Imagine Dragons at Shoreline
Imagine Dragons is an American rock band out of Las Vegas, Nevada.
Dan Reynolds
Lead vocals, rhythm guitar, piano, keyboards, drums, percussion
Dan Reynolds is a showman. He had energy, but it wasn’t just bouncing around, it was energy directed towards the crowd. You could tell by his face that he was pouring his all into those songs. They meant something to him, and he wanted you to feel that and it worked!
Wayne Sermon
Lead guitar, backing vocals, mandolin
Wayne Sermon really gets into his instruments! He was head down, tearing into anything he picked up only occasionally lifting his face high enough so his hair fell back to give a clear view. Every note was tight, and every riff sheet music perfect. The guy can play.
Ben McKee
Bass, piano, keyboards, synthesizers, backing vocals
Ben McKee on the other hand had a very different style. Half the time he was connected to the crowd, grinning, waving, and clapping along with the songs. The other half he was playing his heart out, eyes half shut, just into the moment. He was really fun to watch.
Daniel Platzman
Drums, percussion, backing vocals, rhythm guitar, viola, keyboards
Danial Platzman held it all together with a steadfast beat. His timing was excellent, no song felt too slow or too fast and still it felt live, not at all sterilized or mechanical. He was working at it too, as the concert progressed you could see his hair soaking with sweat as he put his soul in the performance.
Everyone Drums!
A highlight for the show was when all but one of the band members took to drums with amazing effect. Huge bass booms, blended with synth/keyboards/vocals to lead into one of their iconic songs…
Radioactive!
A Look at the show
Ok, full disclosure here… this was the first time I’ve ever seen Imagine Dragons live. Before this show they were, to me, those guys who did the Radioactive video with the stuffed animals. I like quite a few of their songs but didn’t know all that much about them.
This concert changed that. I came away with a serious respect for this band. Every member took part in the vocals, they all played a few different instruments, and they all really connected with the audience. I swear that at one point Ben McKee looked right at me and waved… (yes I know, me and 100 others nearby.)
Now, onto a look at the show. From the first song and opening rather touching talk by Dan Reynolds (dealing with the Las Vegas tragedy) to a Tom Petty cover / tribute and finally to the last two encore songs; there wasn’t a moment the band was on stage that didn’t work.
The played pretty much every song I knew from them and quite a few I (as a fairly new Imagine Dragons spectator) didn’t know. I liked them all and was totally amazed by their versatility. They each did multiple things and they all made it look easy.
The lighting and effects were done well, but often I found myself looking away as intense rather blinding lights swept over the crowd. They used confetti (so much that the entire view was covered for awhile), they used CO2 blasts (at least they looked like it), and they used smoke filled bubbles, smoke generators and a ton of 4 or so foot across balloons of various colors. Add this all to a huge set of overhead video panels, lasers, and dozens of spots and you have quite a visual spectacle. It was almost too much at times. I know, it’s a concert; what’s too much?
Visuals from the show
The Opening Bands
KFLAY
Kristine Meredith Flaherty
Kflay hit the stage first, just after the sun had set. She employed a mostly back lit stage which cast her into a start contrasting silhouette that often left her features shrouded. Her songs dripped with angst, anger, or perhaps frustration with the world. You could tell from her movements, her emotion filled voice and the bass of her music that she meant business. Of the two opening bands she was by far my favorite. Really good this one and I’d like to catch a concert sometime that headlined her so I could have a bit more time to get acquainted with her music.
Grouplove
Christian Zucconi, Hannah Hooper, Andrew Wessen, Ryan Rabin, Daniel Gleason
So little to say about this opening act. They had a couple of songs I thought were good, and quite a few with which I couldn’t connect at all. They had huge teeth above and below the stage that you can see in the background. All in all they struck me as an opening band and I’ll be honest to me they just didn’t really click. I will say that they played well and it may just be my musical tastes more than anything that they did. What do you think? Did you like it and am I too harsh a critic? Love to hear your opinion.
what did not work?
As I said above, anytime that Imagine Dragons was on stage it worked! They played a fantastic show. The only criticism I have deals with lulls in their performance. Quite a few times they moved off the stage, perhaps to rest, perhaps to change costumes, I’m not sure… during their absence the audience was left with lights, music that was either played from off stage, or canned, and odd videos of people either falling, or in an odd pose, rotating around. I found myself just waiting wishing the band was back and playing/singing. During these lulls the entire audience would sit, eat some kettle corn, take a drink or three and wait for a moment or two for them to return. This was a serious contrast to the times when the band was onstage performing as then, the audience was always standing, moving and cheering. Typically in these times I’ve seen bands allow the less front facing members do solos or otherwise get in some face time with the audience. What do you guys think? Was the pacing odd for you too or am I just not paying enough attention to the videos and missing important things?
