#also I like having ‘gen’ twice in a row it sounds cute

[alangdorf]

[miikaji]

fun fact! 😌✨

my pfp is me from the loona concert last year! i was looking at my recent concert selfies and thought “damn... i do be looking cute sometimes” lol

^ LOONA + KCON 2K22 ^

i wanted to be as colorful as possible when i went to see them! this was actually my day 2 look (see day 1 below). currently, loona is honestly probs one of my ult girl groups of the 4th gen. idk how but i ended up falling in love with a LOT of their discography a little after their official debut. when i heard about their tour (and that chuu wasn’t going to be participating...) i KNEW i had to go. i didn’t want to chance not seeing my girls on their first, and possibly only, tour. i bought VIP and everything for BOTH nights i went....

^ Day 1!!! I’m actually pretty happy I took photos of the few freebies I got (because usually they get destroyed at some point in transit back home... which happened lol)

(backside)

(frontside)

ALSO!!! I met a Once before going to the venue and she gave me some freebies from when she went to Twice’s most recent concert. She only had a few but let me pick out a Momo, Jihyo and Chaeyoung pc 🥺💕

THEE ENTIRE DAY 2 LOOK!!! lol this was the only full lewk snap I got of it. YES, I did wear crocs. The crocs were on my feet when I went into the venue. I made a mistake wearing playform sneakers the day before and I learned the error of my ways. I was SOOOO much more comofrtable night 2 bc tbh I sweated a lot in line day 1 and didn’t have things to freshen up from what the sun had caused. Peep the bags of shit by my feet lol I was READY with extra deo, deo spray, body sprays, wipes, hydration items... ALLTHAT

You see that? That’s me in pure bliss. I was closer night 2 as well?? My feet were still hurting??? My body was in pain??? But Loona cured all that??

night two was the only night i had the photo, but i will literally never regret spending the money i did to have this experience... got to do hi-touch both nights! i didn’t intend on this post getting so long lol but since i’m remembering it all now i remember how lip went “your hair!” when she saw me lol. vivi and yves were like so enthusiastic too when it was my turn... it was so fast though, even though i did it 2 nights in a row, its still like a blur of how crazy pretty they are in person 😭 i thought that was gonna be the last and only time i’d see loona.... then kcon happened 👁👄👁 LOL!! Sadly, for a friend of mine, my homie who was at the con got sick with Covid and didn’t want to waste the night 2 concert ticket... SO SHE GIVES IT TO ME FOR FREE?????

^ my ass RUNNING to the floor bc WTF???

LIKE??????

^ me turning my lightstick green for NCT since I don’t own NCT merch

SPEAKING OF THAT LIGHTSTICK. I ALMOST FORGOT. Shoutout to that random attendee who just gave me batteries for my lightstick once I got to the floor? Kcon was literally at the end of the month (Loona’s concerts were on the 1st and 2nd of the month) so my batteries were def dead lol. BUT BLESS THEM!!! 😭 It was so fun. i screamed a lot.

(also also i can’t believe i was attendance for the iconic “RUN TO YEW” from stacy bskfjkfn)

^ MCR 2K22 ^

BRUH.

First off, this was my first trip to Vegas?? I might make a whole entire separate post for the Vegas pictures and tings (because I wanna document for myself). All I’ll say for this is even with my fro fro out and lazy make up, I still felt very cute seeing MCR for like the 10th time uwu

. . .

AND WITH A HIGH SCHOOL FRIEND WHO LITERALLY NEVER SEEN THEM BEFORE??? WHAT???

I MISSED YOU KURT AND I HOPE IT WAS A NIGHT TO REMEMBER SHFBNHKSDBNFSJKNF

^ MM@TA 2K23 ^

OKAY THERE’S SO MUCH I COULD SAY BUT LEMME JUST SAY THIS. I GOT TO SEE THEIR SOUND CHECK?? (See Below)

Literally life changing experience omg hsnfknsjf

Currently, Meet Me @ The Altar is like THEE band for me. Their music is so good?? I knew I HAD to see them!!!!!! 🥺🥺🥺🥺 I’d write more but my brain is shutting down LOL!! I will say, I was kinda sad I couldn’t get my hair done before the show. Them braids was my b-day braids and the way my part looked like moses parted the seas once it was this concert date (mid March, bday was in Jan). So I included a pic below of this actual lewk in all its glory lol.

