BTS in Europe - Paris Day 2

The Cause of my Euphoria

By

Liberty Bartlett

Stepping off the Eurostar at Gare du Nord, Paris was, for lack of a better word, terrifying. Back when the tickets for the London shows dropped in June it had been a mad rush followed by an agonising wait. Unfortunately, London sold out in the blink of an eye so my best friend looked further afield. By the time we had our tickets, booked our hotel, our travel, sorted our insurance, got together our spending money and changed it to Euros the months had flown by and we were left stood in the middle one of the biggest international train stations in France.

In hindsight perhaps it wasn’t a good idea to go to a country where neither of us spoke the language but it was worth every second. After finding the hotel and visiting the Eiffel Tower we decided to survey the venue. The crowds for the Friday show had gathered and to our surprise, everything was so calm. There was no shouting, rushing, pushing. In fact, the only line we saw was for the merch table. Armed police dotted around the outside, joined by security guards. I was relieved at the sense of security I felt. Deciding to take cues from a few of the others we went to buy our ARMY bombs. Once we had them in hand we sat on possibly the most hilarious staircase I’ve ever laid eyes on. Props to the venue for trying, but the way they’d stuck the decals of the boys across the front of each step was nothing short of comedy gold and my heart truly goes out to all the Jungkook stans that had to suffer through seeing their bias like that.

Having enjoyed an hour or so sat on RM’s eye it was time to mooch back to the hotel, sync up our ARMY bombs and get some badly needed sleep.

The next day came around in a heartbeat and we crawled out of bed at 6am, ready to hunt down a cup of coffee and some breakfast. After an agonising hour of desperately searching for a McDonalds we gave up and had Pret instead. Now was the scary part; going to the arena and finding the right line. The Accor Hotels Arena is by no means small and each section of the venue had its own allocated starting point. Wandering around the front of the arena it became clear very quickly we were in the wrong place. Utilising one of the very few French words we knew, Fosse (Standing), we began the hunt for our line.

Thinking back to the day before it was even more obvious today just how organised the venue was. I’d heard horror stories from previous shows of pushing, queue jumping, piles of litter. To put it lightly I was a nervous wreck at the thought of having to cope with that all in a foreign country. But in the park behind the venue, we found our line and started making friends. As with every queue of every concert, it’s inevitable to meet at least one fellow fan who keeps you sane, or shares your insanity while you wait, and with a possible 12 agonising hours ahead we knew we’d make at least one new friend.

We didn’t expect it to happen quite so fast though. Within the hour we’d started talking to the pair of Finnish girls in front of us and by midday we’d amassed a merry band of misfits including; our two Finnish friends, two French girls, two Spanish girls, a German girl and her father and, of course, me (from England) and my Scottish companion. It was strange to see first hand how BTS could bring together people from all over the world. Of course, Twitter talks about it all the time and I too have bonded with people from all over through our boys but this was so different. In such a short time we’d gone from simply exchanging names to watching each other’s backs and making sure everyone was safe, warm, well-fed, hydrated and happy. We wiled away the long hours; singing, dancing and teaching each other how to speak our respective languages. I especially had fun desperately trying to remember all of the French, German and Spanish I knew which usually resulted in a lot of confused faces and laughter. Needless to say, just queuing for the concert was an experience in itself. One that I don’t imagine I’ll forget for quite some time and I can say, without a shadow of a doubt, that everywhere in the world you can find the sweetest, funniest and kindest ARMYs imaginable.

Then came the time; the security guards started ushering us toward the standing entrance and suddenly all the calm collected excitement from earlier melted away into something akin to fear. As with a lot of ARMYs, my friend and I had resorted to buying our ticket through a resale site. Something I would not recommend to anyone. After months of people reminding us that we could get turned away, it was finally the moment of truth. We certainly weren’t alone in this trepidation either as all of our friends in the queue had resorted to doing the same. Edging forward, ticket in hand towards the door staff was sickening. Even looking back on it now it still makes me feel nervous. As we came to the doors and watched as the door staff explained to another fan that their ticket wasn’t valid and watching them sob on the phone to their friend; waiting our turn was mortifying. I sent my friend in first, we agreed beforehand that if one of us got in and the other didn’t that they would just go and enjoy the concert. But the build-up was too much and she wanted to get it out of the way. Watching her ticket scan through was possibly more relieving than watching mine do the same. Stepping through was such a relief that it very nearly brought the pair of us to tears. The concert was just around the corner.

Literally. Once we had reconvened with our band of faithful international friends, although we had lost the French faction while going through security, we set foot inside the arena. No More Dream was playing on the screens and, even with the seats and floor half empty, the chorus of voices singing along was enough to give me chills. We found our spots, dead centre about 10 rows back and settled in for the next lot of waiting. Even though it wasn’t anywhere near as long, it felt like an age.

