SEVENTEEN Los Angeles BMO Stadium Concert Recap: Best Moments

Toward the end of their opening trio of hits, the intro to “Maestro” is also something of an intro to SEVENTEEN’s approach to artistic creation. While Woozi plays the first few keyboard riffs, Hoshi is elevated onto a raised platform where he dances with a conductor’s baton; S.Coups gets the mic-drop moment that cues the start of the song. Each of the three leaders is conducting their respective arenas — Woozi, the music; Hoshi, the performance; S.Coups, the group. It gestures to their status as a self-producing band, putting any speculation to the contrary to rest.

There was never a dull moment either night, even when simply saying hellos. That’s in large part thanks to Hoshi’s legendary entrance. After an introductory shout of “Put your tiger signs up!,” he strutted the stage’s runway to an Auto-Tuned chant while more than 20,000 people raised their hands in matching tiger-claw shapes. (It’s not a real cult, we promise.)

SEVENTEEN always play to their strengths. Nowhere is that clearer than in their unit performances, divvied up into rappers, dancers and vocalists.

S.Coups, Wonwoo, Mingyu and Vernon got things started with head-bopping stages of “Water” and “Monster” fit for the venue (“Stadium door to stadium door,” Vernon raps); then Hoshi, The8 and Dino made a suave transition into “Rain” and “Lilili Yabbay,” the latter of which showed off their floorwork chops; Joshua, Woozi, DK and Seungkwan, meanwhile, closed out the unit stages on a sentimental note by bringing crystalline vocals to ballads “Candy” and “Cheers to youth.”

Lest you forget this is a team of multi-hyphenates, though, they return to the stage shortly after as a (mostly) full set for the indelible bop “Oh My!” — oh, and because improv is another skill on their collective résumé, this portion is one big comedy skit with inflatable animals, of course.

Since Los Angeles is member Joshua’s hometown, SEVENTEEN’s LA shows always feel a bit more special — plus, that fact provided a great segue into their emotional single “Home.” Without a doubt, the song is the heart of the setlist, with its delicate melodies, spinning triple-axel jump and an assist from the fans with perhaps the clearest fan chant of the whole night. It’s no wonder that Joshua got choked up toward the end of the concert. “What did we do to deserve this kind of love from you guys?” he asked, promising to come back as soon as possible.

It’s not a SEVENTEEN show if the spotlight isn’t turned on the fans themselves, whether with interactive chants and gestures or big-screen concert sign debuts. But this time, the group dialed that energy up to 100. Even after stepping up from arenas to stadiums, they pointed out specific fans in the stands (wearing tiger onesies and carrot costumes, among other getups) to dance-battle the members over a song of their choice.

There’s perhaps no one more suited for fan service than Mingyu, who took time out of both nights to ask if the crowd was hungry or cold (then sprayed entire bottles of water on them anyway, at their behest). Just for the final night, the rapper shucked off his jacket for the blisteringly high-octane “Super,” which has already spawned its fair share of bare bicep fancams. In explaining the sudden arms-out choice, Mingyu outlined his philosophy quite simply: “If you guys like it, that’s it!”

Later in the night, the group opened the floor to requests. While not every song from SEVENTEEN’s extensive discography can make it onto the setlist, they’re more than happy to sing a few bars of old faves as a bonus — if they can remember them, that is. In addition to “Crazy in Love,” “Rock With You,” “Headliner” and “Don’t Wanna Cry,” leader line brought back 2017’s “Change Up,” though S.Coups and Woozi seemed a bit fuzzy on the words. Don’t worry, leaders — we’ll forgive you if you add it to the setlist proper next time.

Per usual, SEVENTEEN ended with multiple rounds of “Aju Nice,” its circus-esque horns the ideal soundtrack for encore clownery. At each stop, Seungkwan jumped down to the floor to pick audience members at the barricade to sing the song’s key high note. And indeed, in this regard, the performing fans continued to raise the bar. What could possibly top the tour’s recent opera, kazoo and metal renditions? 

But the final night saved the best for last: A group of bewigged fans ripped off their faux blonde bobs as the exclamation point to their choral delivery of the high note, causing the SEVENTEEN members to don the goofy hairpieces themselves. No one was exempt from the fun — Vernon slid down the catwalk on his knees, serving ‘80s glam rocker, while Woozi took a page out of Willow Smith’s book and whipped his hair back and forth.

A big perk of playing open-air stadiums? Beautiful views of the night sky — and on Sunday night, SEVENTEEN seemed to agree. Before reviving their beloved B-side “Our dawn is hotter than day,” notably struck from the other U.S. stops, the members mentioned how the lyrics were perfect for singing under the moonlight: “With tightly held hands, the sun is setting/ Only the stars fill up the night sky/ As it shines on us.”

The band has one major thing in common with celestial bodies, too, according to ever-thoughtful The8. “When the concert started, we could see the moon, but we can’t see it anymore,” he said. “But we will see it again tomorrow, right? SEVENTEEN is the same.” Like the moon, he added, they’re a constant; being apart is only ever temporary. “Even if we disappear for a while, you will see us again.” 

As the group closes out this year of change, The8’s words served as a good reminder. But besides hoping to return to LA in even bigger venues (“We can do it!” Mingyu attested), the future wasn’t the focus of the night. Their first stadium run in the U.S. is a huge accomplishment, and everyone — fans, the members of SEVENTEEN themselves — just seemed happy to exist in that moment together.