flower in a greenhouse: SMTown World Tour III Singapore!

The Secret says that we should give thanks for the good things and not focus on negativity.

HENCE.

I am thankful that RITS brought SMTown to Singapore.

I am thankful that I got a ticket.

I am thankful I'm not stuck way way way at at the back/sides.

I am thankful I was only half drenched.

I am thankful I got to watch BoA and fx live.

*cough* It was hard making that list.

Honestly, I enjoyed Big Bang's Alive Tour more. Had post-concert withdrawal symptoms. It was SO FREAKING GOOD! Although it was only a 2 hour or so concert, the atmosphere was electrifying and every one was on high throughout. It could also be that I am a much bigger fan of BB than the SM artistes and knew most of their songs by heart.

Was really looking forward to SM Town because it's a total Kpop extravaganza with HUGE names! Plus, tickets sold out so quickly like it was the most covetable thing on earth. There was BoA who would never have staged a solo concert in sg if not for SMTown. The venue - Floating Platform, was also interesting.
Sigh.
Let's just say an outdoor concert in Nov was not the best idea. This year, it's been raining a lot. It usually pours during late afternoon and sometimes at night. Kinda pissed off that today, it DID NOT rain. Almost felt like the skies poured down on the concert goers for today's worth of rainfall + the few hours of pent up rain it did not get to unleash.

Although it's a rain or shine event, but Thunderstorm? Seriously? Was kinda worried... I guess there should be adequate safety measures right? Like mega sized lightning rods? I mean, there were so many people in that open area plus the artistes were being elevated and the whole techie-pyrotechnics stuff going onstage. Pretty dangerous.
I applaud the artistes for their professionalism. Despite the storm, they still did their best. I remember fx performing Electric Shock on the elevated sub stage through the storm. The rain just beat down on the girls but they still went about it without missing a step.

Read many grouses on fb. Usually I would be like, oh people get a life, don't be picky.
But this time, I would have to agree. Well, the poncho gripe is not legit. Ponchos were not supposed to be provided though I saw an usher handing some out ... during the FINALE.
Yes, why people still need a poncho then when they've already experienced the worst is beyond me.
I did not see any ushers during the concert. Good thing would be feel free to whip out your cameras and take/film away. Bad thing is, are the ushers paid to be there to watch the concert free? That's not right. Concert-goers are paying for their usher fees y'know?

Another gripe was the long queues and wait to enter the venue. I didn't buy moshpit tickets so thankfully I did not have to experience the crap system. When we reached Entrance 2, it was a breeze entering. But then we realised there was a long queue! And for the longest time, the queue didn't move which was pretty strange considering the concert was supposed to start at 6.30 pm and it was like around 6? Every one was just standing there and no one could enter the venue. WEIRD RIGHT? Plus the place was super stuffy and hot. Must be cos' it was post-rain but anyway.. Bag check was super fast. I don't think they even checked. So, good for the people who managed to bring umbrellas (used them unabashedly) and outside food! For us law-abiding citizens who observed the rules, when the rain came, JIALAT!! The fragile ponchos did not stand a chance in the storm. Felt my clothes absorbing the water through the poncho. WTF!!!

Speaking of poncho, Lollipop.sg reported that 24,000 fans got ponchos courtesy of RITS. HELLO! That is factually untrue. Can someone tell the reporter not to report such lies! RITS only gave ponchos to the VIPS. I'm not even sure if ALL VIPs got ponchos or only the yellow section people. By making such a statement, you're giving non-concert-goers the misconception that RITS were SO KIND to the people who made them an average of $200 each.
I'm sure I'm not the only concert-goer who is downright offended at the report. Most of us brought our own ponchos while some obviously did not get the message and were left drenched.

