LINK: the rose 2026 + 2025
Currently listening to: Back To Me – The Rose
I remember thinking, I don’t need you
But then time passed by and it’s so untrue
Now I’m the rain over your parade, reason you’re over me
Yeah, I always keep making the same mistakes
Maybe I never deserved you anyway
I can make you mad
I can make you scream
I can make you cry
I can make you leave
I can make you hate me for everything
But I can’t make you come back to me
I can make a world out of broken dreams
I can make you say things you don’t mean
I can unmake all we were made to be
But I can’t make you come back to me
I’m not singing in the background, let’s be clear about that. It’s the girls next to me LOL!
2026
Months ago, the four of us were in a panic getting tickets because The Rose was only performing one show per city. Out of ten shows, only four were in the U.S.
After their month long tour, they are going on hiatus for an undisclosed amount of time. They said that they are taking time to rest (Woosung recently had vocal chord surgery), focus on solo ventures before returning to the group, reorganize, and explore their options.
Luckily, we were all able to secure VIP packages (Euphoria tickets). That in itself was a fiasco… getting concert tickets is so damn stressful, especially when I’m at work since we’re not allowed to use the WiFi for personal reasons. It’s like fucking hunger games and normally I have ninja fingers but with a slow connection, it didn’t matter.
On Friday, I started my day working like every day. I’m going on thirteen days straight. I am a masochist or an idiot, maybe both. I really wanted to take the day off but I wasn’t able to, but at least I got to leave earlier than usual because we had to get to the venue by 1430.
This year, the concert was at the Peacock Theater. I’ve never been there before.
VIP experience: Black Rose (The Rose fandom name) flag signing. Normally, I write smaller but the Sharpie I was given to use was thicky thick.
I wrote, The Rose completes me <3 로지 (rojie).
VIP experience: lanyard and goodies
While we were waiting in line, I noticed that Lay’s was having a Bandwagon FIFA pop up next to us. We casually walked over and got a free scarf that we could decorate with patches. I saw Marshawn Lynch (former NFL running back for the seahawks and actor on Euophoria). We didn’t have enough time to get the free samples of chips but it was probably for the best.
VIP experience: early entrance into the venue, soundcheck and Q&A session with the band.
They sold out on a lot of items by the time it was my turn. I got a white t-shirt for me and Maggie.
My bias wrecker, Jeff (태겸 – Taegyeom).
My bias, Sammy (우성 – Woosung).
We were seated really close. Like really really close, in the pit.
We had to wait about an hour after the concert to go into a room where The Rose members were situated.
VIP experience: high touch with all the band members.
Taken with my meta glasses.
The freebies passed out by the Black Roses. I didn’t have time to make any freebies this time around but I will try to make some next time… whenever that will be. Le sigh.
We didn’t eat dinner because there just wasn’t enough time between soundcheck and the concert. The lines were super long for food and I was tired of waiting in lines, especially after Stanford and Vegas. My foot was still giving me trouble and I was told to rest it.
By the time I got home, it was already 0044 and I still had my secondary job (thankfully, I was able to WFH) to do. I had to lock in and drink coffee to help stay awake and focus. By the time I finished, it was already 0449 and I had to wake up at 0900 to go to the movie theater to meet my friends.
2025
It’s day two of the monthly woman disease and I’m not sure if I can make it but I’m going to give it a damn good try. I worked half day at my primary job. Afterward, I went over to Maggie’s house and got ready for the concert. I went full maximalist—put an obnoxious amount of bows on my head, put on makeup, and got dressed. Both Maggie and Maria had made shirts for tonight, but Maggie’s were professionally printed and cost a small fortune because she had put a rush on the order, so we decided to wear hers. Something must have gotten lost in translation between the two of them but whatever, I got two cool shirts.
Breakfast was a handful of nuts, just enough to take my ibuprofen/acetaminophen cocktail and by the time lunch rolled around, I was starving.
We hit up Ghost for sandos and I destroyed a B.L.A.S.T (bacon, lettuce, avo spread, BLAST spread, and tomatoes) on Dutch Crunch bread. I inhaled it with salt and vinegar chips and a giant raspberry iced tea. Normally, I’m a water-only person, but I’d already had 32 oz and Maggie had more stashed for me. Hydration was critical because I was bleeding like a Victorian heroine in her final chapter. That meant changing an ultra tampon and maxi pad at the same time every two hours otherwise… disaster would ensue. TMI, but this is real life.
We swung by Maria’s next. She had taken the day of and the day after off. Smart. Unfortunately I’m not able to take full days right now. Le sigh. I swapped shirts, we exchanged our freebies, and although we talked about going to eat a snack, I was still too full from lunch.
We arrived at the YouTube Theater at 1700, three hours before the concert, so we could browse the merch and hand out freebies. Our stash was gone 30 minutes before the show started.
The Rose, a Korean indie band that’s been around since 2017—isn’t backed by a Korean mega-label like HYBE, JYP, or YG. They opened for Halsey in 2020, competed in music shows, and from 2020–2022, three of the four members were doing their mandatory military service. Woosung, the lead singer, is an American citizen from SoCal, so he spent that time touring solo. In 2022, they signed with Transparent Arts (Far East Movement’s label), and in 2023, Woosung collaborated with Suga from BTS and the late Ryuichi Sakamoto on “Snooze,” one of my all-time favorites.
The lineup: Hajoon (Dylan), Woosung (Sammy), Dojoon (Leo), and Jaeheyong (Jeff).
The concert was intimate, about 7,000 fans (Black Rose is the name of their fandom).
The stage was set like Woosung’s bedroom, and let’s just say, when Woosung invites you into his bedroom, you don’t say no. LOL.
We had great seats, and I even ran into an old friend I hadn’t seen in years. I wore gray contacts (can’t really tell in this pic), Maggie made the glasses I had on and Maria had custom shirts made for the three of us.
Two songs before the end, I had to run to the bathroom. When I came back, there was only one song left. A security guard told me that I could either go back to my seat or leave the stairway. I didn’t have the energy for more stairs, I already had over 10,000 steps, so I opted for waiting in the hall.
While texting Maggie, a concession worker asked if I wanted a free pepperoni pretzel since they were closing. Absolutely! The thing was a brick, so I saved it to share with my friends.
After the show, I wanted coffee but also wanted to get home. We spent half an hour looking for Maria’s husband, our personal Uber for the night, and then hit the road. The 405 closure forced a detour that dragged the ride out.
When I finally dropped Maggie off, I blasted the AC pm, cranked up my K-pop music, and chugged water to stay awake while driving home.
Once home, I showered to force myself to stay awake even longer because I had to log into my work laptop for my second job. I ended up working a few hours until sleep won.
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