Spoiler: I had an amazing time! Both in the city as at the concert.
Last year in November I found myself with two VIP tickets to see Stray Kids on their dominATE tour at the Amsterdam stop. One ticket for me and another one for my friend I have known for years but never met in real life. Maybe a bit insane to go on this lovely adventure with someone you never met, but then again… what is life without surprises? Well in the end we did meet up a few weeks before the concert, but the next time we met was on the day of the concert. However, I do not currently live very central so I decided to go a day earlier to Amsterdam, so I could just relax, enjoy the city and meet up with a friend.
Thursday, July 10
After a travel journey of around three hours by car and train I made my way to Amsterdam. Just a few stops with the metro I got off at Weesperplein to get to Bar Lempicka, a restaurant suggested by a friend, the same friend I had lunch with. The meal was lovely, but seeing my friend after quite some time was truly the highlight of my day. Unfortunately he had to get back to work after we finished eating, so I got back on the metro to Overamstel, the area I picked out an Airbnb. And I have to admit something… normally I avoid staying in Amsterdam just because the city is not my cup of tea. But this time around the city changed my mind. I loved every second of it. This truly had to do with my Airbnb that was so central but at the same time in nature. I wished I could have explored more of the area, maybe next time I can make it work.
I dropped my bags off at my short stay home and went back to the city center to go to some shops we don’t have in the countryside (where I currently reside). Of course you can’t be in town for a concert and not go to Concerto. A lovely music shop that carries a great variety of music.
The weather was so incredibly hot that I needed a pick-me-up. I got a smoothie at Coffee Tales. As a booklover I couldn’t pass up the opportunity to go to Waterstones and The American Book Center. I also made a stop at Miniso and Pandora before I ended up at UNIQLO. Did some browsing and decided to make one more stop before dinner, de Bijenkorf. During the shopping spree I mostly found what I was looking for or at least I got to know my sizes so I can buy it online.
When ordering food at Dumpling Bros I met some Stay’s (fans of Stray Kids) and I asked them if they would be cool letting me join. They were and we had a fun time chatting about the concert.
That evening I went to bed early, at least for this night owl, just because I could not wait for Friday to roll around!
Friday, July 11
The morning started with a grocery run and my friend who arrived. We got some lunch before we headed out to register for VIP. We personally thought it would be best to go as late as possible since we had seating tickets anyway. However, registration had to be done before 15:00. So we did, and we got a goodiebag filled with goods. Obviously the lanyard and the well-known postcard set, but also (for us an unsuspected surprise) a pillowcase, sleeping mask, pen set. We also picked up our banner and headed over to the merch to pick up something my friend had ordered.
Once we were inside we took many pics before the soundcheck started at 17:00. It was amazing! They did Chk Chk Boom, Walkin on Water and MIROH. Afterwards we headed to the merch so I could buy the cap and the lightstick. Now there was some time to kill, but then again our stomachs were growling so we got some dinner and I got myself a nice cold soda as well. Honestly, before we knew it, it was 19:30 and the show started with the SKZ Anthem before the Kids joined the stage and started their performance with MOUNTAINS. The energy was insanely high throughout the show, and songs like Thunderous and District 9 put the biggest smile on my face.
I was wondering what they were going to do for their European leg of the tour. Amsterdam was the first stop so besides a clothing change, they could have shaken things up even more with different kinds of songs. Are they going to do the solo’s again like in Asia? Or are they sticking with the duo songs like they have been doing in South and North America? The answer was the latter one. I was especially impressed with Burnin’ Tires, by Changbin & I.N, their choreo and the whole stage was so funny and impressive to see. Cinema, by Lee Know & Seungmin, was touching and brought me close to tears.
Lonely St. made its way to the stage later on in the evening. One of the very few slow songs of the show, but for sure one of my favourite songs of Stray Kids. More of my faves, like TOPLINE and Social Path, passed before we got to the encore. And guys, when I tell you I was excited when I saw a bunch of security all of a sudden… is an understatement! A yellow rope let us know it was happening, Skijigi (nickname for the staff of Stray Kids) brought the carts over! The Kids jumped on the carts and before I knew it, even if I had no true barricade, I was at the front of the rope so my eyes met a few of the Kids eyes.
Once the carts moved away from me the big SKZOO balloons filled the void of my thoughts. The Kids being on the carts meant we already moved to the last part of the show. A wonderful night would come to a close. But not before we danced the night away with songs like My Pace, Stray Kids and MIROH. Jumping higher than I thought would still be possible after an almost three hour show, ended with Chk Chk Boom (festival ver.) and Hall of Fame.
Welcome to your PCD (post concert depression)
That Hall of Fame got their chance to shine at the end of the concert actually felt so right for the entire feeling I got from the show and the atmosphere in the stadium. Even though I was sad the concert ended, I was also so grateful for having seen Stray Kids and the rest of their team perform. Once the lights turned on, it was back to reality… okay maybe also some left over magic that we call confetti. Thanks to us having seats we swooped the confetti from our chair right into our VIP bags. The confetti is now shining on my music shelf in a small jar together with my other VIP goodies, lightstick and WolfChan, SKZOO.
A night I hope I will remember for a long time to come and who knows… relive it one day by watching the concert back on DVD. It likely won’t be an Amsterdam version, but I will take the Soul one, although the Amsterdam show will be iconic for so many reasons. From the amazing fits to some funny concert moments, oh well at least I was there!
Love,
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