K-pop boy group VERIVERY made their return to the U.S., performing in New York City as the first stop of their 2024 VERIVERY FAN-MEETING TOUR [GO ON]. Normally a seven-member ensemble, the group embarked on this tour without its three oldest members as Dongheon, the group leader, is serving in the military while Hoyoung and Minchan are taking health-related hiatuses. Nonetheless, the group put on an engaging show, while having fun with their fans.
The crowd erupted in cheers, as four silhouettes made their way onto the stage. Kicking off the show with “Crazy Like That,” the group moved into another title track, “Tag Tag Tag.” Although it felt a bit unfamiliar to see the group perform with only half its members, the three performers took command of the stage and got the crowd going.
It was then that the group took a moment to introduce themselves to the crowd and grab a drink of water. Moving into the fanmeeting portion of the event, VERIVERY proceeded to play a few games on stage. The first game they played was charades. Forming teams of two, Kangmin and Gyehyeon teamed up against Yongseung and Yeonho. Unfortunately for Yongseung and Yeonho, they could not match up to Kangmin and Gyehyeon’s accurate and speedy guesses, with the latter team winning in half the time.
The next game was called Dance First. As the name suggests, random songs would play, and the fastest to dance would win the round. Keeping the same teams as the previous game, competitiveness was high. Various K-pop songs from NewJean’s “How Sweet” to Seventeen’s “Maestro” played, and Kangmin and Gyehyeon ended up victorious again. As a result, the losing team was punished with another dance challenge.
Staying in the seats brought out during charades, the group went on to perform “Wish U were here,” a calm and uplifting house track. Surprising fans with flowers, VERIVERY tossed stems into the crowd while they performed “Flower,” a b-side from their debut mini album. As the music ended, Yeonho and Gyehyeon left the stage while Yongseung and Kangmin introduced a Q&A session using questions gathered from fans at check in.
Some questions were about music like their favorite song from their own discography and random topics like whether they put cereal or milk first in a bowl. Although the group was flabbergasted at the thought of putting milk first, Yongseung elicited laughter from the crowd when he said that he “respects the decision to put milk first.”
Getting back to the music, the group moved into “O.” The song’s slower R&B feel was a stark contrast from the songs performed thus far. The group showed off their excellent synchronization while performing the choreo, performing every dance move with a sharp precision developed from years of hard practice (as well as getting yelled at, according to Kangmin). As the song ended, Yeonho and Kangmin surprisingly left the stage. Yongseung and Gyehyeon introduced the next performance as “visuals on top of vocals” with the “endless charming duo returning.” Yeonho and Kangmin then returned to stage with mic stands as they performed “In My Blood” by Shawn Mendes. While the crowd was reeling from the duo’s performance, Yongseung and Gyehyeon took the stage to perform Jungkook’s “Standing Next to You.”
Going back to the games, the group played a trivia quiz revolving around questions about the members. While they failed to answer most questions, all the members were able to answer the question about what food Yeonho promised himself to eat in New York: hamburgers. Not long after, the group announced that it was time to say goodbye before performing one last song: “With Us,” featured on the Itaewon Class OST.
As the group left the stage, the crowd inevitably started chanting for an encore. After a few minutes, the four returned to the stage to acquiesce to their fans’ request. Getting straight into it, they performed “Alright!” and “Ring Ring Ring” back to back. Keeping the high encore energy going, the group teased that they heard their fans liked “G.B.T.B.” The crowd was going wild as the four performed one of their toughest choreos onstage while still having time to splash the crowd with water from their bottles. Up next, the group performed “Trigger” and “Childhood.” As if a five-song encore wasn’t enough, the members let the crowd know they had a little more time and started asking for suggestions on what to perform next. Picking from the crowd, they performed “Alright!” once more, followed by “Lay Back.”
After performing six encore songs in a row, the group took time to thank everyone for coming, with each member giving their closing statements and goodbyes. They mentioned seeing familiar faces from their previous tour as well as new faces. Promising the crowd that they will continue to work hard and improve, VERIVERY moved on and performed the final song of the night, “Fine.”
While only half the group was present for the event, the four members successfully adapted their songs and choreography, filling up the stage with their presence. The group made the event very worthwhile, packing in energetic performances and games to entertain their fans. Hopefully, the next time VERIVERY makes their way back to the U.S., it’ll be as a full group of seven.
Click on the photo below to view our photos from the concert:
