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Rating: In my concert-going experience, I was still missing the big event, the one with tens of thousands of people in an unimaginable crowd. Yes, the Muse concerts two years ago with 6 sold-out dates at the Forum were like that, but it was always an arena, not exactly a vast area where if you don't arrive early enough, everything looks microscopic. Actually, I didn't care that much, the bigger the events, the more mediocre the offer tends to be. However, I did feel the excitement in the end. This was thanks to my old and trusted friend who insisted on going to see Imagine Dragons. Without him, I probably wouldn't have bothered to stand alone for hours among 60,000 people for a band that I do like but only to a certain extent.
More an odyssey than a concert, it began with the endless catwalk (how freaking long is it???) you have to walk from the Rho-Fiera subway exit to the concert area, thankfully well indicated by signs and with plenty of people heading that way, making it a convenient reference to follow.
When I arrive, The Vaccines are already on stage. Never listened to them before, and from what I hear, they seem like a disposable and negligible indie-rock band, with straightforward and powerful guitar riffs and not much else to offer. I don't feel much affection for these types of bands, always seeking genius, sophistication, and variety.
Then the downpour begins, predicted by meteorologists, first stronger, then a bit less, but it doesn't stop; not everyone anticipated it, probably not even me or my friend. Lots of people seek shelter wherever they can, in the bathrooms, under the roofs bordering the dining area, or even using the trees. The fear of a cancellation at any moment is real, as is the question of a refund in such case, but eventually, it goes on one way or another, albeit with some delays. Måneskin also take the stage, a band product of the X-Factor breeding ground, but I take the opportunity to take shelter and dry off a bit in the bathrooms; maybe I'm a bit biased against names that pop up from talent shows, but I was not very interested; listening to them, they're not even that bad, but at the moment (in September 2018, given that their debut album is now out) they are an unnecessary cover band still without published albums.
Meanwhile, my friend arrives after having the brilliant idea of going to the opening of Starbucks and its watered-down coffee during the afternoon and after almost not getting in because of a portable charger (I hear these are bounced even at stadiums) that he ends up unsuccessfully trying to hide under a vending machine only to not find it again. He arrives in a short-sleeved shirt, completely without means of shelter (typical of his style) and immediately dives into the endless lines at the sandwich kiosks (again, fully in his style, hehe).
Then the Imagine Dragons performance can begin; I think of keeping my umbrella open, but people say it obstructs their view and ask me to close it. I regret not bringing the K-Way as many did, and in the end, I manage with a sweater on my head, even if it makes me look ridiculous. Instead, the vocalist Dan Reynolds comes on stage in shorts and shirtless; it almost feels like a mockery, like he's saying, "you're freezing under the rain, and I'm here showing how strong and resistant I am!"
The band performs almost the entire latest (still for a little longer, and I didn't know it would be still for a little longer) album "Evolve." They leave out only the concluding "Dancing in the Dark," which would have suited the rather gray colors of the surrounding atmosphere well, as dancing in the dark is exactly what we were all doing. By doing this, however, they leave little room for tracks from the previous album "Smoke + Mirrors," limiting themselves only to "Shots," which they intelligently introduce on the piano. A good handful instead from the first album "Night Visions," with 4 excerpts, two even placed right at the opening, "Radioactive" is introduced by the whole band on percussion, once again demonstrating their preference for percussive and almost tribal sounds, which they always insert into their records; then "It's Time" with the essential electric mandolin played by guitarist Wayne Sermon; on "Demons," Dan sings an interesting monologue about depression (which he himself would have suffered from) and the importance of dialogue to overcome it; however, "On Top of the World" is the track that warms up the audience, making them forget the rain, everyone sings and dances, even hopping in place, a song that was already engaging in the studio and its effect in a live setting was pretty predictable.
There's also a prominent brief cover of "Every Breath You Take" by The Police, which even the younger audience sings, demonstrating how great classics of the past manage to reach future generations without problems; I feared many would have the courage to sing "I'll be missing you" instead of "watching" as happened in Puff Daddy's pseudo-cover, but the danger was avoided (it's a version that is also quite dated and certainly less famous, probably not very well known by twenty-somethings and millennials). The setlist also includes the brand new "Natural," just released and a prelude to the imminent new album "Origins," which was then released in November.
The sound quality does justice to the band; I have often criticized the band for the rather questionable production choices made in the studio, here in a live setting everything seems to go the right way; the sound feels crisper and they really seem more like musicians, especially the guitar work is better highlighted; just listen to the versions of "I Don't Know Why," "Believer," and "Natural" and notice how the guitar work is more prominent live, whereas in the studio it seemed rather suffocated; there is also room for some moderate virtuosity, Daniel Platzman grants a brief drum solo before "I Don't Know Why" and Ben McKee performs a brief slap bass solo in the middle of "Start Over;" essentially anyone who has doubts about the band can reconsider seeing them live, it's exactly here that they express their best; perhaps this can be said for any commercial group but in their case - who already show potential in the studio, accompanied by many doubts - the live performance removes all the doubts they may raise.
All considerations that probably don't even cross the minds of thousands of attendees, mostly consumers of commercial music, many of whom are very young (many millennials with families as well), musically not very knowledgeable and not paying attention to the musicians' work (like the kind who wouldn't notice if the bassist stopped playing), who see music only as sheer fun and don't care about the quality; if Imagine Dragons are hugely successful honestly it's not because of skill, something people don't understand, but because they are very very catchy and fun; but we reviewers, who are aesthetes of music, do make these considerations…
An excellent choice to include intros in several tracks, as if the goal is to charge up the audience to better prepare them to enjoy the track. However, the choice to lower the keys of most tracks, sometimes even by a few tones, is debatable; many tracks end up losing the energy that characterizes them, resulting in a more subdued sound (the most penalized is undoubtedly "Walking the Wire"), however, the sound quality is not altered.
The visual impact is excellent, like that of major events, various colorful images accompany the performances, making the concert spectacular, without which we probably wouldn't remember it as a great concert, or at least not as great. There are also colorful neon lights on the sides of the stage, confetti and smoke are not missing, and during "On Top of the World," balloons fly among the audience. And that hated rain actually turned out to be an integral part of the show; visible in the light especially in some shots projected on the monitors, it seemed like it fell in rhythm with the music and actively contributed to the kaleidoscope of lights and colors, making the movements of the group and all of us a real rain dance. And then there was a distant element that, upon reflection, was part of the show: clearly, this is the Tree of Life, a symbol of Expo 2015, better visible to those positioned on the right and well captured by their smartphones; if we look at some video contributions on YouTube made by this group, we can very well admire the illuminated Tree changing colors, serving as an excellent accompaniment to the music.
The end of the rain marks the end of the concert, as if destiny wanted it to be soaked. However, in the end, it was worth it; not even that much suffering since I returned home not at all cold, not at all devastated, maybe because I'm a rock… The lesson I take from this experience is not to underestimate so-called "smaller and more popular bands" because they can also offer remarkable and unforgettable performances. But with the next events, I'll return to more serious bands, starting with Tears For Fears in February and continuing with Haken in March.
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