The second part of my MM14NYC report! Learn about the line, the other line, the 3rd line, and the kind of 4th line, plus we start pointing out things that could have been better! Next part is currently in progress!
The Line
A lot of people will talk about how awesome the concert was or how awesome the girls are, but I wanted to give some credit to the line, it was very much a life of its own. Smart line goers brought chairs, some dressed very warmly for the supposed 47F weather (which I seriously doubt that it was that but that’s the weather that was reported from the TVs in the area), Mikata and I came equipped with garbage bags, providing the comfort of sitting down without having to lug around a chair, especially with the need to coat check things when concert time comes. The weather didn’t seem to affect me much, but I became somewhat a mystery to the people around me, my body generating heat that seemed to surprise them.
The line for the most part was warm and nice, the people in the area seemed open and accepting of those next to them. Japanese fans interspersed between other fans, people who don’t know each other engaging in conversations about what they looked forward to, who their oshi is, and where they’re from. Perhaps not everywhere but at my location in line it seems like the line grouped into blocks of people random from 3-8 of people, where conversation would progress happily while not interacting much with the next block. It was quite an interesting experience as I conversed normally with people around me in one direction while next to us was another group that hardly ever crossed paths.
While the people were fine, there were several small issues with the Best Buy Theater Event staff (hereby referred to as “The event staff”). Understandably this is caused by the ill preparation of the staff for the crowd already forming in the early morning. First off the line thickness kept constantly changing. When first arriving we thought it’d be good if we tried to maintain lines of about 2 people thickness, at this point we were near the end of the line, and I think it was to keep people in a line that would resemble our entry into the theater when the time came. It wasn’t too long before the event staff appeared to push us closer together resulting in a about 3 person thick line section, as the staff added the metal railings and yellow tape to create the marked off “edge” of the line. As a funny side note, we were also where a bus stop would normally be, which I’m sure caused some minor confusion for bus goers and drivers alike. After a bit the line too another change as the staff “compressed” the line more, this time asking everyone to stand and move forward, the line now about 4-5 people thick, and smushed together pretty heavily, while the staff were around they request people no longer sit, though there was no stopping a giant crowd who is planning to stay standing for a 2 hour concert from sitting down occasionally while in a line for over 10 hours. I wish I could say how this affected the final entry into the theater but I don’t.
While I have no idea how good of a sense for the line I had, it seemed apparently that people were rather careful about keeping their spots. People rarely jumped out of line position at first, and as time wore on you would see the same couple of people moving back and forth. The lines while a mass of potential energy encapsulated in people, there was a sense that no one wanted to lose the very precious spot they achieved in line. There was always a moment where you’d see someone say their farewells to friends or interesting people they were talking to, disappearing back to their spot to confirm with the area they still deserved where they called their spot.
We found our bathrooms where we could, and news of these safe zones seemed to travel down the line by overhearing and conversation over time. At first we found ourselves going to the nearby McDonald’s and a slightly further Starbucks near the back end of the theater. Both were a significant distance away, but provided a kind of rest from the line, and from my experience with the Starbucks, some warmth for those who didn’t like the cold. Eventually people found the Toys R Us nearby also had a bathroom available and it being closer to the front of the line became the bathroom of choice. Bathroom and food or drink so they could “gain warmth through consumption” were really the only reason people left the area of the line at all once they became a part of it.
Even then some people walked the line with good spirits and were helping maintain the line Morale. The folks at Hello!Party still having a cutout of Sayu around with them walked the line allowing people to take pictures with it. It was a jolly time of people going “OOooo” seeing the Sayu floating around and taking pictures next to it. I happened to get a nice picture of the Sayu cutout with her “security” (lol). They were really nice people, of course if you know the Hello!Party people, they’re really nice, you can’t find harder working people for what they do.
There were a handful of different Japanese wota, coming all the way from Japan (meaning they travelled almost double what I did!) giving out free goods to people in line to share their love of Momusu with the people in the area. I had scene things from box sets for songs, individual singles, and pictures being given out to various people in line. I didn’t hear or see anyone fighting over anything and just heard the joy and happiness at these people slowly getting fatigued in line gaining some good will from not just a stranger, but a stranger who they could barely communicate effectively with.
In addition there were frequent travelers up and down the line, talking with their friends who were very good spirited. This included Japanese fans dressed in various fun expressions of their fandom, some girls dressed in various costumes to resemble Momusu outfits, and the rather enjoyable entertainment of one particular Yoyo’ing fan entertaining the crowd with his share of tricks and audience interactions.
One fun thing Crazyman and I joked about since our time in Hawaii was the fact that you could scream “What do you want!” and the natural wota response would probably be, “Is it necessary!?” We laughed over it, but when the time came he said if I did it in line he would respond. That said I walked up to his point in line at one point and screamed it to try to get his attention only to find the entire line screaming back at me. It was a fun moment and people responded to it well.
Throughout the day various interactions occurred outside the expected fan interactions. During our time in line eventually a hotdog cart came in rest in its daily position. Which unfortunately was in front of the second portion of line! The event staff came to the scene, yelling for everyone to move back, clustering people more together in an attempt to maintain their precious place in line. Every once and awhile one of the many passersby would stop to ask someone who was looking in their direction what the line was for. It became an interest game of judging their reactions when they asked, “What are you in line for?” wondering if they’d pry more at, “A concert,” and the ensuing wonder if they’d be interested in knowing what the concert was for. Usually after saying Japanese Pop or saying the name of the group would the stranger would accept the answer with interest and go on with their day. Part way through the day we began joking about the various answers would could give for fun including “The iPad 7!” or jokingly saying “The Hotdog Cart!” though we never actually did that.
