Last year the south-Korean band, The Rose went on tour and I was able to attend one of their shows in the States. Today I decided to finally share my full concert experience. So grab a cup of coffee and enjoy this recap!
An hour and a half before doors open there was already a long line of eager fans. Some fans handed out small banners and free goodies to show support to the group.
Once the doors opened, it took about 25min until we entered the venue. My cousin and I found our seats, but I decided to make the line to get tour shirts. Because tour merch wasn’t sold online, purchasing a shirt in the venue was one of my priorities. The line snaked throughout the venue. It was quite long.
After some time passed a staff member announced the show would start in 5 minutes. I was still in line, nowhere near the actual merch table yet. I decided to ditch the merch and just enjoy the show. Besides, I could get merch after the show…right?
In the hallway I bumped into my cousin who was with another staff member and two girls. Turns out the venue had double booked our seats. I ordered my tickets directly from the venue (which was the only credible official place to buy the tickets), and so did the other girls.
At this point with only two minutes until the show begins they escorted us (and the other girls) out of the venue. I couldn’t believe what was happening.
The woman at the ticket booth verified the tickets and indeed we all paid for the same seats and the venue just allowed it. It was entirely the venue’s fault. We also found out this happened to other people as well.
I would like to point out this was entirely THE VENUE’S FAULT. The seating issue was NOT The Rose’s fault, NOR was it their company, staff, crew, or My Music Taste (the company that helped bring The Rose to the States). This was STRICTLY the venue’s fault and no one elses’.
From outside the venue we could hear the start of I.LY. and my heart sank. The woman in the ticket booth ended up giving all of us different seats. My cousin and I went back into the venue and we were seated farther back then our original seats…but at least we were finally inside.
We got in right when they started Insomnia. The song was able to calm me down and focus on just the show and forget about what happened before.
For those who don’t know The Rose consists of four members.
Woosung, the charismatic guitar-playing lead singer, Dojoon, the soulful keyboardist with a beautiful voice, Hajoon, charming drummer extrodinarie, and Jaehyeong, the bassist with a contagious smile.
They continued with I Don’t Know You, another beautiful slow song. Typically in concerts bands start with high energy songs but The Rose did something different and I loved it. The slower songs created a cozy, peaceful atmosphere.
The guys started to kick things up with their deliciously catchy song Candy. A fun bright song that had the audience singing the chorus with smiles on their faces, myself included.
Beautiful Girl was next, it was an unreleased song at the time but it was a fan favorite. Woosung’s rap was iconic. In their next song Like We Used To, the bridge is one of my favorites and hearing it live brought a chill down my spine. So good.
California was another crowd favorite. Hands were in the air and everyone was singing along with the band.
The ambient sound of rain echoed throughout the venue and the mood quickly changed as The Rose began to sing She’s in the Rain. The voices in the crowd were soft and somber. But emotions rose when the crowd sang the lyrics, “She’s in the rain. You wanna hurt yourself, I’ll stay with you. You wanna make yourself go through the pain. It’s better to be held than holding on…” I’m sure there were some tears shed in the crowd. It’s such a beautiful song.
The next six songs were all covers. Starting with The Script’s Breakeven, Harry Styles’ Sign of the Times, ILYSB by Lanny, and Home by Park Bo Shin. All the covers were great, the guys performed each song as if it was their own.
Throughout the concert they performed a few unreleased songs, Greed, was one of them. With each unreleased song they performed it made me (and the rest of the crowd) excited for the day they officially release these songs.
Dojoon, Jaehyeong, and Hajoon continued with a few more covers. Starting with Dojoon, he performed Hold Back the River and it was fantastic. At this point of the show I was truly in awe of his talent. I knew he was fantastic, but watching him perform live (and on his own) was incredible. I would love to see more solo work from Dojoon in the future.
Jaehyeong and Hajoon brought out their acoustic guitars and performed Soldier by Before You Exit. I really enjoyed this performance. Both guys shined and we got to see their individual talents as well.
Next up, Woosung took the stage and performed his song Lonely. At this point my cousin remembered the merch and figured it would be a great time to get the tour shirts. To my dismay, my cousin returned empty handed. They ran out of tour shirts. My heart sank.
But right on time Woosung started to perform his hit song Face. My mood quickly changed and the crowd went wild for this song. Woosung has strong charisma onstage, watching him perform always puts a smile on my face.
Dojoon, Jaehyeong, and Hajoon rejoined Woosung on stage and performed two more unreleased songs: Photograph and OMG. The crowd loved it. I’ll say it again, we are all excited for these songs to be officially released.
The final four songs of the set are my absolute favorites.
They performed Baby, a powerhouse of a song. The drums sounded full, the guitars crisp, and their voices filled with honest emotion.
Next they performed their debut song Sorry, it felt as if the group and the audience shared the same heartbreak. I can’t fully express how incredible this song is. Take Me Down came after, fans voices filled the theater and it was one of those moments that gave me chills. It was beautiful.
Sadly it was time for their last song. They ended the show with their song Red. This is one of my anthems of 2019. The crowd was jumping and singing the song at the top of their lungs. I was almost certain I would lose my voice at this point. It was a fantastic way to end a great show. It was definitely one of the highlights of 2019 for me.
After the show I emailed My Music Taste, I explained what had happened with the venue and I was hoping they could provide a link or someplace we can buy the tour shirts. I didn’t get a response until a week later; tour shirts can only be bought at a show, not online. So I didn’t get a tour shirt. But at least I have the memories of an incredible show.
If I get the chance to see The Rose perform again I will take that chance in a heartbeat. The overall concert was incredible, my respect grew even more for Jaehyeong, Hajoon, Dojoon, and Woosung.
If you get the chance to see The Rose live, do it!
Thanks for reading!
-EliMarie
I talk more about Kpop on my channel YouTube.com/elimariereacts
