Imagine Dragons’ arena rock is here to stay

Imagine Dragons lead singer Dan Reynolds | photo by Michelle Montgomery | www.michellemontgomeryphotography.com Las Vegas rockers Imagine Dragons released their debut single “It’s Time” in August 2012. The song almost immediately captured the attention of music fans around the globe with its percussion-heavy, melodically rich chorus. The song is from the band’s debut album, Night Visions, which, since its release in September, 2012, has become one of the biggest selling albums over the last several years anchored by the singles “Radioactive,” “On Top Of The World,” and “Demons.”

While the album received mixed reviews by critics, it’s been their fans that have helped Imagine Dragons win the rock and roll battle, commanding significant sales for the album and nearly several sold out tours of large venues and festivals since its release. Imagine Dragons are more than arena rock ready, and whether you like them or not, they’ve become an undeniably great stadium band.

The Dragons returned to the area on Friday night at the Susquehanna Bank Center for a sold out show that featured openers The Naked and The Famous and Nico Vega. The last time the Dragons played the area was at Made In America where their afternoon set was one of the festival’s highlights. At the Susquehanna Bank Center the band – featuring lead vocalist and percussionist Dan Reynolds, guitarist Wayne Sermon, bassist Ben McKee and drummer Daniel Platzman – played a well paced, energetic, highly propulsive and percussive hour and 1/2 set of at the Susquehanna Bank Center.

While there may not be such a thing as a casual Imagine Dragons fan, the SBC was filled with the hardcore, who sang along and held onto almost every song the band performed from Night Visions. The band played a commendable cover of Rush’s “Tom Sawyer,” which nicely showed off drummer Platzman’s and guitarist’s Sermon’s musical proficiency. Amidst smoke canons, banks of of flashing lights, and surrounded by their now signature floor tom-tom drums and giant stand alone drums, the band played under a giant moon sized screen that projected images of burning suns, forests, oceans and visually stunning National Geographic styled images of the earth. The audience, a multi-generational mix of parents and their young kids, highschoolers dressed in Vampire Weekend, Odd Future t-shirts and Converse sneakers, and plenty of Bud light drinking young adults, all bonded over some of the most notable radio hit songs of the last two years.

Setlist
Fallen
Tiptoe
Hear Me
It’s Time
Who We Are
Rocks
The River
Amsterdam
Cha-Ching (Till We Grow Older)
Tom Sawyer (Rush cover)
30 Lives
Demons
On Top of the World
Radioactive
Bleeding Out/Monster/Nothin Left to Say