BTS Permission to Dance: On Stage in Las Vegas at Allegiant Stadium, Day 4

Allegiant Stadium. 7:30PM PDT.

The final day of BTS' Permission to Dance: On Stage in Las Vegas. 

ARMY Bomb activated!
BTS Permission to Dance: On Stage in Las Vegas
BTS Permission to Dance: On Stage in Las Vegas — "ON"
BTS Permission to Dance: On Stage in Las Vegas — "Fire"
BTS Permission to Dance: On Stage in Las Vegas — Opening Ments
BTS Permission to Dance: On Stage in Las Vegas — "Blue & Grey"
BTS Permission to Dance: On Stage in Las Vegas — "Black Swan"
BTS Permission to Dance: On Stage in Las Vegas
BTS Permission to Dance: On Stage in Las Vegas
BTS Permission to Dance: On Stage in Las Vegas
BTS Permission to Dance: On Stage in Las Vegas — "HOME"
BTS Permission to Dance: On Stage in Las Vegas — Ending Ments
BTS Permission to Dance: On Stage in Las Vegas — "Permission to Dance"

Tonight's set list:

1. ON
2. Fire (Remix)
3. Dope
4. DNA
5. Blue & Grey
6. Black Swan
7. Blood Sweat & Tears
8. FAKE LOVE
9. Life Goes On
10. Boy With Luv
11. Dynamite (Remix)
12. Butter
13. Telepathy 
14. Outro: Wings
15. Stay
16. So What
17. IDOL
18. HOME
19. Anpanman
20. Go Go
21. Permission to Dance

Thank you, BTS, for another spectacular concert that I'll never forget. 

Dining Out: Crispy Calamari and Prime Rib French Dip at Wolfgang Puck Bar & Grill

After our insane morning (5 hours of waiting in line for merch, 9,000 steps before noon), we were starving but didn't know what we wanted to eat (you know when you're so hungry, you're not craving anything because you'll eat just about anything?), so we made our way over to the MGM Grand 'cause there's a ton of restaurants in there to pick from. After walking through the casino, I saw the Wolfgang Puck Bar & Grill, so I immediately steered us in.

Crispy Calamari with Marinara Sauce and Basil Aioli
Lunch Special: Prime Rib French Dip with White Cheddar Cheese, Fresh Horseradish, Au Jus, and French Fries
The calamari to share (exceptionally great texture — super tender on the inside, ultra crispy on the outside — and also came with tasty random deep-fried vegetables) and the prime rib French dip lunch special for my main. Could've used more horseradish, but was otherwise an incredible sandwich — good ratio of meat-to-cheese-to-bun, and very flavourful roast beef with a perfectly toasted bun where it's still soft on the inside but has a good crisp on the outside. Except now I'm so full I can't move. And I'm also really sleepy. So nap time, and then concert!!!

Wolfgang Puck Bar & Grill

MGM Grand

3799 S. Las Vegas Blvd.

Las Vegas, NV 89109

1-877-880-0880

Unboxing: BTS Permission to Dance: On Stage Official Merch

So, last night, we took a cab over to Allegiant Stadium to check out the BTS Permission to Dance: On Stage Official Merchandise Booth, knowing that there would be no line-up since everyone would be inside the stadium already for the Day 3 concert. We were right, of course, and got straight to the booth with no wait, but there was also little to no merch left. So we talked to one of the guys that worked at the booth and he said if we wanted to get our hands on any merch, especially any of the clothing, that we would have to come back tomorrow at 6:00AM at the latest, because there were already people lining up for tomorrow and it was only 9:00PM. He said that he's worked every day that the merch booth has been open and that there are literally hundreds of people that camp out overnight. I absolutely refused to camp out (we paid for 3 nights at our hotel, after all), but agreed with Ying to return at 6:00AM.

And when we got there at 6:00AM, this is what we were met with:

Line-up for BTS Permission to Dance: On Stage Official Merchandise Booth — 6:00AM
Line-up for BTS Permission to Dance: On Stage Official Merchandise Booth — 7:00AM
Line-up for BTS Permission to Dance: On Stage Official Merchandise Booth — 7:30AM
Line-up for BTS Permission to Dance: On Stage Official Merchandise Booth — 8:00AM
Line-up for BTS Permission to Dance: On Stage Official Merchandise Booth — 9:00AM
Yes, hundreds and hundreds of people already in line waiting for merch.

