The Van Buren in Phoenix hosted its first K-pop show at the end of June when A.C.E visited on their current Rewind US tour. The five-member group- Park Junhee, Lee Donghun, Wow, Kim Byeongkwan and Kang Yuchan- delighted Arizona Choice with this performance, as it’s been five years since their last tour and they were very clearly missed.
The show began right on time and a nearly full venue crowd jumped to their feet to dance along to “Goblin (Favorite Boys)”, “Savage” and “My Girl”. The members took many opportunities to speak directly to their fans in both English and Korean, expressing their joy at being back in the U.S. to meet with their Choice.
As this was their first time in Arizona, fans went all out with their outfits, lightsticks and signs to show their devotion to the group. The guys took plenty of notice of their effort, interacting with fans close to the stage and performing with vigor on “Higher” and fan-favorite “Supernatural”.
The members also prepared cover songs for the middle of the set and showed off their incredible vocals on Benson Boone’s “Beautiful Things” and Taylor Swift’s “Cruel Summer”. The audience went wild for their impressive vocal runs on both songs but definitely showed love for the group’s original material as the set came to a close.
After a room-shaking performance of “Under Cover”, the group returned for a lengthy encore that had them showering the audience with water to combat the intense Arizona heat. With one final farewell, all five members amused the audience with anecdotes from their brief time exploring Phoenix and their surprise at the warm welcome they received after such a long time away. The demand from the fans for their return was huge and A.C.E said that next time they come back, it will have to be in the winter (drawing a chuckle from seasoned desert dwellers).
The guys ended the night with “Take Me Higher” and “Story”, accepting gifts and taking selfies before reluctantly leaving the stage for the last time. Now that they can see the reception they’re getting across the country, it’s a good bet that A.C.E will be planning another world tour as soon as possible.
