Concert review: Imagine Dragons are kryptonite to the cynical


Their Bell Center concert is built for reciprocity, with handclaps, foot stomps, and repeatable hooks at every turn.

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“I don’t say this to be preachy,” Imagine Dragons lead singer Dan Reynolds began before saying something that could be constructed as such.

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“We are not strangers. We are co-existing.”

He then reminded a packed audience at the Bell Center on Tuesday night to “let go and stop judging each other.”

Message received, Dan.

His band has long been an easy target for critics of uncool, big tent earnestness in rock, but the proof is in the ticket sales – few rock contemporaries can say they’re capable of headlining two straight nights at the Bell Centre. The Las Vegas quartet return Wednesday.

Reynolds said the group enjoyed using Montreal as their de facto band headquarters for two weeks while they drove to and from nearby cities for shows, including Quebec City, Moncton and Ottawa. Even their families made the trip. I thanked the fans he’d met during that time.

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As torchbearers of modern rock in a sea of ​​pop, rap and legacy arena headliners, Imagine Dragons are unlikely candidates, but they spent two hours on stage Tuesday working to prove themselves worthy. Their songs may lack a classic rock crunch, but they’re built for reciprocity with handclaps, foot stomps, and repeatable hooks at every turn.

The chiselled Reynolds was a preacher man in white sneakers and pastels, imbuing his performance with so much wholesome sincerity and adrenaline, it’s at once captivating as it is unprovocative. The cross-stage calisthenics never ceased for the frontman, except to occasionally drop to his knees, and he walked into the crowd to bathe in the adulation. He espoused peace and love like Ringo with a six-pack and suggested a Bob Marley cover (“Three Little Birds”) could “wash it all away” — it being the last two years. A lofty promise for a song, but the crowd enjoyed singing along nonetheless.

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As a unit, the quintet (four main members Reynolds, guitarist Wayne Sermon, bassist Ben McKee and drummer Daniel Platzman, plus a touring keyboardist) aren’t as weighed down by the fast-fashion production choices on their records. Songs that are overflowing with bells and whistles were able to breathe a little bit with a more conventional setup. Yet for every explosive Thunder or pummelling Natural that fills the room with ease and wastes little time getting to the point, there’s an overcooked Follow You or Whatever It Takes that collapses under the weight of too many ideas.

Moments where the band dialed it back further, as they did for a stripped down section with the otherwise ponderous ballad Next to Me and the aforementioned Marley cover, were met with rapturous applause. Arena-made smash Radioactive also benefited from a calmer, piano-led touch.

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Prior to It’s Time, Reynolds shared the group’s backstory about how the song, written while stomping at a kitchen table, marked a turning point in the group’s trajectory a decade ago. It also showed how the band has stealthily maneuvered across the pop landscape as tastes have changed. Some of the folk accoutrements on that song from 2012 debut Night Visions and the Mumfordian twists of I Bet My Life from Smoke + Mirrors sound dated, although the band plugged away with faithful reproductions to an appreciative Montreal crowd.

It’s unavoidable these days, and understandably so: acts that come around the Bell Center for the foreseeable future will reference the last two years and suggest their performance can act as a sort of spiritual balm for all the chaos happening beyond the arena walls. Imagine Dragons are no different, although what perhaps separates them from the pack and endears them to so many is how breaking through the tumult with relentless positivity is hardwired into the band’s DNA.

Their message may make them kryptonite to the cynical, and their musical choices may limit their chances of ever headlining Coachella, but their fanbase remains steadfast. As trends shift two years into a new decade, Imagine Dragons appear to have the Teflon touch.

Imagine Dragons perform again at the Bell Center on Wednesday. Tickets are available.

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