In the four years since BTS’s previous Las Vegas showing, both everything and nothing has changed. In the final moments of their last performance at Allegiant Stadium in April of 2022 on their “Permission to Dance Tour,” RM, the group’s leader, cut into the party-like send-off with a stunning gesture of humility and gratitude.
Before a crowd of thousands, he came to the kneeling position of keunjeol, the Korean traditional “full bow,” head as low as possible with hands placed in front. It’s a sign of profound respect and gratitude usually reserved for solemn moments and for many in attendance — uncertain of when they might see all seven members perform together again — it was incredibly moving.
But little did their dedicated ARMY fanbase know that at that moment, BTS was less than two months out from announcing an extended break from group activities.
Four years later, they are back in Las Vegas for another four sold-out dates at Allegiant. At Sunday’s (May 24th) show, the audience, while still largely female and age-diverse, had noticeably more male fans and more children in attendance. During BTS’s break as a group, there was a constant flow of pre-filmed and recorded content, solo releases and tours that kept the fanbase growing.
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In contrast to 2022, the Vegas stop is part of a massive two-year tour (get tickets here) in support of their long-awaited comeback (and certified hit album) ARIRANG. The four-day run kicked off Saturday, with the two weekend gigs building anticipation for tonight’s (Monday, May 25th) American Music Awards, where the group will make a special appearance and are up for a handful of awards. They’ll then return Allegiant on Thursday the 28th and Friday the 29th before the tour briefly returns to South Korea in June for their yearly anniversary celebrations.
The “ARIRANG Tour” setlist spans 20 songs over a tightly-paced two-and-a-half hour run time, the new album played in its entirety with some tried and true hits and throwbacks sprinkled in. Sunday’s concert began, as always, right on time. A lone masked dancer ran out smoking flare in hand, quickly followed by others as the thumping opening strains of the hip-hop track “Hooligan,” penned in part by Spanish producer El Guincho (Björk, Rosalía), began.
BTS, photo courtesy of BIGHIT Music
RM, along with fellow rappers j-hope, and SUGA, and vocalists V, Jimin, Jin and Jungkook swaggered out clad in variations of black and plenty of leather, buckles zippers, and layered jewelry, looking like dark heroes ready to take on a dystopian world. It’s a stark contrast to the poppy, color-laden “Permission to Dance Tour,” and one of the first signals of a new era. Another one being the 360-degree rotating stage design, centering a massive set of screens, almost Brutalist in form. The set was inspired by the Gyeonghoeru Pavilion in Gyeongbokgung Palace, and is one of many traditional Korean touches in the set and lighting design.
The screens proved necessary to not only sell more seats, but ensure every audience member had an unobstructed view; BTS are less focused on this tour on the intricate choreography they are known for in favor of a looser structure. Which isn’t to say they are not capable of tight choreo these days. During “2.0,” they whipped into tight formation. Rather, the focus has shifted to movement that allows for more moments of spontaneity. The massive screens serve to capture every wink, every gesture, every smirk into the mic.
Around 25 or so backup dancers, equally divided between male and female and South Korean and American, formed a kind of Greek chorus of movement, enhancing the themes of each song and offering a minimalist offset to the big setpieces from previous tours.
Next came the stuttering “Mike WiLL Made It” producer tag intro to “Aliens.” The songs’ cutting lyrics underscore BTS’s dual status as a world-dominating cross-cultural force and as Korean outliers who broke into a Western market rife with barriers and stereotypes.
“Run BTS” the delightfully quirky hip-hop throwback off of 2022’s anthology album Proof was their first moment of power choreo in the set, followed by the slower, almost ominous “‘They Don’t Don’t Know ‘Bout Us.”