Fresh off their Grammy Award win for Best Rock Performance for the seemingly everlasting Top 5 track "Radioactive," the quartet of Dan Reynolds, bassist Ben McKee, electric guitarist Wayne “Wing” Sermon and drummer Daniel Platzman played Monday night at Bridgestone Arena to a hyped house of the fans who have taken the band’s 2013 album Night Visions to platinum sales in 18 countries.
Reynolds, who seemed humbled by a lightning speed year that has placed Imagine Dragons at the forefront of the rock universe, the band offered an energetic, high-spirited set enhanced by smoke plumes, elaborate lighting effects and a multiple unique drum kits.
Reynolds often held his microphone over the multigenerational crowd, which sang along to tunes from Night Visions, a huge success that peaked at No. 2 on the Billboard 200 album chart. During the uplifting “On Top of the World,” fans gleefully batted beach balls filled with confetti back and forth on the main floor.
Imagine Dragons, which began its career playing for tourists on the Vegas Strip, knows the value of working a crowd and offering high-energy entertainment. The four-member band has enjoyed a huge growth spurt in the last 12 months, culminating in a recent appearance on Saturday Night Live.
Several members of the band had family members in Nashville or local region. “I swear next to Vegas, Nashville is the only other city I could see calling home. The feeling you get when you are in this city is unparalleled to any other entertainment driven city in the world,” exclaimed Reynolds.
After thanking the audience for their support over the group's five-year existence, Imagine Dragons closed the show with an extra moody version of "Radioactive," the band's hit song that's become one of the most streamed songs of 2013.
Imagine Dragons proved that not all artists in the Top 40 need multiple wardrobe changes or an entourage of back up dancers to put on a one heck of a live show.