ATEEZ Citi Field Survivor x2
Well well well….. After last year’s horrendous experience at Citi Field (AKA shitty field) last year I vowed to never return. After Stray Kids just the month prior (where get this- IT RAINED) I had low to no hope of this going well. But thanks to the Kpop gods it did not rain this year. While it was VERY hot I was sunscreened up and equipped with 3 different fans and tons of water (as to not have a repeat of Stray Kids DC) and I was ready and determined to enjoy VIP! Beware this post is LONG because I absolutely have favorites and it’s them.
My outfit was something I worked hard on for MONTHS, an homage to the original meme of ‘shorty in blue’. It references Hongjoong’s bright electric blue outfit in the Celebrate music video. I’m the only one in my friend group that likes that video (the outfits are something else and that’s putting it lightly) but it’s near and dear to my heart and I do really love the song (although I’m sad that there is no Mingi in the video since he was on hiatus during that era). I worked to not only make adjustments to the outfit that made it more me, but also adjust it to the weather. I even took extra fabric and made my Labubu companion a matching outfit!
I was able to thrift almost the entire thing- even the earrings and pins that I used to decorate the vest. It’s one of my (if not the) favorite concert outfits I’ve ever done, and has inspired me to go all out for more concerts. Now onto the important part- the boys.
ATINY Zone (where you show your membership and get tour specific PCs) was locked down on security so there was no sharing phones and cheating the system like we did last year, but thankfully through trading and begging I think everyone got their bias. Handing out freebies was super fun and I met a LOT of totally cool people- including someone I have been following on TikTok for a while (Reese- if you ever read this I know I told you at the venue but you’re literally so cool) and she was nice enough to take a picture with me! Outfits were on fire as always, because us ATINY don’t mess around.
This was also the first big group I had VIP for, and while I did not have send off I was excited for soundcheck and the little gift we got. I also had a really great seat. While I was VERY bummed to not be sitting with my friends I am still happy I treated myself to a really nice seat for once since ATEEZ is my ultimate group and I’d do anything for them (BTS, you left me for a while and will have to work to get me back. Captain Hongjoong says I can’t look at other idols sooooo). The line to get in wasn’t awful, though the line for merch was. The gift is a really nice diary, feather ballpoint pen and mini diary photo keychain. The packaging was really nice too- and while I was briefly tempted to sell it for extra cash I decided to keep it and display it in the living room.
Soundcheck was AMAZING because duh- it’s ATEEZ. They used the extended stage well and were super interactive with the crowd. I’m going to tell myself Mingi saw my FIX ON banner. The time in between soundcheck and the concert was spent racing to the merch booth on the second floor to try to grab something before it sold out. I was able to get away with a t shirt and some photo packs, so pretty lucky. Handed out some more freebies and settled into my spot for a PROMPT concert start time at 7:59pm.
Now they told us they had a whole new setlist, and with the edition of the new album released 2 days earlier and 8 solo tracks I knew it was going to be vastly different from previous ATEEZ shows. We got Outlaw, Shaboom and some popular title tracks in addition to the solo songs and a medley of fan favorites. Finished with The Real because otherwise it’s just not an ATEEZ show. I also love that Hongjoong helped write, produce and arrange 7 of the songs (Mingi did his own).
Hongjoong’s NO1- incredible rap track with HEAVY EDM features. He learned how to DJ just for this and it was energetic and off the charts. Not just because I’m a Hongjoong bias but because the song is straight fire. I expected nothing less from our dear captain.
Seonghwa’s Skin- OK I see we have all entered our hoe phase because WHAT in the Lee Taemin was this? Song reminded me of Taemin’s Move (in all good ways) and Seonghwa KILLED the choreo. Super sexy song!
Yunho’s Slide to Me- Vocals were great, choreo was light and fun. This song has heavy jazz notes and you could tell how much Yunho loved preforming it.
Yeosang’s Legacy- One of my top 3 solo songs! Imagine if a vampire rockstar made a video game soundtrack. Rock inspired and the stage was SO cool and Yeosang looked amazing. Since Lemon Drop Yeosang has me questioning my loyalty to the rap line (who have been my main bias line since I started stanning ATEEZ).
San’s Creep- Sexy San vibes 100%. The song is also really nice and fits his voice well… And the choreo…. wow. While San isn’t my main bias (I love all of them a lot) he almost stole me away from the rappers with that one.
Mingi’s ROAR- YES SONG MINGI! Get it boy! Rock, rap, barking, middle finger to the haters- this song has it all! I not only LOVE the song but LOVED seeing him kick ass on stage and give us a really spectacular performance.
Wooyoung’s Sagittarius- He did release this a while ago but I’m really glad they added it on here. It wasn’t what I imagined him releasing but now that I’ve heard it I couldn’t imagine anything better from him. I LOVE the song, loved the stage design for it, loved that he showed off his tattoos, and love the lyrics. I’m also a Sagittarius so extra points for that.
Jongho’s To be your Light- Our vocal king strikes again! To start the song Acapella is a baller move,I am not surprised he did it and equally not shocked he killed it. I think Jongho has one of the best voices in all of Kpop and while I’d like him to try something new sometime I always love love love the ballads and can’t stop playing it on repeat (when I’m typically NOT a ballad fan).
In true Citi Field fashion, something had to go wrong. They came running out on stage using bad miming to tell us the sound system was down. San ran and got an iPad to write to us, and it seemed very familiar (Please Leave Live… Atiny IYKYK) Thankfully it didn’t last long and Hongjoong got to joke about our PTSD rain from last year and now this (perhaps we can NOT go to Citi Field next time?!)
As always, ATEEZ are my ultimate group for a reason. They have incredible music with great production and lyrics I really relate to and enjoy. They all seem meant to be on stage and meant to be with each other- their synergy is always electric and fun and loving. I could go on for days about them, they will always be my must see and I’m actually bummed I only got to see them twice this tour next time I will for sure be going to more stops! The pictures below are from all of my friends who attended- so there are pictures from all over the stadium. I apologize in advance for the astounding number of Mingi pictures but… THE BUN?!
8 MAKES ONE TEAM BABY!!
