Vocal powerhouse K-pop group, Purple Kiss, ended their 17-city FESTA tour in Los Angeles on an explosive note. Not all members were in attendance, as Yuki was unable to make the final stop due to a scheduling conflict with another project group, EL7Z UP. But the other five members were able to fill in her absence and give fans, known as Plories, a festive night full of visuals, vocals, and vivacity. Plories lined up early in front of the theater to exchange fanmade goods and even took pictures with a cardboard cutout of Yuki before the show.
Starting off with the intro of their 2022 mini album, Geekyland, the five members sprang onstage in comfy Tommy Hilfiger outfits. Immediately ramping up the energy with the one-two punch of fan favorite songs, “Nerdy” and “Psycho,” the performers didn’t miss a beat as they transitioned into tracks from MemeM. Finally taking a pause from their intense choreography, Purple Kiss showed no signs of stage fright as they confidently engaged with the crowd.
Well known for her outgoing and confident personality, Swan took the lead during their group introduction: “Are you all ready to enjoy the show? We’re so excited to show our different stages to the Plories in the States.” The other members each took time to reflect on their journey and solemnly admitted they’re not ready to go home. To lighten the mood, Swan shared a story about rewatching an old Korean drama where the main characters meet for the first time in LA: “I felt like I was the main character, and it felt like I was going to meet the main male character. I thought I’d fall in love and become rich, but I saw Plories here and felt like I received my dream.”
Feeling encouraged by the rallying cheers of the crowd, the five girls moved on to the uptempo title track that brought them to the US: “7Heaven.” In a twist, they sang an English only version of the song, alongside their undead party bop, “Zombie.” For now, these songs are tour exclusives with no mentions of an official release. English versions of a band’s discography are becoming rarer for K-pop group, as many are opting to release original English tracks nowadays. However, the members of Purple Kiss wanted to give Plories a special experience they couldn’t get anywhere else.
As the members split to prepare for their subunit stages, Swan, Dosie, and Goeun spent some time talking about their time in Los Angeles. It wouldn’t be an LA show without debating between Five Guys, Shake Shack and In-n-Out; unsurprisingly, they all picked the one with the tastiest burger and cheese fries. Before their fellow bandmates came back on stage, the three decided to teach the crowd a fanchant: “When we say ‘Who are you?’ you answer with ‘Plory’ with freestyle hand gestures!”
Once they had the crowd primed and ready for Chaein and Ireh, the two strut onstage with sleek, dark outfits and matching boots. Sparking excitement with their enthralling take on Charlie Pluth’s “We Don’t Talk Anymore,” the duo kept feeding the audience’s energy with a sultry dance cover of Saweetie and GALXARA’s “Sway with Me.” The chair choreography was so intense for the latter song that they needed a minute to catch their breath before the second half of the subunit stages began. Dosie, Swan, and Goeun returned, perfectly harmonizing to another Charlie Pluth song, “Light Switch.” Showing another side of themselves, the girls intensified their stage presence during Lady Gaga’s “Rain on Me.”
Taking a collective break, the members kicked off their fan engagement segment called, “Time to Ask Purple Kiss.” Prior to the show, the staff took fan questions in the lobby via sticky notes, and the group commented how they received the most requests that night out of their entire tour. Goeun passionately grabbed onto the note that asked them to dance to Jisoo’s “Flower.” Showing their appreciation for Plories, Swan picked the request to sing an acapella version of their B-side, “Joah.” Since Chaein had written that song, she sang the main vocals while the other members supported her.
Considering the show’s proximity to Christmas, the Purple Kiss members called on the audience to turn their penlights to green and red in order to celebrate their acapella version of “My My.” Wrapping up the Q&A section, the five girls commanded the crowd to stand up, asking if they were thirsty: “Do you want some ‘Sweet Juice’?” Plories wildly screamed as they performed an English cover of the Cabin Fever album title track. Arguably, this was the best sounding live rendition as the vocal mixing matched their recorded release to a tee.
Before bringing their show to an end, the singers showed Plories the intimate meaning of “agit.” Each performer shared one last memory, each more amusing than the last. “When we were heading to our plane, Dosie, Goeun and I were talking together and someone bowed to us,” said Chaein. “They were wearing our merchandise, so we tried to get closer, but they turned around and walked away. We reached out and were like ‘Don’t go!’” Despite being a fluent English speaker, Swan wanted to practice her skills ahead of the show: “I was wondering what people would ask me in English.” Chaein teased Swan about how she would call housekeeping just to practice.
Last but not least, Purple Kiss had one last English song up their sleeve, performing the English version of “Ponzona.” The song brought Plories to tears as the thorny, venomous debut track brought forth the haunting realization that their time together was coming to a close. Considering that the group has six members, cardboard cutout Yuki joined the other members onstage for one last photo together. After the performers ended their show with an intense set of encore songs, Swan hilariously flopped onto the ground from exhaustion. Of course, this was all in good fun. She stood beside her bandmates to sing a small snippet of “Autopilot,” before the group bade an upbeat farewell to the Plories who came to see them on their first tour in the US.
Click on the photo below to view our photos from the concert:
Setlist
Intro: Bye Bye Bully
Nerdy
Pretty Psycho
Intro : Illusion
memeM
7HEAVEN (English ver.)
Zombie (English ver.)
We Don’t Talk Anymore (cover by Chaein and Ireh)
Sway With Me (cover by Chaein and Ireh)
Light Switch (cover by Swan, Dosie, and Goeun)
Rain on Me (cover by Swan, Dosie, and Goeun)
Intro : Save Me
Sweet Juice (English ver.)
agit
Love Is Dead
Dance Monkey (vocal cover)
Ponzona (English ver.)
My Heart Skip a Beat
Encore
Skip Skip
Twinkle
Autopilot (shortened)
