Is there something you missed over the past two years of the pandemic? For us, it was the spectacle of a huge sold-out rock show. Who would be better at bringing that back than the larger-than-life Imagine Dragons?
Before Imagine Dragons, we were treated to 15 year-old bedroom pop prodigy, AVIV.
The Toronto-based wunderkind wowed audiences with her fun and energetic set that was over too quickly. There was rarely a moment when she wasn’t beaming with a toothy smile. With her debut EP around the corner and kicking off her first Canadian tour it was easy to see why. AVIV floated across the stage during songs like Black Coffee, How Can You Smile and a well placed cover of Arctic Monkeys’ 505. Every ounce of energy AVIV put out into her performance was given back tenfold by concert-goers.
Las Vegas’ Imagine Dragons is arguably one of the biggest acts in modern rock these days. Selling over 75 million records worldwide, racking up millions of streams, winning countless awards, and in constant rotation on every radio station, their multi-genre approach to music means there is something for everyone at Imagine Dragons concert. We were floored to see that Imagine Dragons would be not only coming to the Garden City but also kicking off their Canadian tour here at the Save-On Foods Memorial Centre.
Shrouded in darkness, lead singer Dan Reynolds quietly emerged from an elevated platform hidden in the catwalk as the band’s introductory video set the mood for the evening. Taking a quick moment to himself before the show commenced, he smiled as he soaked in the roar of the crowd and launched into an almost a cappella version of My Life.
With a loud explosion and a flash of light the arena was suddenly filled with fluttering pieces of golden confetti fighting against gravity. Quickly, the entire room was screaming along to Imagine Dragon’s mega-hit, Believer, in the midst of triumphant crashing drums and synth sounds.
Surprisingly, there was a much more diverse crowd than we had speculated to be at an Imagine Dragons concert. It seemed every age group was represented, with parents and grandparents bring their kids to possibly their first concert, teens, twentysomethings, and everyone in between.
Dan Reynolds soaked in this energy as he sprinted, leaped, kneeled, and sang while bouncing up and down the catwalk stage. Guitarist Wayne Sermon and bassist Ben McKee relished every moment of attention while keeping a little further back from the spotlight that followed Dan.
Roughly halfway through the band’s set, the entire band made their way down the end of the catwalk. While the band had been stirring the crowd into a frenzy with songs like Wrecked and Natural, the stage crew had been assembling their gear for a more intimate and acoustic set for those in the middle of the arena.
In an almost calmingly hypnotic manner, Imagine Dragons lulled everyone into a swaying motion as they played Next to Me, I Bet My Life, and Three Little Birds (a Bob Marley cover) acoustically. For a band as big as Imagine Dragons, they still have the power to connect one-on-one with their fans in these settings, reaching down to hand young fans guitar picks and high-fives.
Almost as quickly as they brought the house down to their level, they had the floor bouncing once again with singles Whatever It Takes and Demons.
While Imagine Dragons is an extremely proficient and well oiled-machine, the nearly two-hour performance wasn’t without its cracks. For those of us who don’t have every single word memorized, the night became tedious between “the hits” and bursts of confetti. We were made to feel like weren’t meant to be there when daggers were shot our way by other fans. Clearly we were missing something.
The seemingly natural conclusion of the night was Imagine Dragons’ biggest hit, Radioactive. However it took us nearly a minute to realize that was the song being played as Dan Reynolds started the song with an oddly out of place Coldplay-esque grand piano solo. As the crowds of parents with young sleepy children filed out into the lobby the music continued with several more songs. Making us wonder: “did we heard the band’s entire discography tonight?”
Imagine Dragons doesn’t need to prove anything to anyone. The are adored by fans young and old all around this planet, and for good reason. They don’t pull any punches. They know how put on a world-class concert and give fans exactly what they want, but maybe it could be about fifteen minutes shorter.
