Rain. The Legend. Still Raining Tour in Las Vegas
For those who aren’t aware, I was introduced to Korean pop culture through a man named Jung Ji Hoon, also known as Rain, almost 14 years ago in a movie called Ninja Assassin. Even though this blog started 13 years ago as a fashion blog, it essentially became a Rain stan account (there are about 20 posts about him on this blog). 🤣
Right after college, at the age of 22 I moved to South Korea to teach. It was 2011 during another peak in Rain’s career which I call the “chocolate abs Love Song era” when Rain had the moniker of “World Star Rain.” At the time he definitely had various achievements in the states and to this day paved the way for the following generations of KPop artists.
Literally 2 weeks after I had landed in Korea, I traveled to Seoul which was 3 hours away from where I was living at the time. I hadn’t had a chance to learn much Korean yet and in addition to that it was my first time ever leaving the states. Everything was NEW NEW: but for Rain, I had to figure it out.
So after a 3 hour bus ride, I exited the terminal and I whistled for a cab and when it came near, The license plate said, “Fresh” and it had dice in the mirror.
If anything I could say that this cab was rare. But I thought “Nah, forget it, yo, holmes to Seoul Olympic Park, yea”
When it was time for the ‘Rain The Best Show‘ show to start, he emerged from the stage and I BAWLED. I mean FULL THROTTLE BAWLED MY EYES OUT. I was so OVERWHELMED. Not just from seeing my idol for the first time but being in a new country, working in a industry I never had, and trying to figure out how to SURVIVE in the different country. It was a lot for little ol’ me at the time.
After the show I waited with other fans to see him after the concert. About an hour later he emerged outside and walked 4 feet in front of me. I was SHOOK. He had shades on at night and looked at me straight in the face. A few nights before I had stayed up coloring in a huge US flag to hold up (which I stupidly held up upside down for most of the show) but at that moment when I saw him face to face, nothing else mattered.
Seeing Rain, with how much he meant to me, eased my mind and allowed me to trust myself that I could get through it all.
Fast forward 13 years later, after living in Korea twice, starting a YouTube channel, attending Seoul Fashion Week, becoming intermediate in Korean, seeing him 5 times in concert and traveling the world, I am now here in 2023 sharing my never ending love for Rain once again.
Now on to the Vegas show!
I arrived to Vegas in the late afternoon, departing the plane through a sea of red due to the Chiefs/Raiders game going on that weekend. I had no clue because I am not a sports gal but obviously everyone else knew. As me and my hot pink fur luggage made it through the crowd, I grabbed a Lyft and headed to my hotel.
Thankfully it was right across the street from the MGM so I initially didn’t think there’d be an issue getting there but that would mean I had a perfect life and I for sure know that that is furthest from the truth. The WEIRDEST stuff tends to randomly happen to me but more on that later.
After checking in early, I washed up and proceeded to search for a decent spot to have lunch before I headed to Meow Wolf. While looking up Fashion Mall I stumbled upon a Hello Kitty Cafe. Now even though I just got done going to Puroland in Japan and eating an entire Hello Kitty themed dinner, I still needed more. I ended up getting a Gudatama cupcake (we stan a great man), a zebra mocha and a cute HK Vegas magnet. Fashion Mall also had a ton of cute Japanese stores so I had to splurge on some things.
After spending a few hours through the labyrinth that is Meow Wolf and flying above everyone on the Haley’s Comet ride at Area 15, I went back to my hotel to get ready.
As I did my makeup, Rain played in the background to get me hype for the show. It had been 10 years since he last performed in the states. The last Rain concert I attended was one he had while in the military 10 years ago as well. That’s way too long to go without seeing this man.
Now here’s where the story gets crazy. So like I stated earlier, I could see MGM from my hotel, but on foot it would take about 17 minutes to walk. Since I didn’t want my feet hurting and my makeup to run before I got to the show I decided to take another Lyft. To start my troubles, the guy went to the wrong hotel across the street even though I had put in the name of my hotel. He then proceeded to take me way to the other end of The Strip. I get that that’s what the GPS was directing but sir, I told you I’m headed to MGM Grand Arena and you LIVE in Vegas. Clearly the direction we went was AWAY from MGM. We then went through a shady parking lot to which he then dropped me off at the Horseshoe. WTF is the Horseshoe?
