We’re experiencing the symptoms of another BTS show. The dull ache in the head and neck. A mild case of tinnitus, which subsides in a couple of days. BTSD, we call it.
This is a small price to pay (physically, anyway) to see the Korean kings of K-pop take over Allegiant Stadium and all of Las Vegas.
The seven Seoul brothers raged through its second of four sold-out shows on Sunday night. Sixty-five thousand fans filled the stadium. Never, in this scribe’s experience, has the building been louder than in this show.
How could it be louder than every occupant crying out in full voice? We’d love to be there for it, wearing industrial-strength earbuds and packing Ricola lozenges. You need to shout just to be heard at a BTS event.
This is more than a show, or even a production. It is a cultural experience. The BTS ARMY is similar to Swifties, Deadheads or Phish fans, in that they inhabit their band’s message. The music is not at all alike. But that is the level of the ARMY’s loyalty.
That said (or screamed), we offer seven highlights of Sunday’s show, one for each member of the band, our buds Jin, Suga, J-Hope, RM, Jimin, V and Jungkook:
Handhelds are the bomb. New to the “Arirang” tour are ARMY Bombs, illuminated, handheld wands. These devices flash in sync, all around the stadium, a graduated version of wristbands often issued in major tours. (Imagine Dragons, among others, have used the technology at Allegiant Stadium.) Red was frequent, as it’s “Arirang’s” official color and the tour is cloaked in crimson. But all colors are represented.
These things cost $70 and unify everyone in attendance. They say at Sphere that you are part of the content. In a BTS show, fans are the content.
If you don’t have an ARMY Bomb, you experience FOMO in a show you are actually attending. I passed on buying one (but Vegas broadcast favorite Stacey Gualandi picked one up and had the time of her life with it). As I remarked, “I’m sticking out like a not-sore thumb.”
Equality prevails. I’d wager that every BTS-er is allotted the same amount of talk time and dance solo in the performance. Just when fans seem ready to move off the closeup of Suga, during the ARMY-favorite “Mic Drop,” the camera crew shifts to Jimin (whose look reminds of a young Joe Elliott). The crowd erupts anew, repeatedly, all night.
Good call on the victory lap The guys took to the stadium floor to dance/strut a half-circle, inciting more bedlam. “Idol,” the appropriately upbeat anthem, was the song choice. Mixing with the masses is a BTS characteristic. They had climbed onto an elevated platform on the back of a truck to meet the crowd in their 2022 show at Allegiant.
“Swim” scores. The crowd rejoiced in the debut of the lead single from “Arirang.” The contagious alt-pop tune developed for just such a show. The crowd erupted at the start, and (naturally) had learned all the words. This song and “Hooligan,” at the top, were performed from the new album. “Hooligan” was rolled out during Monday’s AMAs show at MGM Grand Garden Arena, having been recorded at Allegiant Stadium.
A nod to the home team. In the second half of the show J-Hope donned a white Raiders’ jersey. The sparkly No. 7 was likely a reference to BTS’s seven members. QB Geno Smith, now with the Jets (the NFL team), wore the number last season.
Group chat. All the guys sat on the rotating stage during the show’s encore segment, expressing gratitude and their love of their fans, thousands of whom traveled from around the world to see them perform. A bummer that a lot of the details were inaudible (this was a show when the sound in Allegiant Stadium, inconsistent for touring shows, felt like an echo chamber). But the gentlemen connected, saying at one point, “We have taken over Las Vegas!” No argument there.
Fans speak. The ARMY was armed with signs. Some proposed marriage. Others invited themselves to dive into the band. One fan was shown on the video screen saying her mom had died. “Your music helped me heal.” The crowd roared. BTS owns a special power. They use it for good. It’s a quality to shout about.
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow @johnnykatson X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.
BTS set list
Sunday, May 24, Allegiant Stadium
Hooligan
Aliens
Run BTS
they don’t know ’bout us
Like Animals
FAKE LOVE
SWIM
Merry Go Round
2.0
NORMAL
Not Today
MIC Drop
FYA
Fire
Body to Body
IDOL
Encore:
Come Over
Butter
Dynamite
Permission to Dance
Go Go
Please
Into the Sun