Bday was lit lol. Edith and I had a moment. I was UP front. TOUCHING the stage. She may or may not be my hair inspo lol

^ RICO NASTY 2K23 ^ THIS YEAR IS LITERALLY INSANE WITH THE CONCERT LINEUPS???

So lemme just say this... bc there was a lot going on for this hbfkdjs

FIRST OFF. PEEP THAT MY HAIR IS BLUE.

I had to get rid of the green and get my hair braided again. My mom mentions “oh hey children I’m getting this life changing award from my sorority and its SUPER IMPORTANT that you show up. this means SO MUCH TO ME.” so me being the OG i am i decided to get my hair done in the colors of her sorority (blue and white, I wanted to get silver but didn’t have enough for the other hair shfnksf). She goes “oh you don’t have to do the blue” and I’m just HUH???

COME TO FIND OUT.

SHE WASN’T GETTING NO AWARD.

MY DAD FINISHED SCHOOL AND HE WAS GRADUATING.

lol but it was cool i actually ended up liking the blue.

ANYWAY.

I was also very excited for this show BECAUSE of the fact that its been FOREVEEEEER since Rico went on her own solo tour!!!!!! Like I love you Rico but I can’t justify paying music festival money just to see YOU do a set for a set amount of time like no. I wanna spend hours with you. So much so... I went to TWO Rico Nasty shows 🧍🏾‍♀️

low quality pic of my messy make uwu

i WISH i was smart enough to check monster energy’s ig. this tour was sponsored by them and when i was in line, they were snapping pics of fans who would accept a free monster (i didn’t want to die so i said yes to the monster lol). rico’s folks also took pics but i have noooo idea where those are... my fit was so cute too 😭  even tho... i’m noticing i keep wearing that same damn pink crop cardigan 💀

^ rico’s reaction when we all started screaming every word to iphone 🥺💕

man.. i was out of BREATH this whole show the way I was jumping and yelling all the lyrics hsnbfksdjnf. my feet were fucking SCREAMING in pain. i felt so bad to the people who were trying to talk to me bc the way i was mentally checked out whenever there wasn’t music going hgbnksnjfd night 2 was WORSE for my feel and social battery but omfg i’d still do it all over again lol my crocs sadly could not save me either show

^ TWICE 2K23 ^

FIRST OFF.

THANK YOU TO MY FRIEND TRIN.

FOR LITERALLY BUYING ME A TICKET TO SEE TWICE THE DAY BEFORE THE SHOW???? 😭😭😭😭😭

My first time finally seeing Twice and you wanna know what I SEE the second I enter the venue?!??!?

HELLO???

LIKE?!?!?

THEY’RE INSANE FOR THIS

LOL

(also thank you for sticking with me if you got this far i by no means meant for this post to be so long hsfkjnf i wish i could have added this videos but i guess the gifs will do)

i didn’t document a lot of the freebies but i did get a LOT!! and the once i met at the loona concert was also here and gave me a LOT of pcs!! 😭💕 (ty kelsey ur like the sweetest hfbksdnf)

my view

the views of me

sadly no full fit pics but a lot of people complimented my outfit 🥺💕 next concert i’m hoping to attend is aespa bc they will be here in a few weeks and the nosebleed seats are like so cheap??? i’m going.

also

i’m seeing beyonce?? with my mom? on beyonce’s birthday for my mom’s birthday gift??? btw my hair is gonna be pink next so i can’t WAIT to see what i do for lewks for these shows uwu

[marstheredplanet]

SHINee in MNL (OneK Global Peace Concert) 03/02/17

P. S. I’m just going to blog about SHINee since I’m a SHINee blog but I wanna commend all the other artists that performed. They all did an amazing job.

