the Project Leaders/PR had split, and it was up to jbenvenga, sekshi and myself to find and meet-up with them, as well as with Soy & her entourage.

What should have been "meet-up here at (insert time)", turned into an hour and a half of running around midtown Manhattan, hailing cabs and confusion, until we arrived at Soy's hotel, and began working on event preparation there.

Half of the 15+ people in the room departed to the theater to help with crowd control to the already 200+ line, while the others stayed back to work on the many technology based aspects of the event, such as the banner ads, music selection, MV's, etc. I was primarily used as a consultant, until somebody had the idea to put the fan-meet flyer on the back of the iPad cases used for the script, to add a nice SSF touch to it. I volunteered to do the job, and with a .png of the image on a flashdrive I made my way to Office Depot.

Once arriving there, the following conversation took place with the sales rep.

"Hello, I'd like to have this image placed on 5 x 7 stickers."

"Ok let me take a look at it...I'm sorry, but since your image does not fit our dimensional scale used for printing, we'd have to modify for you, and that would take about 4-5 hours to do, and cost $20, in addition to the $15 for printing."

It's 2:30. I don't have 4-5 hours. I have 4-5 minutes.

"Um...could you perhaps just print them anyway, and I'll cut off the excess with a pair of scissors or something?"

"Sure. That'll cost $3, and we'll have them ready in about 2 minutes."

Bingo. See, if you are ever in a rush, think, and great ideas will come to you.

Upon running back to the hotel(and looking ever-so-stylish doing it), we finished up prep, and myself, bbzidane, GPTX, and camiiseta departed by taxi(insert "Mr. Taxi" pun here) to the venue...during which time, Cami interrupted Dave x GPTX cuddling.

Darn you Cami.

After arriving at the venue, we discovered the massive line, which snaked around the venue and even extended across the street. Quite a turn-out, but given the fact that SNSD would appear in-person, none too surprising.





Entering the Best Buy Theater, it's dimly lit corridors and posh furniture immediately struck a nice chord with me. If Super Junior F were to hold a fan-meeting, I'd want it to be here. That was an inside joke. For those of you who got it, the debut single will be out next year, under Rocafella Records.



Entering the doors to the actual Theater, I was happy to see a vast amount of space in the Floor Section, as well as stadium-seating so that everybody sitting could get a good view.

What I wasn't happy to see was a relative lack of lights, which meant I would need a low-light prime lens, something I didn't have on my person at the time.

Luckily for me, fellow photographer Kao lent me his 17-40 f/4, which did the job nicely for the time being. After scouting shooting locations for about 15 minutes, I decided to use the "Pit" in-front of the stage as my prime location, and the corner areas as deemed necessary.

I proceeded to go outside and photograph the still-growing line, taking time to chat with friends (and fans. That's right, I have fans), and answer questions posed by confused individuals, because obviously, the guy with the long hair and the camera is totally a SONE, not just some random good-looking photographer.

Several rounds of this later, I was informed that I should go get riickywong from outside, as he would be another Photographer for the event. We had previously met from KMF '11, so it was good seeing him again. He also was kind enough to allow me to use his 35 f/1.4, the perfect lens for the job...ok, it was the best I had available, from a friend. Sue me.

After some more last-minute preparation, and meeting grayfm(What a Keasby Night, huh?), we were ready to start letting fans in...then something happened.

A security guard came up to me, "Sorry, but due to safety concerns, you can't make use of the guardrail area. It's not stable enough, and we can't have you getting crushed."

BUT I'M 110 POUNDS OF...I see your point.

Setting up some recording equipment on the balcony, I proceeded to move down to my new spot, the left foyer, which would be my vantage point for a good portion of the night.



As fans began flooding in, my most repeated phrase was sadly not "Welcome, enjoy the show", but "This is the Press Area, you cannot stand or be here." Didn't want to have to do that, but since I was tasked with photographing the event in the best way possible, I couldn't have fans be in my zone.

More fans filled in...and more...and more. Fellow photographer Shitro13 came over and asked me how to get through the crowd. "...I don't know, but try and make it to the other side in one piece."

The lights dimmed, and the moment the crowd was waiting for commenced...MV'S.



Nah, just kidding. But the MV's got a pretty good reaction.

After another dimming, the lights dimmed again, and MC Cara came out, and pumped up the crowd, while the news of "SNSD has entered the building" came to me in a text.

