On 1 September 2017, new Co-Ed group KARD held their first fan meet tour on European soil with London as their first stop.
Hidden KARDS had arrived at ULU Live early to pick up wristbands, especially those who had purchased VIP packages of the Ultimate and Wild KARD categories. Wristbands with numbers began to be distributed from 2pm as intended by MyMusicTaste and fans were then allowed to write questions on post-it notes then stick them on a white board for the Q&A section at the fan meet.
After perhaps 2 hours, fans began to queue around the venue in a line before being told to move towards another section where the wristband queue originally started earlier in the day. This caused a great deal of confusion when security then told everyone that they would be going into the venue depending by their wristband colour. So where were the intended three queues MyMusicTaste planned for those who bought Wild KARD package, Ultimate KARD package and general admission? That did not happen at all. Everyone was in a huddle before somebody held a sign asking who bought the VIP packages and if their wristband number was from a specific range? Thankfully those who were in those groups were able to jump to the front of the queue before the 6pm opening time.
An hour later after endless Karaoke sessions from the Hidden KARDS in the venue, KARD finally took to the stage and opened their fan meet with the English version of Don't Recall. The MC for this evening's fan meet was Sophie who I remember from Jung Woo Sung's Q&A/conference last year at SOAS which was part of London Korean Film Festival 2016. She really went out of her way to make sure KARD were welcomed and where possible acted as an interpreter when the main interpreter struggled to be heard amongst the hugely enthusiastic crowd that night.
KARD sang their currently released songs but also added in some covers such as Rihanna's Bitch Better Have My Money, Alicia Keys' New York and Ariana Grande's Side To Side. In between performances, there was the Q & A session where KARD picked questions that stood out to them from the post-it notes submitted in the afternoon but also questions from the MC and a game of charades without sound. Hidden KARDS had to guess what the group were impersonating and they would be able to win a free copy of KARD's CD and a polaroid. I was so close to winning one but had no luck in being chosen. The encore included Living Good and the Korean version of Don't Recall but also fan service from the group and a final group selca with the audience, which can be found on KARD's facebook fan page.
The fan meet finished just after 9pm and fans who bought VIP were lead downstairs to the bar and waited till it was time for hi-touch and photo session. Wild KARD package went in first followed Ultimate KARD. Once hi-touch finished we all waited again till photo session started. There were A LOT of VIP purchases and it took a long time to get through everybody. J.Seph was the first person I said hi to, followed by Jiwoo, Somin and BM who I said hi and thank you to and he said thanks for coming.
My wristband was pink and evidently one of the last few Ultimate KARD package customers. The staff were counting everyone in the queue - ten at a time - for the photo session with KARD. Sadly the queuing was messy and confusing again. Security were asking if anyone was on their own or if there were 2-3 in a group so they could be ushered back inside. I feel I missed my chance to get my turn over and done with since I was by myself and I could've squeezed into a photo much earlier and not leave so late. I eventually gave in after an hour wait, mentioned I didn't have a white wristband but was still let in just so they could go through more fans and let them pass.
I had to move around lot to put my bags on the table then rush back to the floor where I had to kneel because I was forced to hurry up and get into position (I happened to be in front of J.Seph - I wonder if I'm by the watermark in the final result. We shall see) and squeeze closer so I could fit into the photo. The photographer snapped two photos before we got rushed out of the room.
ULU Live as a venue was too small for KARD and the fans. I could probably accept it as an intimate concert or a lecture for a select few. But since this was a sold-out event and the little mess up during presales proved VIP tickets were oversold (upstairs was full so a few had to stand), MyMusicTaste should have picked a slightly bigger venue and maybe arrange the queues in advance with signs for fans to line up depending by their ticket type. Of course they did do their best in organising things I'm sure but it was trickier with ULU Live. Thankfully Block B's concert was better and TROXY could handle the hi-touch and photo sessions appropriately with its capacity.
Putting aside the queuing issues, my first fan meet experience was still enjoyable and KARD soaked in what they could, giving people fan service and showing what they're made of as a new co-ed group and hopefully they'll return to this side of the globe when they have released more songs. Obviously there were no games with the fans on the actual stage and what we received were fans raising their hands when they knew the answer to the question. It was still entertaining and I sensed J.Seph** was probably the more popular member amongst this crowd because the screams he got were deafening. I don't think he expected the over-enthusiastic reaction towards him either. On the other hand I did feel the audience were very noisy, talking over KARD as they spoke about how they felt being in London for the first time. It made it harder for the interpreter to translate and even sitting upstairs it wasn't easy to hear every word.
** I had a "head meet table" moment when I saw J.Seph have a flag -someone mentioned this to me on Twitter though it looked quite hard and thick from where I sat- thrown at him unexpectedly. The brief shock in his face before it is covered by a smile was disturbing. Yes I know he and the others lightly laughed it off but we do have to bear in mind the safety of these performers.
My photos ~ everything can be seen here or here
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