We waited 5 hours. To be fair, the booth actually opened at 9:00AM, but we still waited until just past 11:00AM until it was our turn. And by then, 75% of the merch was already sold out. The guy we talked to last night was not kidding. So, after all of that, what did I end up getting?

BTS Permission to Dance: On Stage Official Merchandise — Black Photo Hoodie
BTS Permission to Dance: On Stage Official Merchandise — Black Photo Hoodie (Detail)
BTS Permission to Dance: On Stage Official Merchandise — Black Photo Hoodie (Back)
BTS Permission to Dance: On Stage Official Merchandise — White Photo Sweatshirt
BTS Permission to Dance: On Stage Official Merchandise — White Photo Sweatshirt (Detail)
BTS Permission to Dance: On Stage Official Merchandise — White Photo S/S T-Shirt
BTS Permission to Dance: On Stage Official Merchandise — White Photo S/S T-Shirt (Back)
BTS Permission to Dance: On Stage Official Merchandise — Umbrella (Outer Box)
BTS Permission to Dance: On Stage Official Merchandise — Umbrella (Pouch)
BTS Permission to Dance: On Stage Official Merchandise — Umbrella (Open)
BTS Permission to Dance: On Stage Official Merchandise — Umbrella Photo Postcard
A hoodie, a sweatshirt, a T-shirt, and an umbrella. Okay, it's not that bad considering so much of the merch was already sold out, but none of these were actually my first choice items. They only had one style of black hoodie left (there were originally three) and there was only one size left (XL), so I was like, "I'LL TAKE IT! WHO CARES IF I LOOK LIKE A BAGGY HOBO?" And in my sleep-deprived, delirious desperation, I decided I liked white all of a sudden, too? And I don't even like merch with faces on them, but I ended up with three items with their faces on them? (Well, at least they're handsome.)

I can't even imagine all the hundreds and hundreds of people behind us who got there after 6:00AM. Did they even get anything? BigHit, how hard is it to produce more merch knowing that there are hundreds of thousands of people who want to buy it? This is just perpetuating the inflation of prices of their merch from unofficial third party sellers.

Dining Out: Caprese Salad, Pappardelle con Funghi, and Margherita Pizza at La Pizza e La Pasta in Eataly Las Vegas

We decided to have a super-late dinner at Eataly around 10:00PM. A lot of the good restaurants are nearly closing by then or need reservations, and we weren't in the mood for fast food or bar food, so Eataly seemed like a good choice. I've been to the Eataly in NYC before and I know it's good eats, so we got a table at La Pizza e La Pasta.

Caprese Salad
Pappardelle con Funghi
Margherita Pizza
We started with a Caprese salad, and then the Pappardelle con Funghi and a classic Margherita pizza to share. Everything was excellent — the Caprese included the freshest, most crisp cherry tomatoes I've ever had; the pasta was made with the most perfectly al dente pasta ribbons and the most gorgeous, flavourful mixed mushroom ragu — but the pizza was the star of the night. It had the most beautiful crust with just the right amount of chew and just the right amount of char, topped with a perfect ratio of San Marzano tomato sauce, mozzarella di bufala, and fresh basil that made each ingredient sing. The pizza arrived last but it was the first thing that we finished. Makes me wonder why the hell I haven't visited the Eataly in Toronto.

Anyway, we walked over 20,000 steps today. So, good night.
 