OKAY SO I AM STILL FREAKING OUT OVER THE FACT THAT I SAW SHINEE LIVE IN MANILA YESTERDAY!!! AND THEY WERE FINALLY COMPLETE!!! (SHINee already visited the Philippines twice before but the Taemin wasn’t there on their first time and Minho wasn’t there for the second time)

My Shawol friend and I decided to just buy the general admissions ticket because we knew that they will just perform less than five songs (and we’re still students so we can’t afford the VIP seats TT.TT)

The concert was supposed to start at 7pm but it actually started at 8:30 pm. It’s good ‘cause we arrived at 8pm since we ate dinner first. During the dinner, I was just chill and all and eating slowly ‘cause I knew that SHINee will perform late since they’re a senior group. My Shawol friend was agitated for some reason and she wanted us to eat faster. (There were five of us who watched the concert together. Two of us were Shawols. One girl was a kpop lover in general. Two of us were foreign students who just wanted to check kpop out and one of them is the guy I’m dating rn hahahaha) I was like “Allou, chill, it’s not starting rn and SHINee will probably perform late” And she was like “Minho’s hosting!” And I was like “OMG WHAT MINHO’S HOSTING? ASDFGHJKL EAT FASTER GUYSSSSSS”

When we got to the arena, it was already packed. We were lucky enough to get tickets with SHINee World PH so pretty much everyone around us were Shawols. AND AND AND Two rows below us, there was a group of Korean Guy Shawols!!! They were so cute!!! AND AND AND All their stuff were in pearl aqua. Their bags, their shirts, their accessories, they were so adorable I wanna squish theeeeeem

When the event was about to start, fans are starting to chant “Minho Minho Minho” since he was the host. When he actually came out with Seolhyun, the arena erupted with cheers HAHAHAHAHAHA PH Shawols were already screaming their lungs out omg I was the complete opposite. I was just staring at him while covering my mouth because I can’t believe that I’m actually seeing Minho live omg (The guy I’m dating was like “Is that Minho? Are you okay Mars? Is that Minho?” he was so cute bye)

They were speaking in Korean ‘cause there was a screen that was posting their translated script but I can’t read it because the font was small and we were in Gen Ad huehue

Minho is like the cutest person in the world TT.TT You know that he maintains eye contact with the fans and he takes care of his co-host (there’s more to come just wait)

SHINee was the second to the last to perform (PSY was the finale) When Seolhyun came out alone, everyone lost their shit because they knew SHINee was next!!!

They started their set with View. The first thing I actually noticed was the fact that Onew wasn’t really that bubbly. Like you know how smiley Onew is naturally, right? But during View, he looks more like Jinki than Onew. Even my Shawol friend who is an MVP also noticed it and said that there was something off about Onew. We kinda brushed it off because after Onew’s line, we were just simply mesmerized with SHINee as a whole huehue Plus there was a tiny JongKey moment when they had a duet part and the cameras showed them together in the screen and I can feel that all the JongKey fans screamed hahahaha

SHINee World PH released a set list of songs that SHINee would perform the night before the concert. We knew that View, 1 of 1 and Everybody will be performed. Allou and I were speculating about the fourth song because no one knew what it will be. My guess was Beautiful. Allou doubted it and we started eliminating songs but we ended not having a final hypothesis. Haha. The sound system wasn’t really very nice so we couldn’t tell if SHINee was singing live. (In our defense, some of the artists weren’t singing live. And during one of SHINee’s visits in the PH, they lip synced huehue) All our doubts were erased when the second song started playing. I couldn’t here Jonghyun’s first part because of the screaming around me so I started hearing the actual song on Onew’s part. I think his Jinki aura suited this part of the concert. He looked so solemn while singing. We all know that he is an actual angel given by the heavens to us but he looked like one and his voice actually opened the gates of heaven bye then it dawned on me that THE SONG WASFUCKING ENCORE AND THEY WERE SINGING LIVE AND WHEN IT GOT TO MINHO’S PART EVERYONE WAS SILENT AT FIRST THEN AFTER HIS LINE WE STARTED CHEERING BECAUSE HE WAS REALLY SINGING LIVE AND HIS VOICE IS SO GENTLE AND PURE AND BEAUTIFUL OH MY GOD AND OMG AGAIN KIM JONGHYUN WAS SO EXTRA WITH HIS VOICE LIKE WOAH BOY YEAH I KNOW YOU’RE ONE OF THE BEST VOCALISTS IN THE INDUSTRY CHILL YOU DON’T HAVE TO PROVE ANYTHING BUT GAHD HE HIT NOTES SO WELL YOU CAN SEE HIS EXTERNAL JUGULAR VEIN PROTRUDING GAHD 

