I went to the Nmixx concert. It was a cold windy Friday night, and I didn’t feel much like going, and I was late due to work, but I did go. I really did not know what to expect. I thought when I bought the ticket the gig would be a full concert performance. But then I saw it was listed as a ‘fan concert’, which I’ve seen videos of Twice doing. It usually means the members just muck around on stage, playing games with the occasional music routine thrown in. Was I going to get something like that? Would many people go? Would I look the odd old guy out in a sea of youngsters? And what does Festival Hall look like these days, anyway?
It turned out to be a full concert with music and dancing and in-between videos while the girls did costume change. And it was great. I’m glad I went. It was a good crowd of maybe five thousand. Festival Hall looked so much smaller than I remembered it though. I think there has been some refurbishment. As the local hero (and only fluent English speaker), Lily was of course the star. As she mentioned from the stage, all her relatives, including her ‘Nonna’, were there in the crowd. Sullyoon even mentioned her best friend was in the crowd; and said friend waved not far from where I was sitting. Although I missed the first half hour or so, I got to see them perform Love Is Lonely, Tank, Dash, Boom, Passionfruit (a special favourite, they did whilst mingling through the crowd), Sickuhh, Just Did It, See That, She Looks So Perfect (Five Seconds of Summer cover), Moving On and the closer, Break the Wall. See That really stood out for me as a great live version. In fact, the entire concert reminded me of just how good their discography is. They should be so much bigger than they are. There was a nice moment when the girls were shown a fan-made film of fans and Lily’s family wishing them the best. Lily expressed surprise about how they got her relatives involved without her knowing about it. There were tears – not just from Lily, but Bae, too. Bae seemed very emotional tonight. Her final ment was also the most endearing. She completely melted my heart and quite likely turned bias-wrecker for me against my fave Haewon when, drawing on her limited English (learned mostly from Lily), she shouted out to the crowd: ‘You ripper!’ Adorable! It was a good night that assuaged my earlier fears. I so hope when Nmixx come back they’re big stars playing somewhere like the Rod Laver Arena. They deserve it.