I went to Ateez’s concert in February with my friend, R and it was amazing!

It was my third kpop concert overall and my friend’s first. It was fun seeing it, the kpop fan culture and all that, from her perspective. Before the concert I told her I was going to dress up. I was going for a Cyberpunk inspired outfit. So, leather pants with a sexy top but I didn’t go full Cyberpunk because it’s winter and I didn’t want to freeze. So a long sleeve crop top it was. Then with pops of purple in earrings and shoes because I got new shoes (mistake one).

So, my friend saw me and was like *gasp* but she had bought an outfit (I didn’t make her or anything, she wanted to) and I was like oh wow.

Then when we got to the venue she was so surprised by how dressed up every one was. I saw people in the Hala Hala outfits and in outfits from other mvs. It was so cool! Then I saw people just dressed up in their own aesthetic with an Ateez twist and ugh, I loved it! Atiny’s showed out.

However, it was my first concert at the O2 Arena in London, the main one. For Dreamcatcher it was in the Brixton O2 Arena. That one was simple and had one entrance so there was no confusion. When I tell you we couldn’t find the outside entrance for E!

It didn’t help that we were late (mistake two) but then we kept getting differing instructions and then the mandem at the inside entrance for E were mad pressed at us and it was like… *side eye* why aren’t y’all following the same script. This is some of us’ first time.

They almost killed my vibe.

Also, the O2 is bigger than I thought. I knew it was big but I didn’t know they have basically everything a human could need to be entertained inside!

We ate in central London before the concert but we didn’t need to, there are restaurants in the concert hall!

Listen, this may seem obvious to you but this was honestly the biggest venue I’ve ever been at.

So for the concert we were actually at the back of the standing section. I was disappointed about that, I had hoped to get there earlier and be somewhere in the middle. However, one pro about the back is that there is room to dance cause you’re not squished.

But a big con is they look so small and far away. However, a pro about the O2 Arena is there’s a big screen! There wasn’t one at Dreamcatcher’s so if I missed something I totally missed it. Especially when they’d get down on the floor. However, with Ateez if I couldn’t spot it with my eyes the big screen caught everything. I was glad for that.

Also, my camera was good at capturing things too so that was cool.

What about the actual concert? It was so good and so much fun! We were all singing along and it was great to experience a concert with a friend. The first concert I went to for kpop was in 2014, a B.A.P concert, and I went with a friend. Then Dreamcatcher and now Ateez. R is a friend who matches my vibe, so we were both dancing and we had a fun time.

Were our legs dead by the end of the concert? Yes. This is where mistake one comes in. However, I was also the genius that thought it would be ok to do some light Pilates the day before the concert. My thighs were so sore! I couldn’t even crouch down. It was like I had, had an intense leg day. Pilates is no joke, don’t take it lightly!

However, I did eat and was well hydrated for this concert and I had enough money on me. As for the Dreamcather concert I was short on all three of those things. I also had my phone charged for this concert, so I could actually take fancams! I’m so happy.

So each concert experience is an improvement on the last. Although, the B.A.P concert was a perfect night (I was also barely twenty so I had youth on my side… I was also in Australia).

Ateez, themselves were such sweeties. They were adorable, especially Hongjoong and San. San just kept smiling and flashing his dimples like wow. Seonghwa had R gagged when he first popped up. He is so different when performing and when doing ments. He really does use his tongue a lot. He knows what works! Yunho was also cute but he’d attack you with sexy at random moments and you’d be like sir! SIR! Jongho was in control. He was the MC. He was sexy, delivered on every front. Love him. Yeosang, the loml. Omd, I actually stayed loyal to my bias, yay! (never cut your hair *serious glare*) I’m kidding, but he honestly had me every time he popped up. For a shy person he was not shy at the concert. Wooyoung was quieter than I expected, calmer too. I was like wow. It is different when they’re in front of you in real life. It gets you thinking about the facets of their personality that we don’t know about… let’s not get too deep though. Because Mingi! I stayed loyal to Yeosang, I promise but when Mingi says bark, you bark! We were lowkey feral. Love that gentle giant.

