ATEEZ is just wrapping up the North American leg of their tour and MiataMama and I were lucky enough to see it! Not together, unfortunately, but we enjoyed our concert experience all the same. I don’t know if there are enough words to describe the emotional journey of the night, but even recapping brings a smile to my face!

(Quick note: The Dallas/Fort Worth fancams are not mine, and I’m so grateful to the ATINYs who posted them to YouTube so we could relive our concert experience!)

THE MORE, THE MERRIER!

The Maknae: I took my teenage daughter and one of her best friends to the concert, which was much better than going by myself! We entertained ourselves by listening to ATEEZ all the way to the venue, about an hour away from us, and talking about biases and favorite songs. 

MiataMama: This was actually my second time seeing ATEEZ on tour and I was SUPER excited to be able to meet up with friends from last time!!! Since I flew in from out of the area, it was four days of hanging out, eating yummy Korean food, and non-stop chatter about our most favorite group in all of Kpop! When I dove down the Kpop rabbit-hole four years ago, I never imagined the close friendships that would develop. . . I’m super thankful to ATEEZ for all their amazing music AND for introducing me to my ATINY besties!!

ROCKING THE HOUSE

The Maknae: The Dallas/Fort Worth portion of the tour was held in Dickies Arena. Despite the name, it’s a fully-enclosed building, THANK GOODNESS. It was cold enough waiting in line! The bathrooms were super clean, the seats were comfortable, and even though we were up in the nosebleed section, the jumbo screens made it feel like we could see EVERYTHING. 

MiataMama: I attended the LA stop at The Honda Center in Anaheim. Day 1: I had a great spot in the lower-level seated area that allowed me to see both the main and extended stages, as well as the big screens, perfectly! Day 2: I had a soundcheck/floor ticket that put me right near the barrier of the extended stage. I was initially a bit worried about standing for the entirety of the 3-hour concert, but crowd was courteous and the close-up view of all the members made for a night I will not soon forget!!

ALL THE ATINYS

The Maknae: Despite strict orders from MiataMama to make new ATINY friends while waiting in line, I couldn’t do it. I was having too much fun teasing my daughter and her friend about their lack of ATEEZ knowledge and watching the ATINYs in front and behind us. “HALA HALA” must have been the fashion theme of the night – we saw a ton of black hats and black cutaway coats. Everyone looked so good – I felt very underdressed in my flannel and jeans! There were even a few fabulous pirate costumes. Next time I’ll be brave and talk to some of the ATINYs around us. P R O M I S E. 

MiataMama: I’m admittedly an introvert, but KPOP concerts seem to bring out my extroverted side! I loved getting to chat with the ATINYs around me – young, old, locals, travelers – we’re all there because of our shared passion for ATEEZ. And bonus. . . fate introduced me to a fellow ATINY who had also flown over from Hawaii!! Another thing I love about kpop concerts is the beautiful ‘ocean’ of lightsticks – the way the crowd got a Lightiny wave rolling between sets was so much fun!!

OPENING SURPRISE!

The Maknae: The KQ Fellaz 2 were SUPER adorable and looked pretty comfortable on stage. They performed two songs, and while they don’t have the polish ATEEZ does, they were definitely on their way. I’d be happy to follow them as they debut!

MiataMama: ATEEZ love their little brother group, and I DO TOO!! Not only did they get a chance to open the show, but they also took the stage alongside ATEEZ as backup dancers for the first song of the night – ‘New World’. KQF2 haven’t officially debuted yet, but they are already well on their way and I’m excitedly following the journey of these kids like a proud mom!

THIS WAS THE MOMENT

The Maknae: ATINY’s birthday was the next day, so the boys sang happy birthday to us – it was super sweet! The whole concert was just a blast – the visuals were top-notch, including the GIANT MOON hanging from the ceiling – but my favorite part was the encore piece. “The Real” became my favorite ATEEZ song the moment they performed it on Kingdom, and I might have actually screamed a little when it started up. I’d been waiting the whole concert for that song! 

Also, to see ATEEZ live, to see how well they dance and sing and interact with the audience – that was a whole different experience. Their energy actually picked up as the concert went on, which was INSANE, and their happiness was contagious. I had a smile on my face the entire time!

MiataMama: HOW DO I PICK A FAVORITE?!?!? ATEEZ concerts are always an amazing experience. The way they immerse themselves into each song and performance, the energy they bring to the stage, the way they interact with their fans during set breaks. . . a three-hour show goes by in an instant and the PCD (post-concert depression) is REAL!!!

We were lucky to be able to celebrate HongJoong’s birthday on D1 of the Anaheim stop – he was loving ALL the attention as the birthday boy! ATINY sang happy birthday to HIM and WooYoung (of course it was WooYoung, lol!) instigated a cake-smash moment that will go down in ATEEZ history!!

But I would have to say that my favorite moment (from both days) was when ATEEZ took to the stage to sing a mash-up of ‘Celebrate’ & ‘From’!! ‘From’ has a lot of sentimentality attached to it, as it’s their very first (pre-debut) song. The amped up dance-party-style remix they performed was just the BEST!! I really need them to release that version on the next album – pleeeeeeeease!!!! It was just really great to see them so bouncy and happy to be spending these precious moments with all their fans.

POST CONCERT MUSINGS

The Maknae: That was my first kpop concert, and it was a GOOD one. (I was supposed to see BTS in 2020 with my daughters, but we all know what happened with that.) The energy of the crowd was AMAZING, and I loved being with thousands of people who were singing along to my favorite songs. I will happily go see ATEEZ in concert again, and my daughter and her friend are well on their way in their ATINY journey as well. Next time we go, they’ll know our favorite idols by name and have biases picked out and everything. They are in LOVE, and so am I.

MiataMama: Talking about the concert and looking at all my video clips has me emotional all over again. ATEEZ is my forever ult group!!! I was originally supposed to see them for the first time in 2020, then the postponement happened and I was CRUSHED. So it has been an incredible blessing to see them not once, but twice, this year during their stops in L.A. Watching them perform live has been a truly fantastic experience!! ATEEZ’s music has been a huge part of my life over the last four years – they are an amazingly talented and hard-working group and I cannot wait to fangirl again during their next concert tour!!

If you want to check out all my concert footage and fan-cams, check out the links for Anaheim Day1 and Day2 here!

Eagerly anticipating the next ATEEZ world tour, we remain —

MiataMama & The Maknae

Dramas with a Side of Kimchi