When I first started paying attention to NCT back in 2017, I immediately was like AND WHO IS THIS when I saw Ten. NCT is a super interesting kpop construct where there are 20+ members, a few “fixed-member” sub-units, and then special projects that can pull any member from any of the subgroups. NCT U is the unit that constantly changes based on the song and who best fits the vibe. This was the first “unit” to debut, and Ten was a part of that.

I didn’t understand the NCTverse yet so I was confused later when NCT127 and then NCT Dream debuted, and Ten wasn’t a part of either of those sub-units. Ten was always such an enigma to me because of this but his insane dancing (South Korea almost consistently votes him as #2 dancer, right beneath Taemin and this is accurate in my opinion) and absolutely chaotic and charming personality made him my overall bias (tied with Haechan!). Later, he would officially debut in the “Chinese” sub-unit of NCT, which you would think would still have “NCT” in the name somehow, but no—it’s WayV, because Kpop’s always gotta be confusing. (Ten is from Thailand, btw!)

WayV has never toured the US so I sadly have never seen them. They have lost 2 members along the way BUT I have been lucky enough to see those two members in other groups: Win Win was an original member of NCT127 and then got moved to WayV with NO ANNOUNCEMENT which caused a lot of frustration among the fandom. Lucas has been exiled because of a stupid scandal that’s not even a scandal, but I got to see him when he was in the supergroup SuperM, which is also how I was able to see Ten, as well!

 

We Are the Future Tour: SuperM in DC/Fairfax, VA 11/17/19

OK preface time is over. The point is that Ten is no longer with SM (the agency NCT is signed to) and he now has actual creative freedom and THE ABILITY TO DO A NORTH AMERICAN SOLO TOUR!!! I bought tickets to the Baltimore date so fast, I didn’t even look at the date or price. (Prices were reasonable though! He was billing this as a “showcase” and the venues were small / standing room only so the tickets were under $100 each. I think even with Ticketmaster’s insane fees, it was under $150 for both of our tickets. Felt like getting them for free, in this concert economy!

Obligatory hotel room Kpop concert OOTD! I went with my Korean Vans and 7th Sense shirt, because that’s the NCT U song that Ten debuted with! Ten is the one in yellow! (Holy shit this song is 10 years old now, sickening.)

And then Ten and Taeyong had this legendary NCT U track as well, it’s iconic:

You just have to believe me when I say that I have been a first class ticket holder on the Ten Train for pretty much my whole Kpop life. Light stick fitted with fresh batteries, tickets added to my Apple wallet, we were ready to walk to Nevermore Hall! I was trembling with giddiness the whole way there.

We got in the already-long line (as expected) and were immediately handed the fan-made banners for the show. For some reason, Henry hates this part of Kpop life. He just doesn’t like having things to hold, I think. Usually he tries to reject the offer but they didn’t give him a chance to decline, lol. Everyone in line was in great spirits. The girl in front of us gave me a Ten keychain made out of Perler beads which made me think of Chooch and his Perler bead phase – we just donated all of his kits to Goodwill, actually and it made me so sad). I guess we probably stood in line for about 45 minutes before doors opened, so it wasn’t that bad, and luckily it wasn’t that cold either.  At one point, Ten’s video guy Nathan walked around and filmed everyone in line for Ten’s IG story – it was sped up really fast but Henry was able to use his magic pausing ability to stop it on us and screenshot it LOL:

 

I sent it to Chooch and he said, “Ugh you’re annoying.” LOL yay!

 

I liked the area this venue was in – it surrounded by lots of cool bars and restaurants and seems like a place I would absolutely avoid in Pittsburgh, actually now that I think about it LOL. I was listening to the Perler bead girl and her friend talking and I guess this particular venue only recently was rebranded into the Nevermore Hall. I guess by size and comparison, our Stage AE would be the comparable version, and I am basing this on the fact that Sleeping with Sirens played both Nevermore and Stage AE on their most recent tour. So, this isn’t really a kpop venue, which was concerning to me.

It was around this point where Perler bead girl’s friend pulled out A CHARMERA. Henry looked at me with fear in his eyes but I couldn’t pass up this opportunity. I dug through my purse for my own Charmera, tapped her on the shoulder like a weirdo, and said in that hyper, fast-paced tone I get when I’m excited about something dorky, “I HAVE ONE TOO!” We both held up our Charmeras in some weird Kodak toast and commiserating for approx. 10 seconds before forgetting each other’s existence. “Happy now?” Henry sighed. Actually, yes.

