The Rose Blooms in the Concrete Jungle
The Theater at Madison Square Garden was abuzz the night of Saturday, July 12th. Concertgoers waited on line to get inside the venue, while some walked around handing out freebies that consisted of fan made photocards, photo strips, stickers and candy.
It had been nearly two years since the last time The Rose toured, and fans were excited to be reunited with their beloved band. Following the release of their last project, WRLD, the band embarked on their Once Upon a WRLD international tour starting in June.
Fans took to their seats, donning either the band’s original Rostar lightstick of a rose inside a dome (a nod to Beauty and the Beast, no doubt) or their latest version styled after an electric guitar. Finally, just around 9 PM, the show commenced.
To start off the show, a woman’s voice overhead welcomed everyone to the experience, adding in humor about filming the show and singing along. Fans were requested to turn off their lightsticks in the meantime, and everyone was quickly shown why.
The set started off with the quartet in front of a curtain, playing acoustically with their guitars and a hand drum. There were only warm stage lights spotlighting the members, shrouding them like candlelight. The band – consisting of lead vocalist and guitarist Kim Woosung, bassist Lee Taegyeom, drummer Lee Hajoon and pianist Park Dojoon – only needed such minimal setup to effortlessly draw in our attention.
The intimacy wrapped the audience in an embrace, guiding us through the first few songs with breezy vocals and light dancing, even encouraging the audience to join in – this was especially true during “Tomorrow.”
Just when the crowd was getting used to the scaled back performance, the curtain dropped to reveal an extended set resembling a bedroom. As the band settled into their instruments and began performing “Nebula” , everyone turned on their lightsticks to interact with the show. Due to the lightsticks not automatically syncing with the production, the crowd would change the colors depending on the vibe of the song being performed.
Woosung eventually took us into the bedroom set on a tour, telling us it was the first time he’d ever brought anyone in there. He enthusiastically pointed out a lamp that didn’t work, and even showed us the bed. It’s cheeky moments such as these that truly make concerts the unique experiences that they are; when the veil between artist and fan is nonexistent and we are just hanging out with music in the mix.
Two songs that stood out the most were “Back To Me” and “RED.” Although older songs in their discography, both exude an energy that is infectious and a staple of their liveshows. “Back To Me” is heart-wrenching cry that has the entire audience repeatedly screaming “But I can’t make you come back to me,” in a plea of failed reconciliation. “RED” sonically transports me to happier moments basked in Californian sunlight (with the audience perfectly changing their lightsticks to red), and the crowd replicates that feeling with their joy. It is a song that needs to be experienced live; you feel like the color red, bold and powerful.
Songs driven from cosmic inspiration, when done right, can make the listener feel like they are floating wondrously amongst the stars. Both “Eclipse” and “Cosmo” hit the mark on that sensation; the audience speckled with lights, and coupled with the atmospheric production on both songs, gave off the impression of being in space. It takes a very talented group to truly transport you elsewhere through music alone.
The group concluded their set with “O” , a track from WRLD that couldn’t have been a more fitting message to end the night with. With lyrics calling for unity, such as “We all come together within, where the children are running and not running away from falling stars, imagine all the people living life in peace”, it gave the audience a point of reflection before heading home for the night.
The Rose finalized the performance with a repeat of the last stanza of the song: “We are the world, no colors to divide, just come as one, we go as one.” Food for thought, in such troubling times, of the core of our humanity.