Concert review: A more reflective Imagine Dragons show after six-year absence

Imagine Dragons – Loom World Tour In Singapore

Singapore Indoor Stadium
Nov 25

It has been six years since Imagine Dragons performed in Singapore and their absence has been keenly felt.

Some 10,000 fans attended the American pop-rock band’s sold-out show, their fourth in the Lion City.

The Las Vegas-based quartet, formed in 2008, previously rocked the Singapore Indoor Stadium in 2015 and 2018, during their Smoke + Mirrors and Evolve tours respectively. In 2016, they also played the Padang Stage at the Formula One Singapore Airlines Singapore Grand Prix.

Imagine Dragons’ time away was noted by lead singer Dan Reynolds, who said during the 100-minute show: “It has been too long, Singapore.”

Thankfully, some things never change. The band’s adrenaline-pumping early hits such as Thunder and Believer made the set list and received some of the loudest cheers.

Reynolds also prompted several screams when he removed his white singlet after the fourth song, and continued to perform topless for the rest of the electrifying show.

The group’s bass-heavy numbers got the concertgoers on their feet. The stage set-up included a runway that allowed Reynolds to get closer to the fans, and the dazzling display of laser lights and smoke effects, together with at least six confetti showers, further raised the excitement level.

Their newer music, however, has injected more complexity and depth to their discography, which has previously been criticised for being formulaic and repetitive.

Since their last concert here in 2018, Imagine Dragons have released three studio albums – Origins (2018), Mercury – Acts 1 & 2 (2022) and Loom (2024) – which deal with a number of dark themes, from loss and loneliness to grief and a false sense of empowerment.

They have also seen the departure of drummer Daniel Platzman, who left in August. Apart from Reynolds, the group consist of guitarist Wayne Sermon and bassist Ben McKee, while Andrew Tolman serves as their touring drummer.

These changes resulted in a more reflective show amid the raised energy.

The show opened with Fire In These Hills, a slow track from Loom about feeling exhausted and wanting a change in the pace of life, against a night-time desert backdrop.

Also on the set list was the bombastic rap-rock number Enemy from the Netflix animated series Arcane (2021 to 2024), which touches on the idea of distrust and division.

There was also the mid-tempo Bones, performed in front of an animated dancing skeleton. The rollicking rock song is a reflection on mortality, and was used in a teaser for the Prime Video television series The Boys (2019 to present).

During the show, Reynolds – who in 2023 split from his wife, American singer Aja Volkman, with whom he shares four children aged five to 12 – said: “Life is incredibly difficult and complex. Whatever you need from tonight, I hope you have it.”

The 37-year-old also shared that he was depressed when he wrote his first song at the age of 12 in the late 1990s.

Back then, he recalled that he hated his voice and never sang for anybody. It was only through writing songs that he could express what was inside him.

“I did not know who I was,” he said. “I had no idea what I wanted to be. I never believed I had anything to offer.”

But music changed his life, and he hoped his story would encourage the crowd to reach out if they too were struggling with depression.

“The only thing I have found to help me with that is to express it. Just talk to somebody, if it is a friend, family member or therapist. You have something to offer the world, and we need you to stay here. Your life is always worth living.”