Last week, I attended a concert that featured a special homecoming for one of the members. It featured something I don’t see at concerts, ever. I wasn’t sure if I was going to see them and although, it wasn’t the full group, it still was a lot of fun and really interesting! I will talk more about this and my thoughts about the overall NCT 127 concert experience below including what I liked and what could be improved upon. Read below for all the details and make sure to follow me on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook for more concert, k-pop, and music content! For a visual preview of what to expect, watch the video below!
About
NCT 127 is a K-pop boy group sub-unit part of a larger Neo Culture Technology (NCT) group/brand. The girl group I saw earlier this year, tripleS, reminded me of NCT since NCT debuted in 2016 and currently has 25 members with 6 different teams – NCT U (Main/crossover group), NCT 127 (focused on Seoul), NCT Dream (younger members), WayV (Focused on China), NCT DoJaeJung (trio sub-unit within NCT 127) and NCT Wish (newest group). I actually listened to an NCT 127 song back in 2018, Regular (which I saw live at this concert), when they were on Zane Lowe’s show but I wasn’t fully aware of K-pop outside of BTS at the time and the song was in English! The group is under SM Entertainment and consists of inactive members Taeyong (leader and in the military), Jaehyun (in the military), Winwin (in WayV now) as well as active South Korean members Haechan, Doyoung Jungwoo, and international-born members Johnny (Chicago), Yuta (Japan), and Mark (Toronto).
Although I knew about the group from their song “Regular”, mainly because of the Canadian member, Mark, I wasn’t a fan of theirs until last year when they released their song “Walk” and fell into the NCT rabbit hole. I also saw their interactions with other groups and members whether it be Jaehyun interacting with fellow 97 line JungKook of BTS, NCT U member Ten, with fellow Thai K-pop idol, Got7’s BamBam, or Jungwoo’s hosting YouTube interviews with Jeonghan, Seungkwan, and Mingyu of Seventeen. They are hilarious and out of all the NCT units, I like 127’s music the most because it’s more hip-hop-influenced with great vocals and catchy hooks. For me, my bias is Jaehyun who I think has an incredible R&B voice, and my bias wrecker is Yuta because of his solo rock album, but my default bias, just like Keeho from P1Harmony, is Mark because he’s Canadian but also because he is an extremely hard worker being in so many teams and constantly representing NCT to the fullest. It was great to see Mark being loved in his home town and the members being happy to perform here as well. You can see some of the Canadian homecoming moments in the video below. Given the recent controversy with former member Taeil, it was also interesting to see how Johnny, the very chill and funny member, had a serious moment where he genuinely thanked NCTzens (fandom name) for still supporting the group and being proud to be their fans. Other fun moments included Mark, Doyoung, and Jungwoo talking about the Toronto Raptors and Tim Hortons.
Venue and Tickets
The concert was held at Scotiabank Arena which I have gone to numerous times, especially for K-pop concerts. It’s really accessible via public transit (GO, TTC) and numerous parking options nearby. I will be honest, unlike other K-pop concerts I held off on buying tickets until an hour before the show started because the tickets were really expensive at first and there were a lot of seats left so I was hoping they would drop the price a bit similar to how I got my tickets for Usher. I am not sure if they released new tickets right before the show started or if it was the same price because I didn’t see many tickets drop in price but I got my tickets in row 10 of section 105A for $229.50 CAD each which was still expensive but at least the view was great, plus the venue looked pretty filled up right before the concert started! Also, I used Rakuten to get some cashback for the purchase!
