The Rose Return to Paris for ‘Dawn to Dusk’ Tour
Words + Photos by Nathan Gey
May 8, 2024
The Korean rock band THE ROSE made a big return to the stage with their World Tour ‘DAWN TO DUSK’. After performing around the Asian continent and through many countries in Europe, the four members finally stopped by Paris, just before their Europe tour finale in Madrid.
The group had a long hiatus between 2021 and 2022 as a result of various factors, including the Korean military service program. They finally came back in August 2022 with a brand new label and a World Tour that started in 2022 and ran until 2023 with performances all around the world, including North America, South America, Europe, and Asia. They landed in Paris on February 16, 2023, at the famous venue Le Bataclan, which was already sold out at that time. After more than a year, Woosung, Dojoon, Hajoon, and Jaehyeong returned to the City of Lights, this time in the largest venue, the Zénith de Paris, with a capacity of around 6800 people. The show was sold out, and all the stage settings were at a whole new level, with a big stage surrounded by a large screen.
The first part consisted of 17 songs performed without any break. Starting with ‘Eclipse’, ‘Dawn’, and ‘You’re Beautiful’, with the stage entirely enveloped in smoke, the four members energetically interpreted many of their songs, such as ‘Back To Me’ (one of the most popular in their discography these days), ‘I.L.Y’ from their debut album, ‘Beauty and the Beast’, and ‘Dusk’. In addition to enjoying the sound of the instruments accompanied by the voices of Woosung and Dojoon, the benefit of having a big screen surrounding the stage was that each song could be illustrated with different moods and landscapes, enhancing the whole venue with beautiful lighting sets. This way, ‘Eclipse’ was performed with a beautiful eclipse on the screen, while ‘Beauty and the Beast’ and ‘Dusk’ were interpreted with a sunrise landscape on the back of the stage.
For ‘Take Me Down’, all the fans ended up screaming louder than ever along with the sound of the guitars, and a ton of flashbacks were projected on the screen. The first part ended with ‘Alive’ from their album DUAL, with another set of smoke enveloping the entire stage and the front row.
The long-awaited first MC of the night finally came up, and right before all members were able to speak, the Black Roses (The Rose’s fandom) cheered up the four artists by singing some fan chants, the famous ‘po-po-po’, and stomping their feet. Finally, members were able to express some thoughts, talking about their debut 7 years ago in Hongdae with their first-ever live performance in front of 20 people. Here is a small but deep and emotional part of their speech:
"Music is healing. We wanted to heal through music. Music changes people, mood, mind, attitude. Music brings back memories and love. We do music. We just want to share good energy. Good Time. Together, guys."
Their music returned again to the Zenith’s stage with the emotional song ‘Sorry’, which is frequently performed during The Rose’s concerts. ‘Cure’ and ‘She’s In The Rain’ kept the audience enjoying the moment, always with beautiful effects projected on the stage and amazing lighting sets with all the rotating spotlights. For the final act, ‘Sour’, ‘COSMO’, and ‘WONDER’ concluded this amazing night for all the fans, with another batch of confetti spread throughout the entire venue.
Woosung, Dojoon, Jaehyeong, and Hajoon strongly returned to the French stage with this wonderful show at the Zenith de Paris. They smoothly executed all the songs like a musical score, to the delight of their fans. At about [time], we enjoyed this night with the four talented men in Paris, and we were even more pleased to hear them again during their performance at the most famous music festival, Coachella, last month.
We would like to thank The Rose for the amazing show, and Live Nation France for having us!
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Photos taken by Nathan Gey (@natog.photo)