Imagine Dragons give it their all
Calgary debut goes well for Las Vegas rockers
Graham Duncan
Contributor
For a band that is the picture perfect definition of an overnight success, Imagine Dragons certainly play like they’ve been doing this for years.
Rocking out at Mac Hall on Mar. 12, the band from Las Vegas played a sold-out show for Calgary, and rewarded the city with an intense show for filling the venue.
It was nice to see Calgary respond with such a warm welcome for the band, seeing as how we have waited a long time for their live debut here. They were certainly worth the wait.
Imagine Dragons are all too aware of their overnight success label, so they play their hearts out at show to endear themselves to fans. Photo courtesy: flickr.com/LouLG
Maybe it’s because they spent so many years playing any show they could that Imagine Dragons doesn’t feel too inexperienced, despite being rookies on the touring front.
As a band they are capitalizing on their efforts, which is nice as Imagine Dragons maybe have the knock on them that there are better bands out there right now that haven’t been as successful.
While their music is enjoyable, it does have a lot of repetitive themes which could easily bore a casual fan away from listening to their albums.
However, to compensate for this, the band gives beyond 110 per cent in energy and fan interactions at their shows, as if they know that they have to play as hard as they can to keep the crowd into it. Everyone at Mac Hall didn’t seem to mind, as they gave the band the same energy right back.
They opened with a loud exclamation of a song in “Round and Round,” which was heavy on the percussion. This set the stage for an in-your-face show that rarely lifted its foot off the gas petal.
If it hadn’t have been for that enthusiasm, the show would have climaxed way too soon, leaving a lot of fans checking their watches and strolling out early.
The band proclaimed their love for Calgary, and promised to be back soon. Obviously, they were referring to their May 24 date, which will be at the BMO Centre. Imagine Dragons had the feel of an arena band, so it makes sense that they have already booked for larger venues.
However, anyone who was at the Mac Hall show can likely cross the second show off their list. It is difficult to imagine that Imagine Dragons will be adding much to their repertoire in that time, and their live show is fun once, but it will probably lose a lot of its appeal during an encore performance.
Still, for a one night show in the midst of one of the harsher points in Calgary’s winter, this was a full, electric night to give patrons enough of a feel good buzz to at least last until the weekend. It will be interesting to see Imagine Dragons in a couple years to see if they deviate from what they know works, but until then, they’ll keep doing their thing from city to city.
If the band is able to keep up the intensity, then it shouldn’t be a problem for them at all.