While conversing we also found that people were filming part of the line over time. It wasn’t just run by shots or a scene of the line in general for some kind of statistic, some people down the line were getting interviewed with questions about where they came from, why they’re here and what song they like. In particular they also asked about favorite songs from the group. To this day we haven’t seen where that footage has gone but I’m sure one day everyone will know.
Turbos showed up telling us we had just missed Momusu showing up. The rush of them appearing them meant no one could get anyone else. He graciously showed us a video of it going down though. As the group around me cheered the sight of the video, we were once again excited to know that soon we’d get to see them in person too.
The Line 2, 3, and 3.5?
As part of my efforts at not having to deal with the craziness of the line, I had taken the effort to buy the “Living Social Early Entry General Admission” ticket. This means that I had a voucher I needed to redeem with no idea how it would work, whether it counted for anything, and the risk that I would leave line and not be able to return! Sure I had Mikata in line but she had VIP and while I had met her friends would they be as accepting of me being out of line for a long time to try to get my ticket?
As noon rolled around Turbos, who informed me about the deal and had jumped on it himself, came by for us to check out the deal with this with the box office. He came by to talk with me off and on, since he was in line in the early 4am hours and knew that I wasn’t able to be there that early. The two of us (with a guest character in tow =P) went towards the box office at the front of the line to inquire about redeeming our vouchers. And this meant another line would form!
We gathered in front of the box office in front of the line. Already there were a couple of people waiting there, reading the signs looking for any hint that we were in the right place. The realization of what the front section of the line had to deal with was becoming clear, as the street line flowed with the wind, resulting in a cold wind tunnel beyond my expectations. Granted I wasn’t freezing, but it surprised me how much cooler it was just around the corner from where I spent hours before. Waiting around eventually an event staff appeared, and we asked what we could do. Hearing the box office would open around 1-2 (They were unclear WHICH it actually was) they suggested we form a line near the box office and wait for our time.
I’m simplifying it a bit here, but basically the event staff once again was not certain of what they were doing. We heard times that were different, some people weren’t sure what we were talking about, but in general we were there for the will call for our tickets and they understood that well enough to give us information. But even then the uncertainty of the time lead to this mini party of 3 people to stay near the box office forming another line.
As we waited, the moment of change occurred, event staff began setting up the area around the corner with the metal bars forming a line area to the theater’s side door. We peeked over to see the area being formed, knowing well they were preparing to split the line. It wasn’t soon after they finished that off that they began pulling people from the main line and gathering them into another line and sending them around the corner to another under roof line. Crazyman passes by, as well as my other friends, and Mikata, each showing excitement over the change in their line waiting venue. We stood at our point in front of the box office, hoping that our wait in this new location would not be in vein.
Time rolled around till we noticed lights from within the box office, we stare intently waiting for the blinds to open as we each take out our vouchers for exchange. While we weren’t the first in line, we were certainly in front, and it just so happened Turbos, myself, and guest party member were the first people in this line trying to get our vouchers exchanged. This was by far the smoothest part of the experience as they merely checked our IDs before giving us an envelope with our tickets and telling us to head around the corner to join the VIP line.
We did so excitedly, but also concerned over the matter. The staff had told us that generally what they thought would happen is that VIP would go in first, and we could follow them after, since we were supposed to be next. Getting our tickets we walked around the corner and joined the end of the line, the zigzag line letting us see our friends nearby. The VIP were getting wristbands so they could get their stuff later on, and we unlike them were standing in line without that. Turbos had to change and asked me to save his spot in line which I promised to do respectfully. At the same time we stood in this line with VIP people and no clue what was going to happen so I commented on hurrying and watched in worry as people kept passing us and joining the line.
Eventually staff walked past and we stopped him to ask about our place in the line. Showing him our offer and the emphasis on “Early Entrance” the event staff (the one assigned to the VIP band distribution) looked puzzled, having never heard of the offer before. My mind immediately began to race, “What does that mean? Are these useless? Are we gonna get moved to somewhere else?” We were left waiting in line as the person went to find out about how they were handling the matter. I called Turbos to let him know not to dawdle too much, after which the staff member told us to hang tight and we should be okay, just don’t get in the way of the VIPs. Turbos returned in outfit, without problem
(And you should check out his report if you haven’t from his website: http://www.jicchan.com/?p=1410)
Soon after that an event staff starts to ask to see the tickets and pulls all the Early Entry General Admissions to the side to a line on the opposite side of this area. It became apparent that there were VIPs behind us EEGAs so it made sense for them to do this, and once separated we stayed around for the rest of the line time. While some people around us would occasionally walk away to the bathroom or something with friends saving spots and guides to walk with them, we stayed at our position as the front 3 of the line for about an hour, not wanting to miss anything that might make this worse for us. We watched as streamers and cameramen walked by the VIP line collecting screams and cheers over and over. The VIP line got their VIP passes with signatures (so wanted one of those!) and their low numbered handshake tickets and CDs. Eventually we got a pat down by staff and following that we got our entry into the venue after the VIPs entered and before the rest of the GA. Around 9 hours in three and a half lines and now one step closer to the concert.
—-
Stay tuned, the next part is inside the venue! And then we’ll have the show and handshake followed by a summary/afterthoughts portion that’s more like what Turbos did for his review (cause I probably should’ve went with that the first time)! Please come back for that (lol)!
Also feel free to comment on each part where relevant to let me know what you like or if you cared about any particular thing you learned!