I’m not really sure when exactly they had their talk cause my feels were overwhelming but when they actually had it, Key spoke in English and we were screaming again so I didn’t understand most of it I’M SORRY HAHAHAHA Oh but it’s sad again ‘cause Onew didn’t introduce himself but the rest did :( (But his energy started to build up on their next set and he was full blown during the last one so I hope he gradually felt better) The complete opposite of Onew was Taemin. The baby boy was just smiling the whole night and with his mushroom hair cut again he looks like a toddler omg he was so cute why is he even real please protect him. JongKey were talkative as usual and Key was trying to translate it to us ^.^

The third song was 1 of 1. What really caught my attention during this part was Key. Boy oh boy your attention should be really caught by Key. I always read fans saying that Key’s energy is really different compared to the rest of the members. Knowing Key, I’m not really shocked whenever I read this kind of stuff. but when I was the one watching him dance the way he’s dancing, it’s really different. Key loves attention and I can say that attention loves him back. And the way he pops his body is so extra. I’m a Flamer for years now but my attention can’t really stay too long on Minho whenever Key’s near him because the latter’s aura is out of this world I swear!!! 

After 1 of 1, SHINee members started laying down and then it dawned on us that it’s Everybody time so we started chanting “SHINee SHINee SHINee” DUDE BRO MAN I THOUGHT THAT I WAS IN A SHINEE WORLD CONCERT BECAUSE THE WHOLE ARENA WAS SINGING TO THE SONG AND CHANTING WITH US!!! (They were already singing with us on the first three but the fan chants were superb on Everybody like no joke we had ZERO chill) For years I knew that SHINee is one of the best dance groups in Kpop but when I was watching the choreo for Everybody, I got GOOSBUMPS. Even the guy I was dating admitted that their choreo was amazing and he got taken aback by the fanchants. I told you it was amazing how these fans of different artists were singing one song and fan chanting like we were all in the same fandom. Omg I’m actually crying while remembering that moment bye But wait I need to commend our baby boy Lee Taemin because his dance moves were on point from the start and was extra extra on point during Everybody (plus he removed his jacket for a few seconds that got everyone screaming then he smiled after doing that what a little shit omg that brat) 

Right after Everybody, the members went back to the backstage except for FREAKING CHOI MINHO WHO WAS PERSPIRING SO MUCH HE LOOKED LIKE HE JUST SHOWERED BUT HE WENT STRAIGHT TO SEOLHYUN’S SIDE LIKE NOTHING HAPPENED ANS STARTED HOSTING AGAIN THEN HE FLASHED THAT CHOI MINHO SMILE THAT MADE ME DIE FOR THE NTH TIME THAT NIGHT HUEHUE HALP

During the encore, all the artist gathered on the stage. SHINee members were being clingy together as usual. Yonghwa from CNBLUE, being the crowd pleaser that he is, started to walk to the extended part of the stage to wave to the fans. I was waiing for SHInee to do the same. Minho pointed Yonghwa to Jonghyun and I assumed that they wanted to do the same. After awhile, the rest of CNBLUE followed their vocalist then the other artists followed as well. When SHINee got to the extended part of the stage, they were all waving to the fans. THEN MINHO SPOTTED THE SHINEE WORLD PH PART AND STARTED WAVING AT US AND WE WAVED BACK THEN HE WAVED AGAIN HUEHUE AND THE REST OF THE SHINEE MEMBERS WAVED TOO OMG Except for Lee Taemin because guess what, he was the last member to get to the extended stage because he didn’t know what’s going on HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA

So yeah, that’s my One K Global Concert experience for you guys. I hope every Shawol will meet or watch SHINee live someday. I never knew this day will happen but it did. Keep the faith, loves :*

[olivereliott]

Review: The 2018 Triumph Bonneville Bobber Black

This time last year, I was in Madrid riding the then-new Triumph Bonneville Bobber. Fast forward twelve months, and I’ve just hopped off the follow-up Bobber Black, in Marbella on Spain’s Costa del Sol.

