Credit: Melissa Ruggieri
Credit: Melissa Ruggieri
BY MELISSA RUGGIERI
On Tuesday, Imagine Dragons brought their earnest pop-rock to the skies on a Southwest flight from their band headquarters in Las Vegas to Atlanta.
Less than 24 hours later, the band paid homage to their club roots with an intimate – and, of course, sold out – performance at Terminal West.
It was the final stop in a series of cities that have contributed to Imagine Dragons' rise (drummer Daniel Platzman hails from Atlanta and his parents were in the crowd), and a clever way to promote their new album, "Smoke + Mirrors."
Their second studio release, which rocketed to No. 1 on the Billboard 200 album chart upon its arrival last week, has already generated the rumbling hit, “I Bet My Life,” which on Wednesday night sounded as exuberant as anything heard in a Disney parade.
It's always special to see a band at its peak playing a cozy venue – the guys will return in July for a show at Philips Arena, which they sold out a year ago – and Imagine Dragons' brisk 60-minute set was a combination of catchy radio fodder and the debut of several muscular tracks from the new album.
“I can’t tell you how good it feels to be back in small clubs,” frontman Dan Reynolds said at the start of the mini-concert.
Throughout the show, Reynolds was engaging and expressive, frequently clasping the mic stand with his head bowed at the start of a song, but then bouncing, stretching his hands toward the crowd and patting his chest in rhythmic bliss as a tune unfolded.
Credit: Melissa Ruggieri
Credit: Melissa Ruggieri
After opening with the first song on “Smoke + Mirrors,” the percussively poppy “Shots,” the quartet of Reynolds, Platzman, bassist Ben McKee and guitarist Wayne Sermon (as well as a backing keyboardist), launched into the gloriously melodic “It’s Time,” their breakthrough hit from 2012’s monster full-length debut, “Night Visions.”
Sing-alongs were hearty and frequent, even on new songs such as the big, booming anthem “Gold” and the lightly funky “Summer.”
Reynolds peppered his conversation with locally sourced material, noting that Platzman raves about Fat Matt’s Rib Shack and the Flying Biscuit and also that the band hears about the Atlanta Hawks no matter where they are traveling.
While all of Imagine Dragons sounded exceptionally tight and polished, Reynolds has clearly pushed himself vocally for this new record, exploring more of his falsetto and turning woozy and hypnotic on the title track.
Along with their established parade of hits tailored for arenas – “Demons” and “Radioactive” topping that list – Imagine Dragons have assembled a new arsenal of songs that are primed for mass consumption.
The guitar squawking and heavy drumming that anchor the blues-tinged stomper “I’m So Sorry” and the quiet explosion that is “Friction” will surely soar in major venues this summer.
Expect a major production given the scope of these new songs. But for a few nights this past week, Imagine Dragons remembered the beauty of keeping things small.
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