Ten months after their last visit, Jellyfish Entertainment’s VERIVERY returned to the Vermont Hollywood in Los Angeles and reunited with their adoring fans at their 2022 VERIVERY CONCERT PAGE: O in US. The tour followed the septet’s first U.S. tour and expanded to 14 cities across the country. While LA VERRERs caught Dongheon, Hoyoung, Minchan, Gyehyeon, Yeonho, Yongseung, and Kangmin towards the tail-end of the tour, the members themselves were in great spirits and exuded boundless energy and eagerness to be back in the City of Angels.
The concert’s bombastic opening set the tone of the night with the trap-heavy beats and sleek choreography from “Undercover” and “Connect. “Not only did we prepare for our stages, but we also prepared our stamina,” Gyehyeon proudly exclaimed. To prove his point, he dropped to the floor and executed a quick set of clapping pushups, egged on by the members and the screams of delight from the audience.
Powerful back-to-back performances of “O,” “Lay Back,” and “Heart Break” left the group visibly breathless. Despite the endurance-demanding set, they were energized by the crowd’s nonstop screams. The septet seemed at ease, refreshed, and determined to give VERRERs a night to remember. The members utilized their breaks to find every opportunity to express their deep appreciation for their VERRERs through nonstop fan service, casual conversations, and playful jokes with the audience.
While recapping their opening set, Dongheon decided to put some VERRERs in the hot seat, “I have to test!” he warned. He gleefully scoured the crowd before calling out a VERRER near the front of the stage, “What’s your favorite song in our first full album?!” Not missing a beat, the fan called out “Childhood,” which led to the members passing the microphone around to those brave enough to sing a line from the B-side track.
Between their playful banter amongst themselves and the crowd, VERIVERY were also excited to reunite with another one of their faves – LA’s food scene. Time and time again, Korean artists have left raving reviews for the city’s delicious, authentic Korean cuisine. However, VERIVERY could not contain their excitement for one LA restaurant in particular – Dave’s Hot Chicken. The local cult-favorite chain was popularized by locals and tourists alike for its signature hot and spicy flavors that left a huge impression on the members. The day before, the group spotted the restaurant and eagerly anticipated the moment their staff would order their favorite meal for the concert. “We were like ‘Oh, we’re probably gonna have it today! [The staff is] going to order it for us!’” Hoyoung recalled. Despite his wishful thinking – it didn’t happen. But that didn’t stop him from sending another message loud and clear to the staff, “I’m sad! I’m expecting Dave’s Chicken before we leave LA!”
Just like their last tour, VERIVERY arranged a fan event with VERRERs. Upon entering the venue, concertgoers were given raffle tickets for a surprise during the show. As VERIVERY split up to prepare for their next stages, the members took turns drawing raffle tickets to win personally signed plastic balls from each member. A moment of silence filled the room as fans reviewed their ticket numbers. Dongheon, in an effort to break the silence, would playfully taunt the crowd, “If you don’t want [the prize], please tell me~ I’ll bring it back home!” As each number was read, collective groans of disappointment and isolated cheers of joy rang through the venue. For those select few, they were able to leave with a treasured keepsake to commemorate the night’s festivities.
VERIVERY then prepared a series of special stages that highlighted their signature charms and bright personalities (dubbed as “Bright VERIVERY”). The dance line (Hoyoung, Gyehyeon, and Dongheon) executed a cute and oh-so-sweet performance of “Kangaroo” by Wannaone while Minchan, Yougseung, Yeonho, and Kangmin serenaded the audience with a beautiful rendition of “Love Back” by the American pop band, Why Don’t We. The latter’s performance veered away from the group’s Korea concert setlist to curate a performance for their American audience. To close off the set, all the members sauntered onstage for their unreleased song, “Crack It.” The self-composed track evokes feel-good vibes with its uplifting new jack swing sound reflected in the group’s playful choreography. Although no release date has been announced at the time of this article, VERRERs have openly expressed their anticipation for the track’s official release.
Before they jumped into their next set, VERIVERY posed one question to the audience – “Do you prefer ‘Dark VERIVERY’ or ‘BRIGHT VERIVERY’?” Known for the latter, the group began experimenting with chic and dark concepts with their SERIES ‘O’ albums that shined a new light onto the group. The audience’s response came in the form of deafening screams followed by barks at the group’s dark and sexy concepts. Not one to disappoint, VERIVERY delivered with their rock-heavy rendition of “G.B.T.B” followed by “Trigger.” The back-to-back set did trigger the audience and sent them into a frenzy as Dongheon, waiting and ready, tore open his shirt and unveiled his toned physique to the audience. The back-to-back performances were so amped up that Yongseung Yongseung even broke his new microphone mid-performance. “This mic just arrived in LA,” he shared. “[But] that’s how hot and insane “G.B.T.B.” and Trigger” were.”
After a short intermission, the members returned to fill their encore stage with wholesome vibes. onstage decked out in their tour merch and armed with bubble guns, VERIVERY filled the closing set with pure, wholesome vibes. From the funky fanfare of “Alright” to the sentimental “Childhood,” VERIVERY gave their full attention to the audience in hopes of creating new, lasting memories with each person in the audience. Until next time, we look forward to VERIVERY’s future endeavors!