June 18, 2018

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Many families spent a hot and humid Fathers Day evening at a sold-out Blossom Music Center with Grammy Award winners Imagine Dragons.

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It's been a long time since I have seen so many young kids at a rock concert.  The positive messages and the catchy pop/rock songs made Imagine Dragons the perfect choice for many dad's to bring their children to, and I'm sure for many of them, it was their first concert.

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And the band did not disappoint.

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They kicked off the show with their first number one smash "Radioactive," and never slowed down.

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Dan Reynolds, the lead singer of the band, is a bundle of energy as he bounded across the stage and out on the catwalk interacting with fans.  The buff singer appeared shirtless and remained that way for the entire show.

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The band is currently on their Evolve Tour and they played eleven tunes out of twenty-one from that album including "Rise Up," "I'll Make It Up To You" and "Start Over."

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For a first concert experience, Imagine Dragons gave the fans their money's worth.  There were great lights and sound, several smoke blasts, and three different blasts from  confetti cannons.

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The positive messages were there too.  Reynolds stated after the first song that "everyone is welcome" to their show.  Later in the set he declared, "I will not be boxed!" and then asked "Are you going to be boxed? Or are you going to be free?"  Which led to a resounding "Yes!" from the crowd. 

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Toward the end of the set, the band walked out into the crowd to a stage at the back of the pavilion to do a three song acoustic set.  Reynolds noted that it was guitarist Wayne Sermon's birthday week so he had the audience sing "Happy Birthday" to him.

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Reynolds was the first member to make his way back to the stage so he took that opportunity to tell the audience that "life is worth living!"  He admitted that he was diagnosed with depression years ago and that "depression and anxiety are the two biggest threats to young people today."  However, with the help of a therapist he said that he has overcome his depression and told the audience not to "keep it in" and to "talk to someone, a friend, a parent or a therapist."  He said that getting help "isn't a sign of weakness, but rather a sign of strength."

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I couldn't agree more.

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The concert ended with four of their biggest hits "Demons," "Thunder," "On Top Of The World" and the show closing "Believer."

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Great lights and sound, confetti, balloons and positive messages, what more could you want for a first concert?

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Review and photos by Greg Drugan

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