First the first time ever FT Island made their way to our little country of the Nether, all just to welcome us with their musical talents and cool appearances. And of course, as those who follow our Facebook and Instagram already know, we couldn’t leave this concert unattended by us!
Please note this is based on our personal experience and happenings. We hereby do not mean to harm or hurt anyone. Thank you.
The entree
The entree was quite unclear. People were just standing around the venue. I didn’t worry too much since all of us had standing places, therefor the only real deal was to get inside. Once it was clear we had to form a row on the side of the building, everyone went nice and quietly to the row, i felt like everyone was very at ease with this. The people went by and crossed off the names of a list after asking and gave a wristband in return. After that people were asked to stand in the row on ticket numbers. This made me stand way in front of my friends. The entrance went just as smooth and then the waiting game started.
First impression
Upon entering the venue I was impressed by the cool typographic background. In the middle the name FTIsland was displayed big and nice. It was definitely a satisfied feeling as graphic designer. Also the drums in front of it made it look even more cool. In front of the stage were the people with more expensive tickets (Sound check and Hi-touch tickets). This area was nicely set off by a small fence. . They also had a small table with merchandise to check out (such as t-shirts, light sticks, sweaters and towels). The venue seemed spacious and on the left was a bar where you could get drinks and some snacks. After finding my friends again, we got some drinks and settled down on a table more in the back.
The show
The concert started nicely on time. First we heard “Hello Hello”, however this was just the song, it was not live yet. This did make me very psyched about the concert. In my opinion it was a good start! After some numbers and amazing performances from the band, they had a small chat. To my surprise they used some small Dutch praises. They introduced themselves in Dutch and Jaejin even confessed in Dutch that he was wearing orange underwear for us Dutch fans. This of course led to a lot of laughter as Hongki asked Jaejin to show it off.
Afterward they got everyone excited and started off with the songs again. Their voices, instrumental performances and the way they interacted was extremely well done in my opinion. Even though it felt like they spend more attention to the people in front (which of course is logical too) The songs like “Memory” and “Love sick” touched my heart while “I hope” and “Champagne” had to crowd go wild. The balance was very well done as well. The songs were mixed in a nice order. After they announced the last song and sung it they left the stage, only to return after some fan chants for an encore. Here once again they were amazing. They threw some plectrums into the crowd and after it was done for real Jaejin stayed behind on the stage. He told us to be quite because he wanted to thank us properly. He putted down the mic and yelled “Dank je wel” (Dutch for Thank you) at the top of his lungs. This was very cute and it really touched me. I had a great time with FTIsland and hope they will return quickly.
The fans
The fans were very respectful in my opinion. When they had to stand on ticket numbers I was alone, of course, since my friends had different numbers. I had to go to the front and everyone was very nice and didn’t make a problem of anything. During the concert I was able to hear FTIsland well and enjoy the show. Of course people screamed (so did I at some points) however, this was not disturbing the whole feel and mood of the concert in any way to me.
The organisation
Even though some things were quite unclear, i still felt like the organization was done well. The rows were neat and everyone acted as the organizers and volunteers said. It didn’t feel too messy to me, so I was satisfied.
Conclusion
Grade: 9
This is definitely a concert I will remember. After roughly 10 years I finally got to see them in my home country and it was definitely amazing. One of the highlights was by far the fact that they took the effort to speak Dutch with their Dutch fans. This made them feel very close and it was super cute as well. The way they sung the songs and interacted with the fans was a great experience and if they ever return I will definitely go again.
Please note all the pictures are made by Saetori unless noted otherwise. Do not take them out without credits. Thank you in advance (Extra thanks to Melis for helping me out with making pictures!)