Finally, we were inside! There were two lines for security check. A venue staff guy came down the hall and said, “OK everyone starting with this nice man in the flannel, come with me” and I was so annoyed that Henry was referred to in such glowing terms (“nice” was unnecessary!). But he led us down a hall to the other security check line and said, “You’ll get through much faster in this line.” He was right! The security people were also super nice. That was my main takeaway from this place: NICE STAFF. However, the cons: NOT APPROPRIATE FOR KPOP. It seems that the general consensus agreed with this sentiment.

By the time we got inside, there was nowhere to go, really. Henry went to take care of the merch sitch and I tried to go up to the balcony to see if there was ANYWHERE with a clear sightline. I got stuck behind a trio of older fans who walked like snails, stopped abruptly to look around, acted clueless, and just generally pissed me the fuck off. I don’t normally have issues at kpop shows because they are primarily in arenas, stadiums, or theaters with assigned seating. ASSIGNED SEATING IS A MUST FOR SOME OF US. I’m not saying I’m going to stay sat, but at least when your ticket has a seat # on it, you don’t have to stand in line for hours and fight a crowd for barricade. This show was sold out and by the looks of it, it seemed like it was oversold.

I ended up back downstairs behind the sound booth area and it seemed OK. The people around me were fine, the bar was behind us, the stage still wasn’t far away even though we weren’t on the main floor. Long story short, as soon as the show started, the one sound guy decided to stand up (all of the others were sitting) and his big ass dork head was RIGHT in front of me the whole time. I was trying hard not to let it bother me but he was so fucking aggravating and just your typical WHITE MALE RUINING EVERYTHING FOR THE REST OF US. Aside from that, it was a great night. Ten is an angel. No one pissed me off (aside from WHITE DORK ASS SOUND GUY).

I lost Henry halfway through because he had to go to the bathroom and then couldn’t fight his way back to me through the rabid Ten fans. I mean, duh. I knew he wasn’t coming back. He knew he wasn’t coming back. He said he was standing way in the back off to the side and heard some of the staff people saying that they never had to ask people twice not to block the steps to the balcony and that these fans were so “well-behaved.” LOL.

This was the zoomed out view before it started – actually not bad considering how far away from the stage we are at most arena concerts.

^ Asshole Dork Head Alert.

Oh, I just love him so much. He is so effortlessly funny! I loved every performance, obviously, but every time it was TALKING  TIME, I was so stoked. Also, I had to laugh because in true fashion, the girl to my right looked like she was just plucked from a cozy chair in a library, Little Women cracked open to her favorite part, and planted right next to me. Just very quiet and meek-looking. Then the lights went off and she turned absolutely feral. In fact, there is still a faint echo of her hysterical howls ricocheting in the depths of the membranous labyrinth of my inner ears.

The show was only about 90 minutes long which was sad but I felt so privileged to be able to see him at all. He is a treasure and deserves all of the international recognition he’s been getting!

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SETLIST

1. STUNNER
2. Nightwalker
3. Birthday
4. ON TEN
5. Dangerous
6. Shadow
7. New Heroes
8. Water
9. Lie With You
10. Can I Be Honest
11. Waves
12. IRL
13. Enough for Me
14. BAMBOLA
15. OUTWEST

Also, I would be remiss to not add that his cameraman Nathan was the uncontested second star of the night. We LOVED him! We hyped him up every time he came out and Ten even got him to dance. He was so much fun! The whole night was so much fun!

When we left the venue, the Perler bead girl and her Charmera friend were standing outside handing out freebies and I yelled, “Hey it’s you guys again!” and we all had a brief “aw” moment and then Charmera girl gave me a bracelet.

What a great night. I love Ten. <3

(I did NOT love that sound guy though! HE WASN’T EVEN DOING ANYTHING! He wasn’t twiddling or fiddling any knobs, he was just STANDING THERE with his big ass head and his arms crossed THE ENTIRE TIME. Just thinking about him is making my blood boil. The girl in front of me only came up to my boobs so I have no idea if she could even see anything at all over the undulating WHITE MAN head. I’ve NEVER yelled “sit down!!!” at a concert before because I myself am a stander (I mean, I read the room first) but I was so tempted to find something to chuck at him, I swear to fucking god. Nevermore Hall, check your dumb sound men. They’re assholes.)

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