A toast to Imagine Dragons for snagging the award for alternative artist at the American Music Awards. The band's rendition of "Demons" at the annual show, best described as a combo dubstep-rock-Blue Man Group tribute, was truly alternative -- part Nickelback, part Vegas spectacle. The entertainment and the song suggested a brand of rebellion akin to ordering a McRib at McDonald's instead of a Big Mac.
Their gig during Sunday night's broadcast of the worst music award ceremony of the year -- no small feat -- offered ample evidence. To wit, it delivered the required tropes that any so-called alternative band must master to earn the title in the eyes of the AMAs.
There was much fog, perhaps to indicate the impending doom of a band gearing up for a set in hell, soundtracking sinners' eternal damnation.
AMERICAN MUSIC AWARDS 2013: Show highlights
Dressed in black, lead singer Dan Reynolds stood front and center. The sharp objects hanging from his neck -- fangs, perhaps? -- suggested a hunter and his trophies. "With the beast inside/There's nowhere we can hide," he sang while fellow Dragons fought the fog and dodged video-projected lightning bolts.
