By Eve Cheesmur

Artist:  Imagine Dragons

Date / Venue:  Tuesday October 15th, The Powerstation, Auckland

Walking up the aggregate along Mt Eden Road to the Powerstation and wincing from the cold winds hardly rendered connotations of strolling The Strip in Las Vegas in the scorching desert heat where Imagine Dragons formed in 2008. Stepping inside the venue however, I was transported to the bright lights that Las Vegas is notorious for.....those lights could mean one thing, a show.

The split venue consisted of: Top level; excitable teenagers wearing clothes that would have given them frostbite if worn outside. Bottom level; the parents. One, a clearly designated driver and the other, trying to relive their youth by consuming as many drinks in the short performance as possible while inflicting sideways glances from their significant sober other.

Dan Reynolds, is the obviously ring leader of Imagine Dragons. His energy, charisma and general showmanship is one which seems as if it has been trained with diligence - Dan has his performance down pat. There was not a note off tune, a step out of beat, or a hand gesture untoward. At times he felt forced and trite, but perhaps I'm being picky that not a single hair on his head was out of place and understand that perfection is fine for some.

The rest of the band were seasoned professionals and everyone performed an extremely tight set....not a single slip up to speak of. The percussion was the highlight of the night, it seemed as though every band member donned some drum sticks at some point or another. Dan played to the crowd, directing the microphone to the happy-to-sing-along fans, it felt at times like a flash back to a school disco.

Melding from dub, to classical, to rock, then pop the hour was full of a mish mash of genres, each one eloquently performed and perfectly put together. Classics like 'Demon's', and 'On Top Of The World' had the fans in a frenzy....almost to the point of ears bleeding from the teenage girls shrill cries from upstairs.

Finishing on a high with the hit song 'Radioactive', Imagine Dragon's left a lingering smile on the faces of the young and old as they filed out of the Powerstation. The City of Sins' rock pop son's showed Auckland a seamless and precise performance and I'm sure they'd be welcomed back with open arms.

Tagged as : Imagine Dragons | The Powerstation | Auckland | concert review |