They spoke in English throughout the whole concert and only spoke Korean like two times. So, that was impressive. Their translator had an easy time but the random Korean means they had to also be on it because you never knew when it would pop up. The life of a translator, I’d watch that vlog.

After the concert we all went home, reluctantly. My friend was also like, “It’s over?!” Even though our legs had little left in the tank and we were holding each other up at this point.

The queue for the tube was LONG, it was atrocious, so beware of that when planning your trip and how to get back home. The queue can take like thirty minutes to an hour to die down.

So, Ateez is one of the groups I got into properly in 2022. I started getting interested in 2021 however. I haven’t talked about my favourite songs yet, so I thought I’d add that to this post.

I’ll split it into two, songs that were done at the concert and songs that weren’t. If you don’t want set list spoilers, then stop reading now.

Songs that were done:

Cyberpunk

I feel so basic for loving this song but I honestly love it so much! I feel basic because everyone loves this song and it’s the one with the sexy dance.

I’m going to be, “I’m not like other girls” for a moment but the sexy dance isn’t why I liked it… it was the sexy melody! Lol I kid. But yeah it was the melody. I do remember seeing Atiny’s on twitter talking about the difference between the lyrics of the song and the live stage but at that time I didn’t want concert spoilers (as I knew I was going to go to their concert) and so I didn’t pay attention to the song title. However, I saw the still and I made a mental note of it.

Then after I had listened to their discography and I saw the live stage of Cyberpunk I was shocked. Not because it was sexy but because people were saying the lyrics are the exact opposite.

You see every time the song comes on my fist is pumping, I am dancing no matter where I am. I am gone! It is exactly the kind of melody and singing that I love. The rap sections are perfect for the song as well, they had me body rolling, especially Hongjoong’s rap. And you’re telling me it’s depressing!

I have looked up the lyrics now and … I can see why people said what they said. Ateez is in a place of eternal darkness where only neon lights provide light. The neon lights come from a city and that city is sucking the joy out of their soul. A lyric that stood out for me from the beginning is “I want to feel alive, don’t wanna stay in the dark!”

The lyrics, the stage outfits and the melody give me a futuristic dystopian story vibe, Cyberpunk. They delivered on the theme. It also made me think of Sin City and that movie’s aesthetic (although I’ve never actually watched the movie because I’m a wimp, I’ve just seen clips).

I could write a story inspired by this song. It really sparked a lot of imagery.

Seeing this live, I died. I died! I almost knocked my friend over with the water I had just bought (another perk of being in the back you’re closer to the drinks). I didn’t know it was next and then bam! There they were. I whipped out my camera so fast! I only filmed the first half up to the first chorus though because I wanted to experience and take it all in.

Yeosang almost killed me. How rude.

Fireworks! I’m the One

They did a remixed version of this song. This song is the one that got me interesting in Ateez… yes, such basic taste. Actually, it’s on brand for me. I like sexy things, all it took was one clip of San and I was like… “Well, listening to one song won’t hurt”. And seeing San do that move in real life… *dead*! (I also danced along but that’s neither here nor there).

I don’t think I talked about this song when it came out but this song is also where I first fell in love with Yeosang. He honestly ate up the concept, people need to talk about that more.

I do prefer the original version to the remixed version but I appreciate that the remixed version allows them to vibe with the crowd more and take a breather. Also, I got that hype energy that I needed from Wonderland.

Wonderland is another one where I love how they go off in the chorus… *smirk* I had a great time.

Answer

I love this song! So I was very glad it was included in their set list. I missed San’s beginning but luckily, like I said earlier I caught the tail end on the big screen, yay!

I was rewatching mvs before making this post and it’s crazy how small they were when this song was released and now they’re MEN. I mean even Wooyoung is joining the dench crew, like man is filling out with pure muscle! Seeing them in real life… heh.

I love the chorus of this song, especially Seonghwa’s part. I also love the dance move (yes I danced again, let’s just assume I stayed dancing).

Hala Hala

We sang along with Jongho like we were main vocalists. We said, this is our audition, hire us KQ Entertainment. I didn’t think we were that loud but then I saw the fancams and wow. We were LOUD!

