Concert Review: A.C.E Brings the Heat to an Already Sweltering Day in NYC on the 'Rewind Us' Tour

If you ask me to recommend a K-pop group who can command a stage with powerful music and choreography, without needing any other bells and whistles on stage, I'd show you A.C.E! The five-member group played their second-to-last show on their U.S. tour 'Rewind Us' last night at the Town Hall in New York City, and they brought the heat to an already sweltering day.

Park Junhee, Lee Donghun, Wow, Kim Byeongkwan, and Kang Yuchan (who has returned after missing a few performances due to an injury) took the stage and immediately catapulted into a nonstop two-hour energy fest of a setlist, barely leaving the stage for the duration of their performance.

The concert kicked off with the song "Goblin (Favorite Boys)", which is a powerful high-energy song that amped up the audience immediately. The setlist included many of the group's fan-favorite songs, like "Supernatural" and "Under Cover", as well as English versions of some of their songs, curated especially for the American leg of the tour, such as "Angel", "Effortless", and "My Girl."

One of the most notable sections of the show was when the group paused the selections from their own discography to perform a few cover songs, including "Beautiful Things" by Benson Boone and "Cruel Summer" by Taylor Swift. The former of the two, especially, showed off A.C.E's powerful vocals, with Donghun powerfully performing the chorus. The members later joked about their voices cracking due to the long grueling tour, but I personally can always appreciate a group that sings live, even if there are imperfections.

As previously mentioned, this concert didn't include a ton of the flashy effects, screens, and stage props that a lot of K-pop concerts have become known for. This show just had the five members, occasionally their backup dancers, and the music. At one point the group put on black jackets over their black-and-denim outfits, and stood at mic stands, but other than that, they were moving and dancing nonstop. This wasn't at all a drawback for me, in fact, it was a bit refreshing to have a show focus heavily on just the music and the performance. I have found that often with other shows, all of the other elements can get distracting.

A.C.E mentioned that this was their first time back in New York City in five years, and hinted that they may be back sooner than expected. When asked who would come see them again when they return, I proudly raised my hand, along with the rest of the audience. If last night was any indication of what an A.C.E show is like, I'd gladly return again and again.