Technical glitches. Urghh, it reminded me of Day 1 of Big Bang's Alive tour. During Daesung's Wings segment, he was supposed to be hoisted on "wings" above the stage BUT IT DID NOT HAPPEN!!
Obviously there must be a glitch or something for that not to be performed but I felt shortchanged. It was so unfair to the fans on the first night. We paid the same amount as those for Day 2 so WHY? Plus, I got even more annoyed when fans who attended both nights commented that Day 2 was longer. FINE. This is not the organiser's fault but WTF right! How can you treat fans like that? As if we were offered a discount to come on the first night.
Well, SMTown.. before the concert started, we already saw the screens being glitchy. Yes, despite the seats being far away from the main stage, the screens were SMALL. The largest screen was useless. You know what it was showing the whole time? BACKGROUNDS. Not the footage but backgrounds. WTFFFFF! The 2 smaller side screens were problematic. Fine, I know the rain caused the glitches and the skies only cleared less than an hour before the concert so there wasn't time to ensure everything was good to go. Disappointing thing was the right screen died during the concert. They tried to revive it but nope, it was too far gone. Couldn't be salvaged at all.
I really feel sorry for the fans in the right mosh pit. They're far away from the main stage despite it being a "mosh pit" to the extent that they still needed the screen! So when the screen died, hmmm what are they supposed to see??

Substage.. Very few acts came to the sub stage. So they should have just removed that and allowed more seats nearer the main stage or built the main stage nearer. Substage is a total waste of $. Maybe it's a SM concept that RITS had to build. I d'no but I guess because of the rain, the artistes were not keen to come out of the main stage.

People on the helix bridge were having a free show. At first I was sure they couldn't have gotten a good view but many comments have said that it was probably as good as what people sitting right at the back paying >$100 had. OMG Unfairness!!!

When it was time to exit, it was pretty awful too. There were people pushing ON THE STAIRS! How dangerous. Plus after the storm, the place was wet and areas were flooded. It took ages to exit. I heard it's because the stars were leaving the venue at the same time so fans just stood there for their idols' vans (cannot even see you please!) and caused the jam. Then what are the ushers/security people doing?
You're not doing your basic duty right? Why are you not ushering? Some were shouting to exit this way while others were blocking the way saying you can't leave by this exit. Seriously.
And then it took a long time to even exit. We were all standing in a line that was not moving. WHY? Don't understand. Why designate only 2 exit points when you have 24,000 people in the venue? Why barricade the main entrances so that people couldn't leave by alternative exits? Seriously people could have left by the entrance and they would have gone somewhere else to catch their trains/buses/cabs.. By forcing every one to head to 2 exits and one/two of which led to a traffic light, it undoubtedly caused a bad jam! Can't expect people to cross the road continuously right? No traffic rules ah?
Then when people are waiting for the traffic light, the rest can't exit! But no one is saying anything. Every one is getting impatient especially those at the back when they can't see what's going on and don't feel that the ushers are doing anything! More unhappiness when there's already unhappiness after the glitches and downpour.

This is not the way a concert organiser should treat your customers. Paying customers, I might add. Floating platform is an interesting venue. It's large enough to cater to the audience capacity that SM Town should perform to. BUT, more care should have gone into concert management and preparation.
People who say RITS should not be faulted at all, YOU ARE SAINTS.
OMG, you can sit through the bad experiences and still thank them and say they did their best and do not have to change. You have honestly mastered The Secret.
No one is saying they hate RITS and do not appreciate the time and effort to get SMTown in!
By all means, great effort but there's always room for improvement.
Just because they managed to broker this deal, doesn't mean other agencies aren't able to do it in future. Should they rest on their laurels, continue charging high fees because fans are naive and always willing to pay, then give fans a crap experience?
Profit-oriented companies would do that. I'm pretty sure RITS is profit-oriented since they can't even spare ponchos for 24,000 people... If a poncho is 50 cents, $12k.. OMG TOO MUCH THAT WILL EAT INTO THEIR PROFITS! *rolls eyes*
5mil to organise the concert. So is anyone running a loss here? I seriously do not think so.

I really hate people who are always embracing the shit they encounter with open arms and saying it's okay and no one has to get the blame. Urghh, why are you so weak? It's one thing to give thanks and be positive and another to condone bad behavior. They'll probably say things like wars and bullying are okay too and we shouldn't blame or hate people who do bad stuff. Cos' they're such saints. Everything is okay. *pffft*

Pictures from lollipop.sg and herworldplus.com