Pre-party
Similar to the Ateez concert last year, Real Sports Bar hosted a pre-concert party prior to the NCT 127 event. The pre-party was from 4 to 6 p.m. and it was really different from my experience at the Ateez concert. Firstly, they required you to purchase tickets for $15 each which included an NCT momentum cup sleeve and drink. They had a dance group perform, a photo booth, and a balloon display, and they played their music videos and Studio Choom performances on the big screen. However, this was a bit disappointing because although you had to choose your time slot and reserve per person you still had to wait outside in a massive line that pretty much went in at the same time around 4:40 p.m. Personally, they seemed really disorganized and a lot of the staff lacked basic customer service. It took forever to even place an order and to even be acknowledged. The menu itself was really basic and bland including the limited options I could try (superhuman mocktail and 127 sundaes). Since we were waiting till 6 p.m. to see if we would win the draw we ended up getting the garlic knots which was pretty much a mix of garlic bread sticks and pizza. It wasn’t bad on its own but the gar parm sauce was too strong. Personally, the food and drinks were nowhere near worth the price and felt very last-minute which is unfortunate because I felt they did a great job for the Ateez concert with their service, menu, and logistics. Also, it was hard to get a hold of our waiter but she was really close to me when I was paying which was awkward. One of the few good things I would say about this experience was that there was a convenient merch section, some photo opportunities, and other NCTzens around including the nice one who gave me a special freebie she made, who ironically sat beside me and I think from Montreal (ironic because of seating and because I wore my Montreal Expos coach jacket).
Merchandise
As mentioned earlier, the pre-party had a merch section and although it was going to be limited merch we did get stuff that we liked including a light stick, one t-shirt, and one hoodie. Although with Ateez I still wanted something that wasn’t in that merch booth so I had to check inside there wasn’t much difference in options except for a white comic t-shirt that was inside the venue. It was also surprising how there was a big lineup around 4 p.m. but by 7 p.m. there were almost no lines for merch inside the arena. I really liked the details on the merch and my sis got the hoodie and I got the t-shirt because I loved how it resembled a movie title credit frame with the members in the back printed on a soft material. I wore my t-shirt the next day and a coworker thought it was a legit movie t-shirt. The hoodie also had so many details and although it was pricey ($65 and $130 each), they still looked and felt great. The light stick was $80 which is also pricey but still cheaper than some K-pop stores. TIP: make sure to download the SM app to make sure your light stick syncs properly and also ensure you are getting a special passport when you are in the venue before the show starts.
Performance and Overall Thoughts
The concert was amazing and definitely a concert that exceeded my expectations! Of course, there were things that I wish could have been done but I genuinely had a great time and I think everyone in the venue did too which says a lot! Firstly, the concert started at 8 and finished a few minutes past 10:30. That is a great duration and the guys barely took breaks, and even their VCRs (pre-recorded videos in the K-pop industry) weren’t that long. Speaking of VCRs I have to say that I know Johnny mentioned that he really liked this and he thought fans would too before they embarked on this tour and he was absolutely right, it is without a doubt the best VCRs I have ever seen at a concert. There were so many details and action it genuinely felt like an action movie which makes the merch even better! TIP: don’t leave the concert early because this was the only concert I’ve been to where they actually had a post-end credit scene like Marvel! I’m not sure if this is common for NCT because it’s my first NCT concert but I loved these so much and the performances did not disappoint!
https://vm.tiktok.com/ZMBrV7woo/
As mentioned the guys took barely any breaks as they performed song after song with their mics on. Yes, they had backtracks but their live vocals were overpowering and I loved that we got to see members like Johnny and Yuta show their versatile skills while appreciating the masterful vocal abilities of Jungwoo and Doyoung and of course, the distinct cadence and stability from Haechan and Mark! What also shocked me is that there were certain songs that I wasn’t a fan of before but when they performed it live I was singing along and having a good time which goes to show they know how to perform and bring out the energy. I also appreciated my favourites even more especially because they were doing everything live and with great energy. It’s incredible how they were able to perform a lot of their discography but a part of me was hoping they would be able to perform some of their solo songs, especially Mark and Yuta! Nonetheless, still had a great time at the concert and I think anyone who gets to see them on this tour will enjoy it as well! I hope next time I get to see them I will get to see the full team but really satisfied with this concert and genuinely loved how they went all out with their VCR, the best one I have ever seen! Let me know your thoughts if you plan on seeing them in a city near you or next time they are on tour in the comments below or on social media by following me on YouTube, TikTok, Instagram, and Facebook for more concert, k-pop, and music content!
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