Shinee World V (Sept 3, 2016): A Shawol's Goal in Life

I'll post about the SM Travel global package experience leading up this point later but for now, I want to jump right into the concert and get this down in writing while my memory is still fresh.

Entering the venue - Olympic Gymnastics Hall in Seoul

All the seats were occupied (bar a few in the top tier looking from the side) - I wonder if these don't get sold due to blocked/partial view. I was seated on the floor towards the far right of the stage (area F4) 8 rows from the front. It was seat 21 though so really to the far right. On my left were two tall Japanese fans who used their binoculars for most of the concert and changed into slippers (?) so they were comfortable while standing. On my right, was a Korean noona (maybe late 20's/early 30's) who came alone. She knew all the lyrics and happily sang the night away into my ear! Pretty much the entire audience was female - I counted about 3 males that I could see from my viewpoint. On our chairs was a banner with instructions on the back (in Korean, English and Japanese) that we were going to hold up during Lucky Star and the exact moment when. We also got a streamer capsule that unfortunately failed to launch in the air and didn't make an impact.

Leading up to the concert they played Shinee songs at a lower volume and occasionally the screen came on to show trailers for SMTown Coex Atrium, SMTown restaurant etc. They were testing the smoke machine at times and a lot of staff were walking around reminding all that photos and videos were strictly forbidden. At one point, a staff member asked two girls in front of me to delete the photos on their phone! Sorry readers but as I only have a crappy camera phone, I decided I wanted to watch the concert through my own eyes rather than through a camera so I didn't take any photos of Shinee this time. Before and after the concert, the screen looked like this:

The concert started bang on time at 7pm! Runaway was the first song and it was just played at loud volume - no Shinee appeared though. Guess this was just to heighten our expectations! Hey baby, let's run away....what a fitting introduction, Shinee suggesting that we forget the worries of daily life and run away with them for the next few hours into Shinee world...

Hitchhiking - 2nd song - Shinee appeared! It's ShiNEE! - goes Key as per the song and the crowd roars. The guys are wearing a hodgepodge of different styles - Minho in a embroidered floral jacket with stripey vest, Key in a blue & white checkered suit with embroidered floral ribbons, Onew in a black &white checkered top with appliqué. There's just so much to see and hear - a visual and aural overload.

Songlist immediately flows into Married to the Music> Why So Serious> Juliette. Great songs to start - an absolute cardio workout for Shinee with their full choreo. There was a new dance break in Why So Serious that added to the excitement. What I realized - these guys work really hard - Jonghyun's face was literally wet with sweat. Key was glistening - beading sweat only. This is the sweatiest I have ever seen Shinee on a large screen. We all had our light sticks and waved them to the rhythm of the music. No one in the audience really danced but I couldn't help grooving as they sang through some of my favorites. The audience was so well-behaved - we all stood up (no pushing) when Shinee were on stage but sat down when the VCR's played.  My favorite moment in this segment - Key's solo dance during Juliette. He is SO underrated for his powerful, precise dance moves. His lines are so clean - he knows when to pull back and conserve his energy which makes the moment when he unleashes all his energy and power all the more impactful. Taemin is undoubtedly the more skillful dancer, fluid and stylistic - but when you want to learn choreo, you look at Key.

Next up was a new song - Prism. It sounded good - R&B twinges but modern and the choreo was slick. We have heard Replay so many times but we all still love it! This time, we were in for a treat with a new remix. The crowd went wild when Taemin handed his mike to Key and did the "swimming" dance!

Then, it was time for Chocolate - a beautiful song on the MTTM repackage. There was new never-before seen choreo! There were so many lovely moments in the choreo - from the hip rolls to the V finger symbol on their chest. By this time, Key had sweated through this shirt and jacket on his back. It was also during this song that Jonghyun lifted his shirt (alas, not in my direction). Yes, I get it - showing some chocolate abs right?

The segment ended with Beautiful and then we all sat down to watch the 1st VCR - it was a fairytale theme with 5 princes and an evil witch/princess. The Shinee princes were asleep and had to be woken up with a sharp needle(?) to their temple (frankly, it was a bit squeam-inducing). Shinee overpowered the witch by throwing colors at her.

When Shinee appeared in the next segment, their ensembles were a bit more low-key. They started out sitting down on white blocks and they were dressed in a blue checkered plaid. Minho had the biker jacket cut, Key was in shorts, Taemin in a longer jacket etc. Ever since Key explained how he designs the stage costumes, I've been looking to see who is wearing the "completion" outfit! They started with Black Hole>Odd Eye>Hold You> new song Feel Good.  Highlight in this segment was when Jonghyun looked up at Key with "puppy dog" eyes during Black Hole. During the new song, there is a lyric which we all started singing "I can make you feel good". There was even a handy lyric VCR playing so we could all sing along.

I loved the next set of outfits. All of Shinee were dressed in these army-like olive green parkas but with orange and yellow fluorescent tape strewed across the chest. Key was in shiny gold skintight pants. It didn't look as if anyone was wearing anything underneath the parkas so you could see some nice collarbones. Except for Onew who unfortunately wore his parka zipped right up - sigh.

The next song was one of my favorites of the whole concert - Trigger. I have always loved the track and wondered what the choreo would look like. It did not disappoint. Firstly, we had the back-up dancers taking Shinee as prisoners with their pink lights. When the lights went dark and Shinee switched on the pink lasers, the crowd went wild.

The segment finished with Clue & Note with a great introduction - it sounded like a drum solo from a military band.

Only one member had a solo during the concert - Taemin with Goodbye. I have to give it to Taemin - he's not my favorite but as a dancer, he is unparalleled. I felt I was watching a contemporary dance show. I prefer Press Your Number if we are talking about songs but I feel blessed to have seen Taemin dance the choreography for Goodbye live. Funny moment - during Goodbye, the camera had panned to the side of the stage and you could see a Shinee member (looked like Minho) getting his make-up retouched.

