This article was written by my son M 🙂
Last August 27, 2015, Imagine Dragons held its first ever concert in the Philippines. Lead singer Dan Reynolds and his band-mates, guitarist Wayne “Wing” Sermon, bassist Ben McKee, and drummer Daniel Platzman, brought their Las Vegas rock music all the way to our shores.
I first learned about Imagine Dragons through video games. I was playing an IOS game, Infinity Blade 3, when I heard “Monster”. I really liked it! My curiosity led me to discover that they also sang a lot of my favorite songs such as “It’s Time”, “On Top of the World”, and “Radioactive”. I apparently hadn’t been giving them due credit. They are such a laidback, “unpretty” band with great songs.
The concert started at around 8:45 PM. They casually entered the stage looking like they had just woken up from a late night’s sleep. However, once the show started, it was clear that they were prepared to jam like crazy. “Shots” was first on their playlist. Although the Mall Of Asia Arena was only half full, the place was filled with a multitude of voices as the crowd sang, “I shot, shot, shot everything that I loved!” The band’s next song “Trouble” was received as warmly.
Dan lost no time making a connection to the fans. “Mahal ko kayo! (I love you) This morning my bandmate told me “Bobo ka ba? (Are you dumb?) – a phrase he must’ve picked up somewhere.” As the crowd laughed at his attempts to speak the language, the singer said, “Ikaw ay gundumgundum.” (You are pretty.) Acknowledging that they must sound like crazy Americans, Dan then shared that his two brothers lived in the Philippines and that his best friend is a Filipino.
“It’s Time” was sung next. Dan said he heard that Filipinos were good at karaoke. He put our singing skills to the test as we sang along with him – something that fans would do for the rest of the night. “Forever Young”, “Smoke and Mirrors”, “Polaroid” and “I’m So Sorry” rounded the first half of the concert.
Although the concert was called Smoke + Mirrors Tour, there was no trickery involved. Great singing and a fantastic light show made the whole thing spectacular! Everyone happily sung along as the band played their second half playlist-“Gold”, “Amsterdam”, “Demons”, “Hopeless Opus”, “On Top of the World”, “Friction”, and “I Bet My Life”. It got so incredibly loud that I could feel my whole body vibrating.
The second to the last song “Radioactive” sent the people into an excited frenzy! I saw people jumping up and down as they bobbed their hands and waved their hands. The show ended with the band playing “The Fall”. Dan got a Philippine flag from a fan and waved it as he sang.
This concert was definitely one of the best I’ve been to. Not once did I sit down! Days later, I found myself listening to their songs on YouTube. Their lyrics are relevant, relatable and appealing to the young audience. I think that’s why the band is so popular among the youth. I can’t wait until the next time Imagine Dragons rocks the Philippines again!