La Pizza e La Pasta (Eataly Las Vegas)

Park MGM Las Vegas

3770 S. Las Vegas Blvd.

Las Vegas, NV 89109

(702) 730-7617

Unboxing: BTS Pop-Up: Permission to Dance in Las Vegas Exclusive Official Merch

BTS Pop-Up: Permission to Dance in Las Vegas — Merchandise Booth
Of course, the whole point of going to the BTS Pop-Up (at least for us) was to get the exclusive merch. They were carrying quite a lot of older merch there as well (like some stuff from the "Dynamite," "Butter," and In the Soop collections), but since I buy merch when it's released (and therefore already have everything I want from older collections), I only focused on the Las Vegas Pop-Up exclusives:

BTS Pop-Up: Permission to Dance in Las Vegas Exclusive Merch — Blue BTS Las Vegas Sweatshirt
BTS Pop-Up: Permission to Dance in Las Vegas Exclusive Merch — Blue BTS Las Vegas Sweatshirt (Back)
BTS Pop-Up: Permission to Dance in Las Vegas Exclusive Merch — Black BTS Las Vegas T-Shirt
BTS Pop-Up: Permission to Dance in Las Vegas Exclusive Merch — Purple Retro Dye BTS Las Vegas Hoodie
BTS Pop-Up: Permission to Dance in Las Vegas Exclusive Merch — Purple Retro Dye BTS Las Vegas Hoodie (Back)
BTS Pop-Up: Permission to Dance in Las Vegas Exclusive Merch — Black Retro Dye TinyTan "Butter" Hoodie
BTS Pop-Up: Permission to Dance in Las Vegas Exclusive Merch — Black Retro Dye TinyTan "Butter" Hoodie (Back)
Love the neon "Dynamite" designs, and love that they have "April 2022" printed on all the items. They're just tacky enough to be cute, and I love that they are totally commemorative of this trip. I also got the adorable TinyTan "Butter" hoodie because the guy at the merch booth was like, "You know, that hoodie is also exclusive to the Pop-Up!" And I was like, "Well, just twist my rubber arm, why don't you?"

BTS Pop-Up: Permission to Dance in Las Vegas at AREA15

After our lunch at Mandalay Bay, we headed over to AREA15 for the BTS Pop-Up: Permission to Dance in Las Vegas!

BTS Pop-Up: Permission to Dance in Las Vegas — Entrance
BTS Pop-Up: Permission to Dance in Las Vegas — Entrance
BTS Pop-Up: Permission to Dance in Las Vegas — Entrance
BTS Pop-Up: Permission to Dance in Las Vegas — Entrance
BTS Pop-Up: Permission to Dance in Las Vegas — BTS Logo Neon Sign
BTS Pop-Up: Permission to Dance in Las Vegas — "Permission to Dance" Installation
BTS Pop-Up: Permission to Dance in Las Vegas — "Permission to Dance" Installation
BTS Pop-Up: Permission to Dance in Las Vegas — "Dynamite" Installation
BTS Pop-Up: Permission to Dance in Las Vegas — "Dynamite" Installation
BTS Pop-Up: Permission to Dance in Las Vegas — "Dynamite" Installation
BTS Pop-Up: Permission to Dance in Las Vegas — "Dynamite" Installation
BTS Pop-Up: Permission to Dance in Las Vegas — "Dynamite" Installation
BTS Pop-Up: Permission to Dance in Las Vegas — "Butter" Installation
BTS Pop-Up: Permission to Dance in Las Vegas — TinyTan "Butter" Installation
BTS Pop-Up: Permission to Dance in Las Vegas — TinyTan "Butter" Installation
BTS Pop-Up: Permission to Dance in Las Vegas — "Butter" Installation
There were A LOT of people there. Even with reservations, the place was packed. Neither Ying nor I like taking selfies or being in photos in general, so we were getting somewhat impatient waiting for people to pose SIX THOUSAND TIMES in front of EVERY SINGLE DISPLAY. Now, I know that this pop-up was only up for a limited time and of course people will want to have memories of their time there, but when there's literally hundreds of people going through the installations, it's pretty inconsiderate to spend ten minutes in every single room when there's so many people behind you and even more just trying to get in. Like, take a couple pictures and MOVE ON. You don't need get your friend to take a video of you doing the entire choreography of "Butter" in front of the "Butter" MV playing behind you and then switch places with your friend so she can do the same fucking thing. (Can you tell my patience was tested and I failed?)

That having been said, the pop-up was really impressive. Huge props to the team who put this whole thing together. It really was an incredible space and each installation was really well done.

AREA15 / The Grounds

2900 W. Sirius Ave.

Las Vegas, NV 89102