We really felt, “Deep in my heart, deep in my soul, coming to that flashing light!” (note: translated lyrics).

This must have been an out of world experience for my friend as she’s a casual Ateez fan.

I’d be with her in the moment then all of a sudden, “Deep in my heart!”

Wave

I was ready! I was so READY for Mingi’s “ 건배, 건배!”

This one was full of wholesome vibes and I did love this section of the concert. It made me feel light hearted even as my feet were on the verge of death.

Illusion

I’m not listing every song they sang at the concert, I promise. I genuinely love this song and I sang along with my whole heart.

This song fills me with a lot of joy and it did at the concert too.

Guerrilla

If you’re on TT you’ve already seen how London showed out. You see, Hongjoong challenged us, but he didn’t know, he didn’t know what he was igniting. I remember thinking, “I’m not scream singing loud enough, I need to be louder” and I raised my volume!

I’m so proud of us.

I did almost lose my voice. Oh my throat hurt at the end of the concert. I did lose it that evening however it was back the next day. But my colleague at work on Friday was like, “What’s up with your voice” so I guess it wasn’t 100% two days later.

Could I be in a metal band? My voice recovered faster than most.

멋

This was not a favourite of mine before the concert but now it is. Kind of like how Excuse Me by B.A.P wasn’t a favourite of mine till I saw it live.

It was such a vibe!

It was so much fun!

Even when the song had ‘finished’ I was still vibing. They had me nae nae-ing and I had never nae nae-ed before! I didn’t think I could pull the dance off by Ateez made me believe I could.

So much fun, San was vibing with me till the end. The dancers too! Oh, it was the best.

Side note: I love the meaning of the song and the mv is actually really cool.

Now onto songs that were not performed at the concert that I love:

Take Me Home

This song is the partner to Cyberpunk as it has similar vibes. However, this song is mellower and gets me more in my feels.

They’re singing about how someone is cursing them and causing them trouble but also someone is helping them… the same person? They’re lonely and in darkness. They cannot take themselves home as they cannot find the right path, so they’re asking if that someone can take them home because even if they feel like they’re alone they’re never truly alone.

I love the saxophone breakdown at the end. This is honestly a top tier interstellar song.

Desire

I like this song a normal amount and then the ending takes my normal amount of love to the abnormal.

It’s Hongjoong, he starts it with his last verse and then the Oh ohs and then Mingi! It’s a wrap. A wrap.

It does what it says on the tin, lyric wise and I do like that.

The Black Cat Nero

Did you know this is originally an Italian children’s song called Volevo Un Gatto Nero? It was remade by Turbo in the 90s and now by Ateez. The more you know.

I didn’t expect them to sing a song like this so when it came up on Spotify I was delighted. It’s a fun rock song and I love it.

So obviously I love the rock elements of the song and the heavy guitars, they speak to my soul. Then the breakdown in the middle works really well. They blended their rap with rock so well, it was supreme. The dance was hitting, I have no notes.

Oh yeah, they made an mv for the song, and it’s Halloween themed. Yay.

Luckily it’s not scary because I am a wimp.

Yunho slayed in that video, I loved his whole look.

Inception

I love the dance break after the first chorus in this song and then Yeosang’s part after. It’s perfect. It was such a perfect placement for it.

It’s probably good they didn’t have this on the set list, that part would have me in a trance dancing along. Where is Gift? Not on planet earth.

The song be about how they be in love and are chasing that love in a dream. It got me thinking, would that not be annoying. Having your love be so close yet so far… and in a dream! Nah, we’d end up fighting dream. Or we’d end up talking, why should I chase you forever? It’s also so hard to chase things in dreams.

Déjà vu

You know the vibes, this song made me a fan. I’m the One got me interested and Déjà vu made me a fan.

I’ve already talked about this song on here though.

So that’s the end. An honourable mentioned for Halazia that my friend did want to see as she has been loving it, Déjà vu and Halazia are her favs. They did not perform that either unfortunately.

So yes, that was my concert experience and then some. They’re still in Europe at the mo, I strongly would recommend going to see them when they’re in your city or a city in your country. It was an unforgettable experience.