Asian Junkie Asian pop. Without discretion.
For the very last stop of the We Rose You Live Tour, The Rose brought out their best and really showed Los Angeles Black Roses what they are all about. They also learned just how hardcore LA audiences can be.
If you don’t know The Rose, go familiarize yourself and be prepared to enjoy a high quality feels-loaded trip through a trendy rock n’ roll experience. Their sound is very much what would be considered mainstream poppy rock and have garnered fans all around the world who love that light sound of theirs.
The Rose completely sold out The Fonda Theatre in Hollywood packing even the balcony with fans lining the very topmost barrier. The show started late as fans waited anxiously to see their favorite band play live, keeping themselves busy with rousing renditions of Queen’s “Bohemian Rhapsody” as they hyped themselves up for the show.
Finally, The Rose stepped out onto the stage and let me tell you, it was well worth the wait! Woosung, Jaehyeong, Hajoon, and Dojoon stepped out on stage and thanked the fans for waiting. They then proceeded to absolutely wow the entire audience by starting with “ILY (I Love You)“, which garnered major screams as the crowd rushed the barrier, squeezing in to be a mere meter away from their faves. Woosung sang into the mic and you could hear the collective sighs flow through the room.
With songs like “I Don’t Know You,” “Candy,” “Beautiful Girl,” and “Like We Used To,” The Rose performed an exciting array of borderline emo rock tracks throughout the entire show.
Hearing “California” performed live in California was fun to say the least, and the California crowd didn’t hesitate to egg them on in their antics on stage as members joked with each other.
About midway through the show, Dojoon noticed that the fans were squeezed in too tightly. He stopped the show and had to call for security to help a fan exit the pit. This continued to happen a few times throughout the night as the crowd was packed in so tightly, that people were feeling the heat in the room. At one point, a group of guys walked past me out the hall doors into the foyer, a girl’s limb in each of their arms as they carried her to the couches and the bar went into action with cold water and ice for her. She had collapsed but was awake and gulping down cold water and recouping as the show went on.
Who knew The Rose would be such a wild show?! Fans joked with them just as much as they joked with each other, even convincing them to do the classic water toss over the crowd. “You want me to do it?!” they asked. “DO IT! DO IT!” fans chanted back. “Wait, really?!” said Dojoon before he stepped out from behind his keyboard, took a sip and flung his water in a perfect arc all over the front of the audience! Woosung followed immediately and then a timid Jaehyeong who made the crowd laugh. Then the crowd started chanting “HAJOON HAJOON HAJOON!” who finally came out from behind his drums and fired his water into the crowd like a pro! “That was our first time getting to do that!” they all laughed as Woosung admitted that into the mic.
In the midst of their own fantastic music, we were also blessed with a few covers and solos, including one of the best renditions of Harry Styles’ “Sign Of The Times” I’ve ever heard. Jaehyeong and Hajoon also performed a duet called “Soldier” by Before You Exit, which had everyone deep in the mood proving that they were pro vocalists as well as band members.
Woosung then came out and performed everyone’s new favorite, “Face” and its b-side “Lonely.” “Face” was a cool smooth performance of the song, as Woosung hopped around on stage and even got down into the crowd. I was expecting something more hard hitting for some reason, soundwise, but he definitely put on a show.
As per the MyMusicTaste usual format, The Rose conducted merch giveaways and talked and laughed with the audience in short amounts as we were short on time. Towards the end of the show, at one point the guys started a song hard and fast with a pure punk verve that made me stand on my tip toes to make sure I was at the right show. Suddenly The Rose was power playing hard … and then they stopped. I damn near screamed! When they started again it was harder, faster, more aggressively metal than I’ve ever heard them ever playing and oh my god the entire crowd started to cheer as the guys went absolutely nuts on their instruments before stopping again!.They teased the audience with these pounding riffs and drums that planted the seed in my head.
Would The Rose play harder tracks if they could? Who’s stopping them from going bonkers and just releasing this hard rock anthem that, frankly, I believe we desperately need from them? Maybe it was just a fun glimpse into a style that isn’t one they want to claim. Maybe it is their style and they aren’t being allowed to pursue it as it’s not really popular in Korea. I don’t know. We’ll probably never know. What I do know is they have the talent and power to absolutely blow the lid off a joint, but they choose to keep it low key, and that’s okay too.
This tease, this little morsel, introduced the end of the show as they chose to perform their early tracks such as “O.M.G.,” ‘Sorry,” and “Take Me Down” to end the night. Their encore of choice was “RED” to their fans delight as they thanked LA and every staff member involved with the tour including their company CEO, which made me wonder if he was there somewhere, waiting in the wings.
The Rose was everything their fans needed to be live, and as they promised to be back, I’m sure they’ll sell out a bigger venue next time here in LA.
For me, I walked away with a mystery … a curious little peek into the inner workings of a band who plays contemporary rock but who rocks hard as hell for funzies on the low. I, for one, hope they one day unleash the beast and drop something absolutely mind-splitting because now we know they totally and easily can.
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Thank you to My Music Taste for allowing AJ to be a part of this event!
Credit to powdrrrpuff for the videos.
