Going Crazy With 2PM

Sunday night one of K-Pop’s most iconic groups, 2PM, made the second of four stops as they work their way across the U.S. with their “GO CRAZY World Tour”, lighting up Chicago with one of the most fun concerts I have ever had the pleasure of attending.

Taking the stage of the Rosemont Theater to the thunderous roar of a house full of insanely excited fans, flocking from all corners of the country to catch this once-in-a-lifetime chance to see 2PM in person, the boys kicked things off with a pounding non-stop set of  “Heartbeat”, “Without U”, “Hot”, “Go Crazy” and “10 Out of 10” that set the perfect tone for a tour very aptly named, “GO CRAZY”.

From there Taecyeon and Chansung commanded the attention of the audience with their insanely fabulous performance of “The Word Love” and “Please Come Back” and when I say “insanely fabulous” I mean, so flipping awesome you have to see it to believe it. (Don’t worry, I’ll have the video for this posted on my YouTube channel very soon.) While it may sound very fangirly of me to say this, I now know why Taecyeon is often referred to as a “beast idol” and all I can say is, the title is well-deserved. *swoon*

Giving fangirls a chance to catch their breaths and restart their hearts, the boys reunited on-stage and slowed things down at bit with “Rain” and “I’m Sorry” before taking a moment to introduce themselves and talk a bit about their first set of songs. While listening to the boys talk about their songs and how they came to write them, it was immediately obvious that they’re immensely proud of their work as song-writers and it made my fangirl heart happy to hear the joy and pride in their voices, as they talked about the songs they’ve worked so hard to create. I know I might be just a silly fangirl but it makes me happy to know the idols I love are truly enjoying their work, especially since I know the life they’ve chosen isn’t an easy one.

Moving on, 2PM began their second set with “Come Back When You Hear This Song” and “A Night Like Tonight” before breaking into one of my personal favorites, “Hands Up” which immediately got the crowd jumping.

Breaking into the second sub-unit of the evening, Jun.K and Wooyoung took the stage by storm with a fantastic DJ performance which included a shorter version of Jun.K’s “NO LOVE” and Wooyoung’s “Sexy Lady”, as well as an outstanding duet performance of “Superman”. Once again I find myself at a place where words fail to convey how amazing this performance actually was because. Oh. My. Word. Jun.K and Wooyoung blew me away, not only with their skills as DJs but also with their insanely brilliant dancing. Good grief! Watching them descend the stairs to the main stage, to break into a dance performance that was nothing short of perfection, I found myself one of thousands screaming for more.

While the boys disappeared backstage for one of the many costume changes of the evening, the crowd was kept entertained by a video that segued perfectly into the 2PM version of Wooyoung’s “Sexy Lady”. “I’m Your Man”, “A.D.T.O.Y” and “Beautiful” were the perfect songs to follow and all I can say is, now that I’ve seen “A.D.T.O.Y” performed live, I can die a happy, happy fangirl. Junho and Nickhun were the last duo to take the stage, giving an absolutely divine performance of  “Love is True”.

As Nickhun and Junho disappeared backstage, the rest of the boys reappeared, donned in their most elaborate outfits of the evening to talk about the songs they’d just sung and chat with the audience about, among other things, the wonders of Chicago-style deep dish pizza. From there the boys took the stage with a crowd-pleasing performance of “Again & Again”,  abridged versions of “I Hate You” (“니가 밉다”), “Tired of Waiting” and “Maja” before moving into “I’ll Be Back”. With the end of the show fast approaching, 2PM said their final thank yous and goodbyes before moving into, as Taecyeon put it, their “Strongest performance yet”.  True to their word, 2PM ended the evening with a powerful performance of “Fight”, “Don’t Stop Can’t Stop” and appropriately, “Game Over” which left the crowd begging for more.

Not willing to disappoint their fans, 2PM took to the stage one last time with an abridged version of “Go Crazy” that led seamlessly into a rather lengthy farewell chat with the audience. Each member of 2PM took the time to sincerely thank fans for their love and support before promising to return to the Windy City in the future. Whether the boys will actually be able to make good on that promise remains to be seen but it’s always nice to be left with fond memories and the hope that someday our paths will cross again. With the final speeches made, it was time to “Go Crazy” as the boys wrapped things up with remixes of both “Hands Up” and “Go Crazy”, all the while interacting with the fans lucky enough to be within arms reach by grabbing phones to take selcas and hands to say “hi”. For those of us not-quite-as-lucky fans, the boys were gracious enough to toss sweat drenched towels and t-shirts into the crowd and one very lucky person managed to snag an autographed T-shirt pulled right off Chansung’s back. *Sigh! I was this close!*

With the concert over, it was time to take a minute to revel in the past two hours of amazing that was 2PM, as I waited for my two seconds of fan interaction, otherwise known as the high-touch. Lining up with the few hundred others lucky enough to be wearing the lime green wristband that guaranteed our meeting with 2PM, I have to admit, I was feeling pretty great. The concert had been amazing and I knew that in a few short moments, I’d be standing face-to-face with the very band I’d been screaming over only moments before. (And also one of my favorite actors, which made the drama-loving fangirl in me insanely giddy.) As excited as I was to meet 2PM, I was amazed at how clear my head was as they stood before me, their warm hands outstretched to meet my own as they flashed me their most brilliant smiles. I was surprised by the fact that I was actually able to keep my wits about me long enough to tell Taecyeon I loved his dramas before the “OMG they’re just too amazing to be real” fangirl fuzzy brain set in. (Though that could be because he happened to be the first in line and therefore my brain hadn’t really had time to take in what was happening.) I think Jun.K was next, followed by Wooyoung, Nickhun, Junho and Chansung but I honestly can’t remember because the fangirl fuzzy brain is real and I suffer from it often. I can tell you, however, that each member of 2PM is every bit as wonderful in real life as you could ever imagine them to be and their show was one I’ll never forget.

Thank you 2PM for making Chicago one of the stops on your world tour and for making this night one I’ll never forget. You are lovely and your music makes my heart happy. Good luck on the rest of your tour and I hope our paths cross again someday. Until then, I’ll cheer you on from here, in my frozen little corner of the world, and wish you all the best. 2PM FIGHTING!