At that point the MGM was no where in sight and the show was starting in 20 mins so I had to get help from some ladies at the front desk. One tried to blow me off and make me look crazy but I wasn’t having it: lady you WILL HELP ME SEE MY MAN AT THE MGM GRAND. Thankfully they ended up helping me but I had to pay for ANOTHER ride, through Uber this time, to get BACK to the other side of The Strip I just came from. And not only that, I had to pay for the more expensive, faster pick up. Ugh!
The Uber guy thankfully dropped me off at the right place and I rushed inside to then start my next challenge of getting through a crowded casino floor.
Now let me add an additional caveat by revealing I haven’t been to Vegas in 12 years. I was last there for the Magic Trade show which is a fashion convention for buyers. My college class went since I was in school for fashion. At the time, the MGM seemed so GRAND. I distinctly remember getting lost and walking for miles inside just to get to the other side. It was so overwhelming, But over a decade later, after traveling the world, it now seemed so SMALL! It was really interesting to look back in retrospect how things seemed to me when I was much more inexperienced in life.
After following the signs I FINALLY made it to the arena entrance. It felt like finishing Legends of the Hidden Temple or something.
Then after all that stressing to get to the show on time, it ended up starting 30 minutes late anyway. *insert irony here
Honestly, that was okay because it gave me time to come down from my stressful high and prepare myself for the greatness that is Rain. If I can remember correctly the show started with Gang, his song that later went on to be a meme that pushed Rain onto the pop culture stage again. I honestly loved how he embraced it all. A lot of artists would pout and say leave me alone, but Rain embraced it all and for that it’s made his show variety top tier.
He continued to romance us through the iconic bops like I Do, Familiar Face, Ways to Avoid the Sun remix, I’m Coming, Handshake and Instead of Saying Goodbye. To mix it up he gifted up with performances of Hype Boy by New Jeans, Psy’s Oppa Gangnam Style and the mega hits from Bruno Mars. He seemed to have so much fun covering these songs, especially the Bruno Mars ones. Everyone really became hype as he so cutely danced to Hype Boy. I never thought I’d get to see Rain do that dance. It was quite a treat.
Later he slowed it down with my ultimate Rain bop Love Story. It holds a special place in my heart because it’s the first Korean song I ever learned to sing. I didn’t know ANy Korean at the time but decided to learn it to try out for a Kpop singing contest in LA. I ended up going to the finals but didn’t win the trip to Korea grand prize. But that was okay because 3 months later I was living in Korea anyway. 😀 I was unstoppable in my early 20’s 😀
I didn’t bawl like I did during the song at the concert I mentioned but afterwards two small tears did form on the side of my eyes. That song really gets me.
Rain also somehow, someway looks even better than he did 10 years ago when he was 10 years younger: and he knows it. He was shirtless for 75% of the concert but you won’t hear any complaints from me! This is my 5th Rain concert overall so I must say that this was the most spiciest show he’s ever put on. I don’t remember him ever having his shirt off that much or grinding on the stage so much. I’m mad he wasn’t doing this before. LOL. I love me some abs. I even heard a girl behind comment “It’s like Asian Magic Mike.” Yes girl, agreed.
Maybe at 41, Rain has become even more comfortable with himself as an artist, man, father and husband. He seems extremely happy and humble: what more could one want for their favorite artist?
Of course last but not least, I had bring it like I usually do at concerts: Rain’s first US performance in 10 years calls for celebration! I ended up wearing a jacket I had planned on wearing to The Last Rockstars concert that was supposed to be in LA today (Wednesday Nov 29th) but it got postponed to freaking next summer. So I paired it with my favorite cowboy boots and some leggings since it was quite cold in Vegas.
And that concludes my Rain Still Raining Tour fan account. If you were there or at the Atlantic City show let me know what you loved about the show in the comments!
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