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ahnsael · 2 years

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I failed to mention this here.

I didn’t make it through the whole concert.

I woke up at 3am yesterday (I’m graveyard, so that was sleeping in for me; I tried to sleep longer but couldn’t get back to sleep). After that, plus an 8-hour drive to Vegas, and walking into a blazing hot hotel room (it has one of those below-the-window air conditioners that had been turned off since the last guest left the room, whenever that was).

The concert started at 6:30pm with the first opening act, Kings Elliot. They (all two of them) played for a half hour.ly know a couple of his songs so I wasn’t that into it

15 minutes later at 7:15, Macklemore took the stage as the second opening act. I only know of a couple of his songs so I wasn’t that into it except for Same Love. But for most of the first two acts I was just kinda waiting for Imagine Dragons.

Macklemore played for an hour and absolutely brought the house down. I wasn’t too much into it, but the crowd was going ballistic for him (and to be fair, it was a really good performance; I was just tired and he wasn’t who I was there to see, but a LOT of the crowd knew him better than I do and I’m glad they had fun listening to him and watching his band, and he seemed blown away by the response). He mentioned that when COVID hit and live shows were a no-go, he thought his musical career was over. And touring with Imagine Dragons had revived it. So good for him. He may not be someone I’m that into (though I don’t dislike him), but to get his career back after the past few years when he could not perform, good on him. As I said, I don’t dislike him; he’s just not someone that I’m into much.

He left the stage at 8:15, and by the time the stage crew changed the stage setup for Imagine Dragons, they didn’t come out until around 8:40, so the event had already been going on for over two hours.

Dan Reynolds, the lead singer, started off talking about how he was born and raised in Vegas (which I knew, and expected him to mention, and thought that may mean a more elaborate show), and that when the band was first finding their footing, they would play for a crowd of 50 people or less at O’Sheas (the only casino I’ve EVER accused of cheating) on the strip (I rolled a 7 on Craps and they called it a four but I didn’t drink back then and I KNOW I was right).

And last night there were about 30,000 of us according to Macklemore, who considered it the best show he’s ever experienced as a performer (that may have been, as they call it in wrestling, “cheap pop,” but the crowd was CLEARLY very into the performance so I’m going to assume it was honest...with Dan I 100% believed the heart behind what he was saying).

Dan said “We’re going to play EVERYTHING” and I thought, “under normal circumstances I would LOVE this statement but I am SO tired. It’s been a VERY long day already.” And most Imagine Dragons concerts I’ve watched on YouTube (their part after opening acts) are between an hour and a half and two hours

The 15 second video I posted last night (https://ahnsael.tumblr.com/post/695086786768158720/but-we-did-all-get-light-up-wristbands-on-the-way) was during the first song of the night, My Life, which is one of my favorite songs of theirs (from last night’s show that I was at, but not filmed by me; I decided to live in the moment instead of filming except for that 15 second clip when I was blown away by the wrist band lights, and hardly used my binoculars -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QrkSlioGwq8 -- I haven’t found the full concert yet but they usually end up on YouTube; so far I’ve found a couple of things that I missed).

The wristbands started lighting up when the song went from slow to fast, and they were part of literally every song that I was there for. As soon as I was outside the stadium my wristband stopped lighting up (I was hoping the signal would go the the hotel next door so I could know how long the show went). But I LOVED them opening the show with that song. King’s Elliot had talked about depression. Macklemore had talked about depression. And here was Imagine Dragons, singing a song about depression to open the show. I loved that theme since I suffer from depression and it’s ALWAYS helpful (for me, at least) to be told that I’m not alone.

At almost 10pm, Dan said “we’re just getting started. We may be here all night.”

And it’s Vegas, so I thought they may indeed play until 4am (I have almost 8 hours of their music on Apple Music).Because he said they were going to play “everything” and that’s about how long that would take. I KNEW I couldn’t last that long. And they DIDN’t play that long, but they played longer than I could last.

I had caught myself starting to doze several times, even during upbeat songs that I love. So I knew I had to call it a night. I’m sad about that. Still, no regrets on making the trip and buying the ticket and seeing what I saw. It was SO worth it.

And after walking back to the hotel (which was literally next door to the stadium), the fresh air refreshed me (but the stadium has a no reentry policy so I knew I couldn’t go back in), I couldn’t sleep. I was up until after 3am before I finally zonked out for the night. Woke up at around 9:30 this morning (so about six hours of sleep) and thought about going back to sleep until my 10:30 alarm (checkout time is 11:00am), but decided I just wanted to get home so I got up, decided to skip the shower since I knew it was going to be hot out and I’d just end up a sweaty mess anyway (even with my car’s A/C), got dressed, checked out, and came home. I got here just after 6pm.

When I went out for food (I hadn’t eaten in two days -- I’ve got to stop doing that), I spoke with the guy directing traffic into the stadium, and he didn’t know what time the show ended, but I found posts on twitter (I’m not on that site anymore but I searched the #ImagineDragons tag). Some said it ended around 11:15, some said they played until almost midnight. I can tell you that I stepped outside the room for some fresh air at around 12:30am, and the parking lot was still packed. By 1:30, it was completely empty. So I may have missed A LOT.

