Turn up the love, FM

On 20th July the American Asian hiphop group Far East Movement, well-known for songs such as "Like a G6", "If I was you (feat. Snoop Dogg)" or "Live my Life" (click!), held a concert in Cologne, Germany. In their videos they always convey the image of typical "macho"-like hiphop pimps with their heavy golden necklaces and all those hot girls they make unmistakeable overtures to. However, they proved quite the opposite at the concert! They were all so loveable, affectionate and almost like gummybears on drugs, haha, but they did a great show. To be honest, I did not know many songs of them before and I did not own their recent album at that time, so I also did not know what to expect but in the end I was extremely glad that I went there. Despite the confined hall they performed in, the whole concert was like a big big party, everybody jumped and danced, the group constantly heated up the atmosphere and soon Kev could have been a contestant of a wet T-shirt contest because he was totally drenched in his own sweat. Yummy~ ; D

Kev Nish (Kevin Nishimura) & DJ Virman (Virman Coquia) in the back

My personal highlight was when Kev adressed some really moving words to us, the audience. First he told us about the beginnings of Far East Movement as a group and he asked everyone if they had a dream they pursue.

"Remember, there might be people who put stones in your way! Who tell you that you should give up and do something different instead! But let's grab our stone, put it onto our shoulders and raise into the sky, just like a rocketeer!"

I almost cried like a little baby while hearing those words, said with Kev's slightly hoarse voice. I will always treasure those inspirational lines in my heart. Apart from that, the boys were in close contact with the audience all the time, be it being touched by fans, jumping into the crowd in order to dance and party with the guests or Proh doing some stage-diving. In the end, Kev thanked the fans in the first rows by shaking hands and I managed to get a hold of his hand and he was earnestly looking into my eyes while saying "thank you". Right after that, Proh took a small bottle of water, took a sip and then poured some water into some fans' mouths, me included.

Prohgress (James Roh)

Right after the concert, Kev told everyone that the whole group would return after a break of 15 minutes for a meet & greet and we went outside to get some fresh air. Unfortunately, Kev did not mention where they would come for a meet up and so we did not notice until some time passed by that they were already standing inside the hall in front of the stage and were taking photos with other fans. Of course we immediately wanted to get in again... if there had not been the security staff. The guard was having an altercation with two male guests, who always barged against us during the showcase and I have never seen such hipster fanboys going wild for a male group member as much as they did, when we approached the entrance, telling them and us that no one was allowed in there anymore because the organiser said to cut the queue right after one guy with a glittering cap. We were startled since we really wanted to see Far East Movement, talk to them and take a photo. Obviously, it was not the group's decision but the staff's since Far East Movement stated that the meet & greet was for everyone and a special treat for their precious fans. Well, the peak of it all was when those bloody hipsters were eventually allowed to pass which hit us by surprise and we all were extremely flabbergasted. That really made us even more determined to get in and we persuaded the guard so long until he finally gave in.

DJ Virman (adorable bias), Prohgress (OMG without his shades and smiling!), Kev Nish & J-Splif (Jae Choung) 

As you can see, we got our hard-earned photograph in the end! Woohoo! And you can trust me, those guys are sooo genuinely heartfelt and lovely! Although there had been many fans before it was our turn, they still smiled brightly as our group of girls reached them. We shook hands with everyone and said hello, took two photos (polaroid & mobile phone), affectionately thanked each other for coming and instead of just shaking hands again before leaving they all reached out for us and initiated warm hugs, even shy Virman, overly excited by the fact that we did their significant handsign while taking the photos.

Please turn down your volume a bit before watching this video because I recorded it with my mobile phone and the quality is quite crappy. Nonetheless, it gets better after the intro. : ) I only uploaded it for showing the party that was going on there especially when they performed "Turn up the Love". Oh, and the lighting was way too red, so I turned everything into black and white. Can you recognise the Beastie Boys beats they paid tribute to? Gosh, so brilliant! And dancing Virman (around 3:03) is the cutest thing ever! Hell yeah, dirty bass!

My current favourite song! Yeah for all the derpness that is the dance in the end!