Imagine Dragons Night Visions Tour Concert Review

Imagine Dragons 2013 Concert Review
Imagine Dragons perform at the House of Blues in Anaheim, CA - Photo © Richard Chavez

It was a beautiful Tuesday evening in Anaheim, CA, home of Disneyland Park, California Adventures, and Downtown Disney where the House of Blues is located and was filled with fans of three bands: opening acts Nico Vega and Atlas Genius, and headliners, Imagine Dragons. The March 19, 2013 show, which was completely sold out, was to support their latest release, Night Visions.

Fans of all ages were lined up anxiously awaiting the chance to get into the general admission venue, hoping to get a spot right up on the railing to see their favorite bands play up close and personal. However, location didn’t really matter as no matter where you were in the venue, every spot was a great spot. Once doors opened at approximately 6:30pm and the ticket hosts and security started checking bags and pockets with their security wands, the fans darted straight up the stairs into the venue.

Nico Vega was the first act to get the night started. They put on a pretty cool performance and at one point were sampling themselves, making some beatbox-type noises to humming melodies creating an awesome beat and sound. The sounds of Nico Vega remind me of something my aunts and uncles would listen to while smoking weed or taking some sort of drug. I think at some point I was having a flashback.

Next up on stage was Atlas Genius. They played songs from their new album When It Was Now. It was like listening to the CD on your iPod or iTouch on random mode with a bunch of friends. Everyone was singing, dancing and having a great time. They finally ended their set list with their KROQ hit “Trojans,” with the lead singer introducing it by saying, “It’s not a song about condoms, although that would be a cool song.”

Finally, it was time for the main event. The House of Blues was completely packed. The stage was filled with drums at every musicians’ spot including Dan Reynolds. There were also tree-like props that held lights on every branch, and oval-shaped screens that had images playing during some of the songs. There were also huge bass drums that Dan played as well. The lights went out and on the screens behind them were eyes. With the sounds of thunder playing during the intro, the band mates came out only to play all the drums that were on the stage. The crowd was going nuts. After the intro, they opened up with “Round and Round.” Every song from that point was connected with random drum beats or some sort of guitar sound effects. They played all of their hits played on KROQ, “Demons” and “Radioactive”, ending their set with of course, “It’s Time.”

Coming out one last time, they played “Nothing Left To Say.” At one point during the show, Dan took time to say thank you to the fans for being there for them, also saying that he really loved playing at such a small place because of the great feeling of intimacy. I was totally blown away by their performance and stage presence. I hope to get an opportunity to see these guys again. TRUE MUSICIANS!!!!