Showtime.

As the current unfurled, and "The Boys" pumped from the sound system, SNSD made their appearance for their 1st US Fanmeet. And they did so in spectacular fashion.



Though the stage was small by their standards, their presence made it seem several times larger, and they treated the event like something special, pulling out their best choreography and attitudes, much to the delight of the crowd.

After the performance was finished, it was apparent Yoona had aggravated her ankle, and she was dispatched backstage to be treated for it. Like a true professional, she returned several minutes later to the event, not letting the pain prevent her from pleasing her fans.

As anybody whose seen the 47-minute video can attest to, the meeting was an experience in it-self. From Tiffany acting like an MC, to translator Dongie nailing everything given to him, laughter was the most common reaction heard, after screaming of course.

I continued to snap shots during the event, though my limited range didn't allow me much.



At about the 35 minute mark, I realized...."Wait...I can just go backstage and take pictures. I have a Pass, anyway."

So after showing mine to Security, I found myself on-stage with the group, taking pictures...though due to the curtain, I was invisible to the crowd. Probably for good reason, they would have gone wild for me, too.

Much better, no?







I thankfully was not in the crowd during the T-shirt toss, but I will say this: Those of you who resorted to any sort of physicality outside of jumping and grabbing for the T-shirt(s) should be ashamed of yourselves, especially when instructed not only by the Staff, but by the members themselves, to refrain from it.

In addition: I understand it's amazing to some people to be so close to SNSD. But please, when asked to be quiet, be quiet. It shouldn't take the members of SNSD saying it for it to happen. We all came to hear them speak, not hear you propose marriage, your love, or comments about them. Please remember that for future events.

/end rant

After the shirt toss, I prepared myself for them to exit the stage...which led to me flattening myself against the wall, and allowing them to pass. Several members, notably Seohyun, remembered me from LA, and gave me a nice smile/nod, which I appreciated.

As they made their way to the dressing room, I went to go put away some of my equipment, while the other Staff delivered the cupcakes to them to and deliver outgoing signed CD's for those who were among the first 50 attendees.

Leaving the dressing room and going towards the curtain, I noticed Tiffany making her way toward me. I politely gave her space, as any man should do, but in doing so I extended my arm to brace myself.

Some people would have seen it as me bracing myself. She saw it as an invitation for a hug.

I felt another arm wrap around my back, and heard an unmistakeable voice.

"Thank you guys so much for your help, we really appreciate it!"

I looked below and saw that I currently had my arm around her shoulders, and that she was currently leaning on me, before quickly moving on her way.

Now, I know what you all are thinking, and I think Ryeowook here sums it up...



But really, I don't care. I just happened, nothing anybody can do about it, get over it.

After checking that I wasn't needed elsewhere, I made my way back to the coatroom where my equipment was, and joined the other volunteers in bidding farewell to the members as they exited the building. All of them gave us bright smiles and lots of thanks, with Tiffany being the most vocal about it.

With that done, I sprinted toward the subway, made it back to my hotel...and I realized I had 90 minutes to make it 30 miles to JFK Airport, via subway or bus, which would surely cause me to miss my flight.

I decided to try concierge, to see if they could call me a cab.

"Just wait in the lobby sir, and we'll have somebody get you shortly."

Minutes later.

"Are you Mr. Verduzco?"

"...Yes?"

"Please come with me. We've arranged for a private car to take you to the airport."

"Oh, thank you so much. How much do I need to...?"

"It's on the hotel. Just be sure to tip him."

I love New York. I really do.

60 minutes later, I boarded my flight, and Tuesday, 12:05 A.M., I landed back in LA, my journey complete.

I want to thank Soshified and SM Entertainment, for putting the event(s) together, the Soshified Staff for allowing me to work on the fanmeet is a position I've always wanted to do, everybody I mentioned in bold letters, for making the trip that much more memorable, and lastly anybody who went to either the concert, the fanmeet, or both, for making each one such a great success.

And of course, I want to SNSD for being some of the most professional artists I've ever seen, both on and off-stage. My respect for you was always high, but seeing you in an intimate atmosphere, and behind-the-scenes, you really are one-of-a-kind.


Thank you for reading this, and God Bless.

- Dave

Want to see more of my shots? Go here.

http://soshified.com...eet-by-snsdave/