(The stage crew diligently worked to clear water off the long walkway stage.)Įven those moments had their upside: Between sets, to pass the time and perhaps to keep spirits up, the audience across the stadium did The Wave, keeping it going for several rounds before Imagine Dragons took the stage.

And there was the sudden jolt of pouring rain just before the Dragons took the stage, sending people running for cover or, if they were prepared, putting on their rain ponchos and jackets. Some fans were caught short by the stadium’s strict, and apparently last-minute, bag policy - forcing them to either take their purses back to their cars or check their bags. A series of short videos guided the show, a narrative journey of the “Mercury” album - which Reynolds, choking up, said was “to celebrate those we have lost and to hope for something more.”īeing the first show of this leg of the tour, there were some opening-night glitches.

For the song “On Top of the World,” large multi-color balloons were tossed around the pit, bobbing through the air like beach balls.He dedicated the song “Believer” to Ukraine, and took a moment to speak against the Russian invasion there.Reynolds dedicated the song “Demons,” another early single, to “anyone with heavy depression and anxiety” and implored them to remember “you are not alone” and “your life is always worth living.”.

He held a pride flag while he sang the song, which has become an anthem for LGBTQ+ people, with the line in the chorus, “I’m never changing who I am.” Reynolds introduced “It’s Time,” the band’s first hit single, by recalling how he wrote the song in his dorm room at Brigham Young University.The crowd was on its feet from the moment the band took the stage until the last chord of the final song vibrated through the breeze.

Reynolds sometimes left the stage to go down into the crowd, interacting with fans and small children.Īll of this stagecraft combined to let every person in the stadium - from the pit to the back rows - feel like they were an important part of the show, crucial to its success. Wrist bands given to the audience were synchronized, and lt up with every song. The set list was a good mix of the band’s established hits and cuts off of 2021′s “Mercy - Act 1″ and this year’s “Mercury - Act 2.” Songs like “Younger” and the classic “Radioactive” were accompanied with pyrotechnics.

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