This being the very first concert for my 11 year old Charlie, it was a pretty proud Dad moment for an old music hack.
The Temper Trap are tonight's openers and their mellow moodscaping is easy to swallow, as the likes of Thick as Thieves, Resurrection and Fader warmed the early crowd.
The boys love a clap along, and with the audience predominantly Mums, Dads and kids, it wasn't too hard to get them engaged.
Fall Together paved the way for the obvious closer in Sweet Disposition , the trademark track for The Trap and a true classic with its effortless heart string tugs and killer hooks.
With a sparser than sparse stage setting, a visual backdrop history of the creation of the Earth sets it up for Imagine Dragons as they hook right into I Don't Know Why and the incisive stabs of Believer.
Energy overload from the outset, it's Dan Reynolds' almost Energiser bunny like stage presence that draws you in, shakes you up and completely engulfs your senses in one sweaty, committed, passion plus performance.
With respect to the recent Texas school massacre, Reynolds dedicates a keyboard accompanied solo rendition of Forever Young. Beautifully sad.
Whatever It Takes, Mouth of The River and Yesterday keep the energy levels high, before it gets almost a little evangelistic as Reynolds jumps down into the crowd to slap a few palms before opening up about his past battle with depression and anxiety and the joy of being alive...ahead of the moving infection of Demons.
A short and sweet cover of Bob Marley's Three Little Birds is the perfect leader into the skipalong bounce of On Top Of The World, as the bevy of balloons drop from above and a whole new lease of life comes into play.
As Dan darts sweaty and topless into the crowd once again, the rest of the band sneak down to the smaller stage at the rear of the room, where they slip into semi acoustic mode for the mesmeric smokiness of Next to Me...as it drips all over the canvas with its killer pop beauty.
A quick band intro and its the reflective Bet My Life On You , signing off before heading back to main stage for the massive tail enders of Thunder and the epic version of Radioactive.
A visual and aural overload on all fronts. Two awesome hours of pure, passionate, maturo pop that saw the little guy's ears ringing and his dial smiling!
Special!
Mark Fraser-redbackrock.com
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