But the seats, at least in the nosebleeds of Allegiant Stadium, are pretty narrow and uncomfortable (just not uncomfortable enough to keep me awake, apparently). But even the reference to kids at school saying “who do you think you are, thinking you’re gonna be a big star and him saying “now you’re clapping from the nosebleeds” (reference from “Thunder”) brought the people to my left in the nosebleeds to their feet.

The drive home today was a LOT better than the drive there. I ended up on Route 186 which climbs and descends two mountains with steep grades and tight turns and it was literally scary to drive through that section. I even had a free-range cow walk out into the road in front of me and I had to brake pretty quickly and hope the tailgater also saw the cow and would react quickly enough (they did). I took a different route home (mostly Highway 95) and it was a MUCH better drive other than the tailgaters and the one person who, in a 70mph zone with nobody in front of them, suddenly hit their brakes so I passed them -- then they sped up to pass me.

Even though I didn’t get to see the whole show, I have no regrets -- except maybe I should have flown instead of driven down there. Flights from Reno to Vegas aren’t that expensive, and may have been cheaper than all the money I spent on gas to go the 850ish miles I covered in the last two days in the car (even including an Uber or Lyft to/from the hotel).

The hotel was VERY no-frills, but the staff was friendly. And when I accidentally left my key card in the room last night and locked myself out, I had no trouble getting a second key card (I was just reminded to turn both key cards in when I checked out, which I did).It was just a bed and a bathroom and a TV with the wrong aspect ratio set (I was able to fix that) but something like 139 available channels and I enjoyed watching Burns & Allen one hour, and Jack Benny the next hour (with Mel Blanc featured in the second episode). I remember growing up listening to their radio shows (I’m not that old but grew up listening to old shows on cassette).

Again, it was a great time, even though I had to cut my concert experience short.

Hopefully the rest of what I haven’t yet seen will show up on YouTube soon. But I am excited to see the performance (which IS on YouTube now -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FI-z7EE3IcU -- where performers from Cirque du Soleil’s show One joined the band on stage during a performance of Sharks (you may want to watch the original music video first -- they are in that too so it makes them being at the concert make more sense -- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Te3_VlimRw0).

Fun fact: while the sharks in the Bellagio fountain in that video are CGI (a fresh water fountain would be bad for a shark’s health), that’s actually Dan on the motorized surfboard in the fountain, not a stuntman. There are outtakes that prove it. He fell off of that thing A LOT. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EVQWlB4C8iU (also, watch the music video before you watch the making of; otherwise Ben, the bass player with the big arm movements while he’s talking to security, is just going to seem weird).

And the guy dancing at the craps table is Daniel Platzman, the group’s drummer, who liked a Facebook post of mine about being excited for the concert. Not bragging; it’s just something that made me happy. It’s not like he and I are friends now.

The other main band member is the guy with the long hair who serves the coffee. That’s Wayne Sermon, the guitar player.

Unseen: Ezekiel Schwartzman, a keyboardist/guitar player/backup vocalist who doesn’t record on the albums, but tours with the band because when they record, everything gets layered and is handled by the four main members, but on tour, they need that extra person up on stage to make things sound right (and he has his own EP called “California Cold.” -- The period is part of the title). I bought it, and he’s very talented. So one of the few times I used my binoculars last night, it was to make sure he was there, since he tends to be hidden stage right (audience’s left) from Platzman. I was glad to see that he was there, and later for the band to introduce him. His EP is mellower than most Imagine Dragons music, but still very good. Hearing the song “California Cold.” was enough for me to know I needed it. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XwTb0mXgF6w

Sorry to overload y’all with YouTube links. I’m still in the joy of seeing what I saw, even though I missed a lot. Now I have one day to try to get back on my graveyard sleep schedule somehow, or just go to work tired and know that the security guard who I’ve worked with for six years has my back (and he DEFINITELY does -- I don’t take advantage but I KNOW he likes working with me and has been a huge help since carpal tunnel set in).

Thus endeth the post.

#I hope that last line doesn't count as blasphemous #Imagine Dragons #SO bummed I didn't stay #even if I may have slept through some of it #but it had been a LONG day #and I just didn't even have the energy to be excited at a concert that I've been excited about for MONTHS #I feel like a bad fan #(even though there were a LOT of people leaving when I did)#we weren't walking out on the band we were just worn out #but I hope I can find the whole concert on YouTube and see what I missed #(and from a better vantagepoint than the nosebleeds where I was)#But I'm VERY glad I got to see them in person even though I missed some of the show #I love these guys #I know I missed a couple of favorites #but I was also there for a LOT of them #and them opening with My Life #and the light-up wristbands making things look amazing #really made the money and the 16 hours of driving worth it #next time I'll fly #it may be cheaper even factoring Uber or Lyft #and even if not the flight from Reno to Vegas wouldn't be 8 hours of travel each way #I want to see them again under better circumstances #but I work graveyard so a concert that starts at 6:30pm is NOT on my sleep schedule #but dang it I wish I could have lasted the whole time

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