Come Back To Me, NCT 127!

NCT 127 returned to America for their first concert in three years, and the amount of magic felt in the room could easily give Disneyland a run for its money.

Trust me, I’m not just saying this because NCT 127 are one of my favorite K-Pop acts. There’s something truly special about a group who has waited years to be face to face with their fans, finally giving them a performance of the songs they’ve been waiting to experience live.

NEO CITY : LOS ANGELES – THE LINK went down on October 6 at the Crypto.com Arena, and it was such an exciting feeling knowing I’d be heading to see the neos for the first time ever!

For me, the action kicked off the afternoon before the show. A merchandise tent was set up in the XBOX Plaza at L.A. Live for fans who wanted to beat the rush on show day. I had been released from quarantine just a few hours before sales started, so I decided to go see what I could get my hands on. I was very excited about that, but I was also excited to simply see the downtown LA skyline for the first time in over a week. Being trapped inside an apartment recovering from COVID wasn’t fun, but I was very thankful that I was fine just in time for the show.

There was a variety of shirts and hoodies available for purchase, and there were also digipack versions of NCT 127’s latest album 2 Baddies available. The merch booth only had Haechan’s cover version, and since he’s my bias, it felt like a huge win.

I was really happy with my pulls, and I was glad I had a cool new shirt to wear for the concert the next day! I went to class wearing my concert outfit and makeup, and as soon as the professor dismissed everyone, I made my way up to Koreatown for some pre-show fun. I was in dire need of a cold drink, so I went to Dragon Boba and got my beloved Lemon Breeze. There was also an NCT 127 cupsleeve event, which made the visit 10000% better. I mean come on… a cupsleeve event and a concert? That’s like a perfect day for any K-Pop stan!

After hydrating, my friend and I stopped by the Madang Mall to eat at Ellie Julie. For those who aren’t familiar, Ellie Julie is a small restaurant that serves Korean street food. You order and pick up your food from a walk-up window, but there’s also a small patio area to sit and eat. There’s also tv screens around the patio that usually show BTS music videos as well as random mukbang videos. I ordered the bulgogi cupbab and bulgogi mandu, and just kept thinking of how I’d be in the same room as one of my favorite groups in just a few hours! (Also, I was thinking about how amazing my view would be with the binoculars I had bought that morning. Was I prepared? Yes and no.)

It was actually more of a no than yes, because I had yet to print out the photos I was planning to give out as freebies. They were little photos of Yuta in a polaroid frame, with the tour logo printed on the frame. I called various drugstores to see if they offered instant photo printing, but none seemed to have working machines. I remembered that FedEx Print and Ship usually has the machines, so I ended up driving to a location in Larchmont Village in hopes of getting a few prints done. I swore this would be my last stop before heading to the arena, and it ended up taking longer than expected. It was my first time in the area, and had no idea the parking situation was so tight. After circling around once, I found a spot and darted into the store. To my surprise, there were no self-service machines! An employee (who was also an NCTzen) helped me get the photos printed on card stock, and I ended up cutting them out as I drove to the venue.

As one might expect, there was a very lively atmosphere all around L.A. Live. Green outfits and green box lightsticks filled the space. Many fans asked other fans to make lines for their freebies or cheering banner giveaways, which I found to be very pleasant. As for my freebies, I randomly handed them out or traded with others who gave me freebies. I ended up getting way more freebies and banners than I honestly felt comfortable carrying into the venue, so I had to make a trip back to my car!

The doors had finally opened, and the lines to get into the arena were quite long. An employee was guiding concertgoers to an entrance on the other side of the arena, saying “WE DON’T WAIT IN LINES IN 2022 PEOPLE!”

(Yeah I… can’t deal with lines… ever.)

My seats were fairly close to the stage, but I was ready to put my binoculars to use. As the majority of K-Pop concerts do, NCT 127’s show started right at 8PM. There was a long introduction that started with the arena singing along to “Pandora’s Box.” After the guys appeared on stage, they quickly transitioned into charged up renditions of “Kick It,” “Lemonade,” and “Cherry Bomb.” There’s no way I was the only person in the room who wasn’t expecting Cherry Bomb, because the crowd erupted in cheers at the sound of the first few notes!

In the first ment of the night (speech segment, for my friends who aren’t familiar with K-Pop jargon) Haechan mentioned being so happy because he felt a similar energy to the very first time NCT 127 performed in the United States. He also felt a great sense of excitement when the show opened. Again, this was my very first time seeing NCT 127, and the bottom line is the show felt cinematic. That’s honestly the best way to describe not only that portion of the show, but the whole night in itself. Singing along to songs such as “Highway to Heaven” and “Breakfast” was a heartwarming experience. The crowd was also exceptionally loud during “Sticker” and “2 Baddies.”

The solo and unit stages (such as Taeyong and Mark rapping “The Himalayas”) were also iconic. The members can shine as a full team, in smaller units, and individually! This concert really helped set that into stone, making for an unforgettable night.

Actually, if we want to talk about something truly unforgettable… we’ve gotta discuss the part that I’ll refer to as that part. Anyone who has seen the previous NEO CITY : THE LINK concerts on VLIVE knows in the middle of “Focus,” Johnny enters a cube and does a strip tease. As soon as the song started, I blurted out loud “oh, that part is coming!” It was coming up fast, and I had a serious decision to make. I could either record it, or I could watch it with my binoculars. Both of my hands needed to grip the binoculars in order to ensure maximum focus, so it was one or the other. The moment that part started, I put my phone in my pocket, ripped my lashes off to see easier, and plastered my eyes to the binoculars.

I have no regrets whatsoever.

As the show went on, I did develop somewhat of a sense of sadness though. Nothing too overwhelming, but I wished that NCT 127 had been able to perform this show more than once in LA, and more than twice in the USA overall. The members had also expressed this multiple times throughout the night. However, their time spent with NCTzen in LA was definitely memorable! Hopefully we can all spend more time with NCT 127 again in LA soon… very very very soon.