Madrid was a beautiful city, surrounded by incredible motorcycling country. But the riding between Marbella and Ronda is even better. In the same way, I loved the vanilla Bobber when I first rode it but the Bobber Black is just that little bit sweeter.

In basic terms, the Bobber Black is a murdered-out ‘standard’ Bobber with an upgraded front end. It gets a drop in front wheel size from 19” to 16”, beefier 47mm Showa forks (versus the original’s 41mm KYB units), and an extra brake disc with Brembo calipers.

Barring one or two other updates, it’s essentially the same bike. Same hardtail-look frame, same ‘high torque’ 1200cc motor, and the same solo rider setup. The price differs though; the Black costs a grand-and-a-quarter more than its sibling in the US.

The first-gen Bobber was a runaway success—selling twice as fast as Triumph expected. It’s actually the fastest selling model in the 115-year history of the British marque: Not bad for a single-seater that caused half the internet to throw toys out of the cot over the idea of a factory ‘bobber.’

While all this was going on, the Bobber Black was patiently waiting in the wings. It was developed alongside the original Bobber and the idea, according to Triumph’s head of brand management, Miles Perkins, was to offer up more than one kind of Bob.

There’s the original flavor, for those after a classic vibe, and now the Black, for riders wanting a more aggressive stance and a higher spec.

So do the upgrades really make the Black that much better? Or did I hop a plane from Cape Town to Spain—and get snowbound in Amsterdam along the way—for nothing?

Before I hit the road with the Bobber Black, I had some time to take in the details. I’ve gushed previously about the Bobber’s sublime finishes and old school looks, and the way Triumph has managed to hide the modern technology. And on the Black, all of that still rings true.

That gorgeous swing cage and hidden mono-shock: check. A catalytic convertor that you can’t see: check. Faux carbs that are so pretty I can’t hate them: check. Classy ribbed fenders and a period-correct rear fender bracket: check.

Except now, almost everything is—you guessed it—black. The engine covers, exhausts, handlebars, foot controls, levers, risers and wheels hubs have all been blacked-out. Heck, even the gearshift linkage and the aluminum seat pan have gone midnight.

A couple of parts have selectively been left alone, to add just the right amount of contrast. As for that cute 2.4-gallon tank and the fenders, you’ve got two choices: the base model jet black gloss (my favorite by far), or the slightly more costly matt jet black (below).

It’s the stance where the Bobber Black really differs visually from its fairer sibling, though. Even though the front rim is the same width on both bikes (2.5”), on the Black it’s smaller and wears wider rubber. Combine that with the chunkier forks, and you’ve got a bike that looks even more purposeful and muscular.

The rider ergonomics are also exactly the same as the Bobber’s, which caught me by surprise. I was convinced Triumph would add different handlebars or forward pegs, but they left the drag-style bars, mid-mounted pegs and solo seat exactly where they are. Which in retrospect makes a lot more sense, since the Bobber is actually a surprisingly comfortable ride.

You can still adjust the cantilevered solo seat between up-and-forward and down-and-back, and you can still adjust the angle of the speedo to suit you. And I still wouldn’t bother with either adjustment—especially since I previously found the Bobber’s down-and-back seat position a bit too stretched out for my liking.

A look at the cockpit reveals a couple of new additions. There’s now an LED headlight to match the rest of the bike’s LED lighting, complete with a pretty daytime running light. And the left switchgear now includes a cruise control button.

It’s a basic setup; hit the button to activate it, then hit it again to set your speed. Tap it once more—or grab the throttle or brake—and it’s off. The simplicity of it is great in theory, but I found that the button needed a really hard squeeze to work (my thick winter gloves probably didn’t help). I also missed the ability to adjust my speed while cruising that you’d find on most systems.

I’ve always loved the Bobber’s analog/digital combo speedo, and the amount of info that it packs in—including a fuel gauge, gear position indicator and consumption info. And the adjustable levers, slick bar-end mirrors and easy-to-use switches are all huge plusses—even if the switchgear housings are so darn big.