After that, Shinee returned with the popular Ring Ding Dong and Lucifer - with Taemin changing clothes and joining Shinee mid-way through Ring Ding Dong. 

I loved the clothes in the next segment - the ballad section. Minho and Key arrived first - in simple silk tops and slacks in sophisticated colors. They looked luxurious, sensual - just beautiful. Jonghyun appeared in a petrol blue double-breasted top and Onew had two color-contrasting layers! As if he couldn't risk us seeing any curves of his body - sob. During the talk sections, there were no English subtitles so it was hard for me to follow along. However, Shinee obviously love the home crowd and talked comfortably in Korean about topics such as Minho's grey hair (I'm not a fan!) and Kim Kibum designing the costumes. And then, Taemin appears in a lace top with no undershirt - Minho was like "Put some clothes on!".Yes, you could see his nipples.

Shinee sang Farewell My Love>Aside>new song Bubble Umbrella(?) in the ballad section. Jonghyun and Onew also did a duet Please Don't Go to close out the segment. They stood on opposite sides of the stage though so the live VCR put them closer together.

Fun song time - it was Punch Drunk Love and Shinee came out dressed like boxers preparing for a championship fight. Some members were really into it - I noticed Key held back a lot though and wouldn't punch. At the end of the song, the covers were lifted off the "boxing" stumps to reveal 5 microphones! We knew immediately what was coming next - Dream Girl. I also thought the outfits during the segment was fun - they were all wearing their own T-shirt (designed by Bridge Ship House). It was a dream to see Shinee perform this complex, precise choreography live! During this segment, Shinee also travelled across the audience in those moving cages, throwing frisbees and audience into the audience. As I was near the far right of the stage, they ran across the corridor a couple of seats next to me and up the stairs. It was only for a couple of seconds but I came to about a few meters of Key, Jonghyun, Minho, Taemin and Onew. All I can say is that these 5 guys have really won the genetic lottery or the make-up is just that good! Key has such sharp cheekbones -  his face has great definition. Minho is not my favored member of Shinee but I have to admit the guy has perfect proportions with a face like a Greek god. Taemin is so pretty - he looks ethereal. Onew and Jonghyun just look like great-looking guys - so much more attractive in real life than I had anticipated. They closed out this section with an epic dance remix of Colorful. We all went crazy - jumping up and down, waving our light sticks to the beat.

I have to mention two amazing VCRs I remember watching - although I can't quite recall the order they appeared. One was the "Dance" VCR which showed some of their intricate synchronized moves over the years. It was fun but a powerful reminder how iconic some of the moves now are. Also, how all 5 despite not being natural dancers (cough Jinki) still work hard to make it all work. My absolute favorite was laugh-out-loud Shinee in the 1990's with Woof Woof as the soundtrack. Basically, Minho comes across an old home made video dated September 3, 1991and watches it - we see Jonghyun and Key working at a car mechanic shop, Taemin is dancing/busking in the streets and Onew & Minho are weight-training and practicing their 90's dance moves. They are all in polyester track suits and look ridiculous. Finally, they audition for a corporate suit and they win him over with Sherlock choreography, degenerating into crazy 90's dance moves such as the worm. It is hilarious - I love how Shinee never take themselves too seriously! Rivals the one they did when they infiltrated a Shawol training camp...

Next up, was an interesting instrumental interlude which we suspected was their new lead track. Shinee did not sing but just stood there, dancing little bits of the choreo. The audience started chanting "Shinee! Shinee!".  Then, we went into one of the most hi-energy segments - the audience was literally jumping up and down for View>Picasso>Ready or Not>Savior. During Picasso, I was so deliriously happy, that I actually felt guilty. Guilty that I could feel so happy - does that even make sense? At this point, I realized I actually felt as if my heart was going to burst - a dull ache in the chest area - not sure whether this was due to the euphoria or sustained adrenalin throughout the concert.

Shinee changed for Everybody - a change from the earlier outfits, they all wore the same sharp white suits with a modern silver buckle and black shoes. Shinee were dancing at the front stage here my view was of their backs unfortunately. What I did see: Onew's shoulders working like crazy through his white shirt during the propeller move! Shinee then disappeared. As per the banner instructions (each night was different and organized by a different Shinee fan club), we sang LoveSick acapella.

Then, Shinee appeared for the encore and sang Lucky Star>An Encore>Romeo & Juliette. The white ticker tape confetti was released - a fitting finale. During Lucky Star, we held up our banners to be admired by Shinee. When they disappeared, the credits started rolling along with VCR excerpts of "bloopers" during the filming. It was 10.30pm. Shinee had performed for three and a half hours.

We were completely sated and happy Shawols streamed out of the venue. Shinee has such an amazing discography - although I was thrilled to have heard and seen some new songs such as Trigger and Chocolate, I realized we didn't get to hear Love Like Oxygen, Jojo or Electric Heart. I would have also loved to hear Onew sing Rainy Blue live with Taemin on the piano! I loved how hearing the songs live and the order in which they are placed in makes you appreciate the songs in a different way.

All in all, it was an incredibly high-energy set list - filled with a lot of newer songs never done before from the View album and MTTM repackage, the greats such as RDD, Lucifer and Everybody but also some occasional oldies from the back catalogue (hello Romeo & Juliette!). It was designed to intoxicate with its sights and sounds - effects included fireworks, fire, lasers, glitter confetti and the white ticker tape confetti. I walked away from the concert - having achieved one from the bucket list.

The end of the concert - satisfied Shawols getting ready to leave