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Show A7 LIFE Dan Reynolds keeps the energy up on stage as Imagine Dragons performs JUNE 3, 2013 Prophets in their own land: a sort of homecoming for Imagine Dragons Imagine Dragons may have hit it big, but they still care about their home. By Alex Sousa Managing Editor @TwoFistedSousa Lease today fo spend summer your wa ard-winning Residence Life P Fastest intemet in Orem ee stand-up tanning booth for residents On UTA bus route to UVU and BYU onthly activities for residents 24 hour emergency maintenance staff ated fitness center Two sparkling pools and jacuzzis and facilities in each building ly furnished apartments and shared bedrooms sketball court Sand volleyball court Walking distance from UVU m 11,11LJlui I,,I iv-ng. redefined. I saw Imagine Dragons over three years ago at the Velour, a dimly lit and intimate music hovel in downtown Provo. That stage was small, the building had a 250-person capacity and the band was one that seemed to still be finding its direction. That was not the same band I saw tonight playing for a crowd of over 8,000 in a full-blown rock show at the UCCU Events Center. I'm not talking about the changes they've made to their lineup. The Imagine Dragons of today are a fully realized indie rock ensemble whose fan base has grown exponentially since their inception four years ago. These are born showmen built for the big stage and high-energy antics to accompany the pounding beat of their modern rock. Even without their theatrics— which are something to behold— Imagine Dragons knows how to captivate an audience, at the very least by tantalizing and teasing with long, wailing riffs in between songs that excite and entice the audience to the point of overflow. Much of their stage presence comes from frontman Dan Reynolds. He is pure energy who held the massive audience in his palm. He's gracious and humble, it's easy to understand why so many people like him and respond so well to him Three years ago, when I saw them, Reynolds was just as rambunctious, but his movements seemed awkward and frantic. Now, after this most recent performance, I understand that, if anything, Reynolds was merely stifled by the size of the venue. His stage persona is too big for those paltry venues they've spent the better part of their career playing. Imagine Dragons, and Reynolds most of all, demands a big stage and a big audience. He spent a good portion of his banter preaching a gospel of freedom to the crowd who eagerly pumped their fists in solidarity to his words. Saying he believed that once a month, or at least once a year a person should make time to be completely free, he convinced the audience to hug their neigh- bor and prove they had shaken off any shackles we might have been bound by. Reynolds' antics are sprawling and his energy takes up the whole stage— sometimes even more than that. Many times the crowd swayed in time during their interludes, eagerly anticipating whatever came next. And that eager anticipation would boil over into applause for absolutely no reason at all, other than the crowd just being that excited to be there, to be a part of it, to witness the spectacle before them. And they were definitely met with spectacle. One of the longest interludes came at the halfway mark of the show, while Reynolds disappeared off stage. He came back for an overthe-top performance of their hit single "Radioactive," what would be the high-water mark of the show. In an example of Reynolds needing more than just the stage to contain his energy, he was hoisted fifty feet in the air above the audience where he beat away at a drum attached to the fixtures above. As he ascended over the crowd they roared in applause. I felt those tingles that can only be caused by absolute awe. And that's part of the brilliance of Imagine Dragons—they know how to reward their fans. 66 Imagine Dragons means so much more to us than a critically acclaimed artist. And their fans are an eclectic mix which employs the type of rabid fanaticism that was captured on news reels during the height of Beatle mania. The roar of the crowd was deafening, at times even overpowering the music itself, a truly impressive feat for an indoor venue and such a raucous sound. I spent the better part of the opening acts —Nico Vega and Utah's own The Moth & The Flame— sandwiched between a musclebound behemoth and a scraggly hipster. In front of us was a family of four. A parent who probably hadn't been to a rock show since the pinnacle of grunge in the early 90's, and their two teenage kids who were young enough or secureenough not to care that they were at a concert with their parents. It's a fan base that has grown so fast it's like that of a band beyond the years of Imagine Dragons. I wondered how many people in that crowd there had been at that same show I saw in early 2010. Surely there had to be someone, but they were lost in the crowd of new faces. It was obvious that many of the people there were not the diehard concert type. There was complaining about the heat, the standing, and the waiting—all staples of live shows. So, what had brought out so many new faces, I wondered? Why would this band be the one to bring them here? Brandon Robbins, frontman of the Moth and the Flame nailed it during the opening act. "We know you all have dreams," he said as he went on to talk about how amazing it was to stand in front of that crowd, and play as a supporting artist for their headlining friend. This is what they had always wanted for themselves, they were living the dream. And maybe that's what this is all about; maybe that's why so many people were at this show. Imagine Dragons means so much more to us than a critically acclaimed artist. They represent the thing we all want. No matter what we do in life, we all want to be rock stars. Not that we all want to get up on stage and be met with the adoration of fans, but we want what those real rock and rollers have. We want freedom, we want to love what we do, and we want to be so good at it that nobody can tell us how we should be doing it. Imagine Dragons represent the living dream, that little piece of immortality. And as Reynolds ascended once more above the crowd during the final encore, exalting himself above the crowd, one could almost reach out and grab a piece of it. "We'll keep coming back" Reynolds said, "as long as you'll keep having us." This is a homecoming, of sorts, for Imagine Dragons who were briefly based here in their early days. They're prophets in their own land here, preaching of freedom, love and revolution, I suppose. But can it last, I wonder? It got so big, so fast is the dream enough to sustain us? They have a sound that's clearly connected to so many people, but it's up to those people to keep them exalted. NOW RENTING STARTING FALL Men's and Women's BYU & UVU Approved Single Student Housing Tropical Solarium With Year Round Beach Sand Volleyball and Pool! Come Live In A Student Complex Where Everyone Agrees To Live LDS Standards! We Are BYU Approved Student Housing With Easy Acess to UVU! 2 YSA Student Wards With Almost 400 Students! Large Private Rooms With Own Bathroom! Fully Furnished & High Speed Internet CHANGE FROM A6 UTA Bus #830 Every 15 Minutes! 12 min ride to BYU & 14 min to UVU! nMIL L CONDOM I N I UMS See the Wheelhouse On-site or BYU & UVU Off-Campus Housing Site For Avaialbility Prices Start At Under $300/month! 724 West 1720 North - Provo Change scares me, but it also gives me a reason to go on. New challenges will present themselves every day, and I will rise to face them. Or I will try and possibly fail. Anything can happen. So here I am, the new editor for a section I had no interest in at all during my time on the paper. I wanted the challenge of running a section that is busy. The section that chronicles the events and happenings of UVU and its students, and I am not unmoved by the enormity of the task I have chosen to undertake. Life is about change. It's what drives the world and the people on it. We react to what is thrown our way, good or bad. We overcome adversity to be able to look ourselves in the eyes and be able to do so with pride. My life is changing, and so is yours. Please join me on this new adventure. Welcome to your new Life, UVU. |