With the release of their second album Smoke + Mirrors, the gents from Imagine Dragons returned to our shores for a very brief visit to give us a taste of their new songs live at an exclusive predominantly fan populated event at The Star Event Centre.
With no support act the boys from Las Vegas came out with a suitable array of flashing lights and started the show with “Shots”. They then follow that up with “It’s Time” and the crowd is singing along to this track off their first record Night Visions. They then flip back to a new track with “Gold” and we’re bathed in yellow lights and enormous synth enhanced bass drums. They shift gear and slow down a few paces for “Smoke + Mirrors” with its wispy dreamlike vocals.
Frontman Dan Reynolds takes a moment to chat to the crowd, saying that it still feels like Summer in Sydney and that they’d been enjoying all the great food and the sights and the women. Even going so far as to suggesting that they may want to buy a place and live here, which of course got a great cheer from the audience. It’s a nice little segue into playing “Summer” with its rolling synth and handclaps, and Reynolds switches from his lower register in the verses to his impressive falsetto in the choruses.
They barely take a pause as they then move into “Demons” and the lights are awash in shades of blues and purples as Reynolds proclaims “When you feel my heat, look into my eyes, it’s where my demons hide, it’s where my demons hide”. Interestingly they opt for the darker raucous track “I’m So Sorry” to follow that up with its stomping marching style beat, and it’s a great way of showcasing the bands progression and diversity in sound from record to record. “On Top Of The World” always feels like a bit of a party track.
And we get a bonus with “Rocks” thrown in for good measure, that’s filled with twangy guitars and Reynolds falsetto again but also gives the other band members to show off their vocal harmonies in a completely unexpected moment mid-way through the song. To round out the set we get more hand clapping with “I Bet My Life” and Reynolds trying to get us involved with choir practice and singing the chorus like scales. Then it’s the obvious set closer with “Radioactive”, and it’s enormous and bombastic and a perfect end to the night.
One of the things you’ll notice with Imagine Dragons is that they are a stadium band. Seeing them perform in a venue like the Event Centre in The Star, every single corner of the room is filled with their sound and it almost can’t be contained. It’s big, it’s bold and it’s all encompassing. Yes they have changes in tone and pace but rarely does it feel like their volume is turned down and it hardly ever looks like drummer Daniel Platzman is not beating the crap out of his drums. With the release of their second album and the tour to promote Smoke + Mirrors happening in September of this year, they’ve already moved on to playing arena size venues. It’s only a little while before they transition into those stadiums that their sound is clearly destined for.
Imagine Dragons will be touring Australia and New Zealand in September, for more information and tickets visit Frontier Touring.
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