They managed to get through almost all of BTS’s filmography before the lights dimmed and the crowd went wild. The VT started playing and, if I’m being honest, everything after that felt like such a blur. Fireworks flew out of the stage and with the first few notes of IDOL I felt an overbearing sense of euphoria, pun not intended. It was a shame that our position left us stretching up on tip-toes to get a glimpse of the boys dancing but that was more than enough. Every frustration and fear had led us to this and it was so worth it. I won’t pretend to remember the order they played the set and I’m sure I’d be hard pressed to remember all the songs they played but it was mesmerising. Hearing them live was more than I could have imagined it to be. The word flawless springs to mind. I always saw people on Twitter joking about how they must have swallowed the CDs but I can’t see any other explanation because the level of talent was inhuman. Magic Shop was so unbelievably stunning and uplifting it had me questioning whether I was really there.

The solo stages were beyond what I had expected. Their styling was just stunning. Jungkook seemed so happy to be up on stage during Euphoria. It really was as if his words rang true. We were even lucky enough to see him throw in a little bit of choreography despite his bad foot. On the subject of choreography, Singularity was mind-blowing. If the choreo looked impressive in the MV then seeing it live was enough to knock me off my feet. How one man possesses so much talent is really beyond me. Serendipity has been one of my favourite intros since it’s release, topped only by Intro: Boy Meets Evil and my absolute favourite Intro: Nevermind.  The full version is everything it needed to be and so much more, Jimin’s voice was flawless and he didn’t miss a single note.

The rap line, oh the rap line. Hoseok very nearly wrecked me out of existence with Just Dance. His stage presence is second to absolutely none and watching him rise up on the platform while hitting every mark of the choreography without stuttering rendered me speechless. Another, maybe surprising for some, master of choreography was Yoongi. By now we’d had some time to prepare psychologically for the onslaught of wonder that our ‘D boy’ was about to dump on us. Needless to say, it wasn’t enough. I don’t know how to put this without resorting to typing in capitals and keyboard smashing. Seesaw was perfect. The energy, the way the crowd moved and sung. The way he moved and sung. It was like watching a stunning painting come to life. Namjoon was, needless to say, powerful. The man has the stage presence of an army, again pun not intended, the voice of an angel, and the lyrical genius of a savant. Love was the culmination of that and with the help of the crowd, it was a masterpiece.

Epiphany, in many ways, had been the moment I’d been waiting for. Jin’s vocals are something that has captivated me since I started listening to the boys. His range and tone just have such a moving quality. When the lights went up and the spotlight fell on him and his piano I held my breath. His voice was exactly how I pictured it to be live; clear, clean, and so captivating. It was almost strange to listen to the synchronised breath we all took in the beat of silence before the first chorus but when we all let it out to sing along it felt like we sent our hurt with it. It was like a moment of true acceptance and in many ways, I felt the closest to the series’ message, Love Yourself, at that moment more than in any other. Hearing the words live just meant so much and by the end of the song, I was left emotionally raw.

We were afforded no breaks though, as no sooner did Jin’s solo finish than the rest of the vocal line joined him onstage and the first chord of The Truth Untold started to play. When Love Yourself: Tear first released this was the song that truly resonated with me, the one that made my heart ache in the best and the worst way. As soon as I heard the piano I knew I would break my record of never shedding a tear at a concert. By the first chorus, I had a steady stream of tears. This was expected. What I did not expect was my reaction to Taehyung’s chorus. Within a second of him starting to sing I was sobbing. Not crying, sobbing. Guttural sobs that were so loud the girl stood two feet from me heard them and checked if I was OK. I was not. I don’t really remember what song played after that, in all honesty, I think I was still recovering from the emotional trauma I’d just been put through.

I could talk for another 10 pages about every little detail and wonder of seeing the boys live but I’m aware that people have things to do so I think now I’ll try to summarise the whole thing. Since I started listening to BTS I never really considered the idea of seeing them live as anything more than a pipe dream. They’re just so far away. When the tour dates released I tried to keep a level head. Prepare for the fact that I wouldn’t be able to get tickets. When the tickets arrived I tried to remain realistic and keep in mind that we might not be allowed in the venue. This meant that by the time they’d stepped out on stage I was beyond overwhelmed. I still am now. Every friend I’ve talked to says the same thing. It just doesn’t quite feel real and I agree. The whole concert was like stepping into a different world, a different reality. I’ve not felt so much joy and awe. The whole experience was immensely surreal and I look back on it now with a weird sense of nostalgia. I was so lucky to see our boys, to hear their voices and some of my favourite songs in what I would consider the purest form. The Love Yourself series was in every sense a masterpiece. An unforgettable feat of planning, execution, and skill. I’m holding my breath for what comes next.

You can follow Liberty on Twitter: @Liberty__B

With thanks to @OfficialFan3102 for supplying some of her pictures of the day.

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