Neo Has My Back.. in My DREAMS
I had the wonderful experience of seeing NCT Dream (my favorite subunit of NCT) twice this year; The NYC show and the DC show were both amazing experiences. Sadly Renjun was on hiatus and did not join the boys for this tour, but he was still there with all of us- so many signs made out to him, leaving a spot for him on stage and mentioning him in Ments… It was really wonderful.
Let’s start with New York….
The NYC show was at UBS Arena which is a GREAT venue. Easy, safe parking, nice facility. Expensive food and drinks- but there is a Wendy’s walking distance from the venue. Annoying drive since traffic to get onto Long Island is always insane, but in my opinion worth the drive. Staff is always great, lines move fast, easy to navigate, and did I mention the staff is great? Like to the point where I follow some of them on social media….
Sadly another concert where the merch gods let us down- VERY limited merch (only t shirts) by the time we got there and no chance to prebuy online or at the venue. Stage design was good, VCRs were AMAZING and each had a different theme (Alice in Wonderland, vampires, garage band) and all included Renjun. Concert remixes of songs were great (again someone PLEASE start releasing those versions because I need them on my Spotify lists!!!) Lacked in confetti (Kpop has spoiled us to always get some and this time it was NOT happening).
The boys were great live- their vocals never disappoint, but it was obvious Mark and Haechan were tired. This was soon after all the drama with Taeil in NCT127 came out, which I know had a big effect on all of the boys but Haechan had written a lengthy post days before and I’m sure they were all a bit distracted and disheartened by all that was going on around them. That being said, they always bring it on stage from vocals to dancing and just hyping up the crowd. The middle of the concert was ballad heavy and the encore was not the typical jump around that Kpop usually brings but I liked the change for them and was very fitting for the vibe in my opinion.
Then just a few days later, I made the trek to DC to see them again!
Capitol One Arena… How I want to love you but you make it hard! The drive is brutal for me (4+ hours one way) but the parking is always on point, especially if you get the garage attached to the arena and you never actually have to go outside. There is ALWAYS a great merch area set up before hand and sometimes has a photo op area. There is an ice cream place and the building is located in Chinatown so obviously good food everywhere. Sadly- this arena has the WORST bag policies of any venue we’ve been to. It’s called a “no bag” venue so your bag must be clear and fit in these insanely small little baskets (yes, they check). If it doesn’t fit you can toss the bag, try to get through the line at bag check, or go put it back in your car. Thankfully we all have found bags that fit this because it has become a popular arena and I foresee us traveling there even more. Staff not always the friendliest either.
The show though…. They definitely had more energy than the NYC show and it made me feel better that they seemed to be feeling better. Vocal kings left and right, talented as hell dancers- I really never have anything bad to say about them as a group. I did miss a very upbeat and dance heavy encore but again it seemed to fit the Dreamscape theme and for some reason felt right- though next time I’m hoping for a blast. Mark dropped at this show they had a new album coming out later this year and my pockets cried as I jumped up and down. Shout out to MArie for securing some AMAZING seats, truly wonderful.
10/10 there is never a time I don’t want to see Dream, and I’m hoping they tour again next year so I can repeat this insane routine of seeing groups in 2 cities!