Our test units came fitted with optional heated grips, which worked a treat in the chilly Spanish hills. They also reveal how carefully Triumph has designed bolt-on parts: the button to toggle through different heating levels tucks up next to the existing switches like it belongs. And as you change modes, the speedo’s digital display feeds back the relevant info.

Firing up the Bobber Black reminded me of one of my favorite things about the Bobber—its engine. It’s the same liquid-cooled, 1200cc ‘high torque’ parallel twin found in the T120, with a 270 degree firing interval. But in the Bobber it has a unique intake and exhaust tune for even more gains.

That’s a lot of words, but what it translates to in numbers is 106 Nm at 4,000 rpm, and 77 hp at 6,100 rpm. 77 doesn’t sound like a lot, but I tend to ignore arguments over numbers these days, preferring to focus on how well—and where—torque is delivered. And the Bobber does this sublimely.

As you spool the motor up to 4,000 you can feel—and hear—that peak torque kick in. Even though I’d love to hear the Bobber with the optional Vance & Hines cans, the stock setup delivers an addictive growl. More importantly, unleashing that torque makes shooting off the line or firing the Bobber out of corners an absolute pleasure.

There is a lot of tech here for an ‘old-school’ bike, but I really can’t fault any of it. The ride-by-wire throttle is responsive, the torque-assist clutch is feather light and the ratios through the six-speed box are damn near perfect. (Oh yes, and it’s all Euro 4 compliant, with nary a sensor or box in sight.)

The rider aids also do little to detract from the Bobber’s retro feel. You don’t notice the traction control until you switch it off (which can only be done when stationary) and really abuse the throttle.

You can also flick between ‘Road’ and ‘Rain’ modes, which are both full power: ‘Rain’ just smooths out the delivery. ABS is standard, and behaved well during a couple of hard brake checks.

Our test route included countless hills and corners—and the new front end passed the test. The original Bobber is already a far better corner carver than it should be, thanks to Triumph’s exceptional chassis and suspension engineers.

The Black has exactly the same chassis, suspension travel and geometry as the base Bobber. But with that chubby front wheel and burlier forks, the Black really digs corners. It turns in quick and holds its line well, although it suffers from the same ground clearance woes as before. Kiss your pegs goodbye.

The Avon Cobra tires are grippy and predictable, and the 47mm Showa forks feel planted and precise. The overall suspension setup feels pretty stiff, which is great for hustling the bike through corners. But it did punish my back a bit on one particularly gnarly stretch of bad tarmac.

The twin Brembo brake setup is a massive improvement. I longed for more bite from the first Bobber’s single disc, and Triumph has now delivered. But it’s not just the raw stopping power on the Black that’s impressive: it’s the way I could shave speed off quickly with just a subtle squeeze of the lever. That upgrade alone is worth the price of admission.

Our pace on the day was relaxed rather than rushed. But when things did get brisk, the Bobber Black was capable of more than we were throwing at it. And I marveled once again at how I could spend all day riding a bike with drag bars and a single seat. It might not be a tourer, but that seat hugs your butt well. So well, I could see myself tackling a few 200-mile days in a row, with nothing but a backpack.

Back in town, the Bobber Black transformed from back road blaster to urban runabout, with zero complaints. At 524 pounds (237 kilos) dry, it weighs 21 pounds more than the regular Bobber—but it’s content shuffling along at town pace.

Last year, I signed off my review of the first-gen Bobber by saying you shouldn’t over-think it. And you shouldn’t over-think the Bobber Black either.

Like the original, it’s cool and it’s extremely well engineered. And although it’s single-minded it’s also remarkably versatile. But most importantly, it’s even more of a blast to ride.

And yes, I struggled to give the keys back.

The Bobber Black starts at $13,150 for jet black, and $13,400 for matt jet black in the USA. In the UK, those prices are £11,650 and £11,775.

Triumph Motorcycles | Facebook | Instagram | Images by Kingdom Creative

Wes’ gear Rough Crafts Revolator helmet 100% Barstow goggles Holy Freedom fleece neck tube REV’IT! Stealth Hoody Saint Unbreakable gloves Saint Unbreakable Stretch jeans Icon 1000 Truant 2 boots