It had been almost a year since I watched Imagine Dragons blow up the Hollywood Palladium with insane light shows, acrobatics and a ton of raining confetti. That was a show — but last night’s Wiltern performance was a laid-back homecoming. 

Before kicking off its headlining 2014 Into the Night arena tour starting Feb. 8 in Boise, Idaho, the local Vegas band stopped by L.A. for a small, exclusive performance at the Wiltern presented by Citi Bank to benefit the Grammy Foundation.

Standing on a bare, undecorated stage, lead singer Dan Reynolds told the boisterous crowd that “it’s good to be home," in L.A., and in a smaller venue. 

And that’s what this concert felt like, a family reunion of sorts—a homecoming. This time I could actually see Reynold’s face. Their songs started out a bit slower, less dramatic, with longer pauses between each one and a much more stripped, casual vibe.

It was an intimate experience, which is also a byproduct of the Wiltern’s old, graceful and encircling atmosphere. The show wasn’t sold out. There were barely any special effects or thousands of pulsing fans. The band didn’t introduce any new material, and no one cared.

And just like all family reunions, there were some bumps. Guitarist Wayne Sermon’s guitar was not functioning for most of the show, and stage hands kept running back and forth frantically trying to fix the problem while Sermon wandered back-and-forth from his abandoned mic stand, to shaking a tambourine, to hitting the drums to try and keep busy. Obviously he was pissed, but he kept it classy.

The pop-alternative rock group definitely has a diverse fan base. The crowd was primarily young teenagers with a spattering of elderly couples and drunk die-hard fans who always round out every family gathering

There was the token, impassioned drunk couple taking the “dance like no one’s watching” mantra to heart.

A few eight-year-olds stood against the banister draped in oversized Imagine Dragons t-shirts, in awe as their presumably favorite band sang the well-overplayed FM hits right in front of them.

A large, drunk, rugged man who looked like he just walked in from killing a deer plopped down next to me at some point and would randomly stand up, whipping me with his long hair, point at the stage and voraciously pull open his worn leather vest and jut out his chest as if to say, “Get in here, Imagine Dragons!” 

A dad and his 13-year-old daughter stood together—the daughter unabashedly rocking out, the dad definitely trying to keep it cool and groove (minimally), but you could tell he was dying to bust a move during “Radioactive.”

An intimate cover of U2’s “With or Without You” broke up the band’s energetic alt-rock performance, with the dads, daughters and old married couples belting out the beloved late 80s Irish lyrics.

Imagine Dragons might only have one album, but they know how to reinvent every song live. “Demons” started off as a soft ballad before exploding into a howling, raw rock number thanks to the band’s token drum sequence, complete with the 6-foot tribal drum.

At one point, Reynolds paused and thanked the crowd for being there, for supporting live music and bands like them, who miraculously busted out of playing in half-empty, seedy bars for over five years. Rolling Stone noted that “Radioactive” sold nearly 5.5 million digital copies last year, making it the third-biggest-selling digital track of 2013.

The songs are infectious and "poppy," but emotionally charged and powerful enough to make you look over at the mesmerized 12-year-old and smile, because no matter how many times you hear them, those songs collect everyone in the audience and somehow bring you home. 

After their 5-week tour, Imagine Dragons will look to follow through on their New Year's resolution: to make a new album.

The band will also be performing alongside rapper Kendrick Lamar at the 56th annual Grammy Awards on Jan. 26.

Songs included familiar favorites:

"Amsterdam"
"Tiptoe"
"Hear Me"
"Cha-Ching"
"Rocks"
"Radioactive"
"30 Lives"
"Bleeding Out"
"Demons"
"Underdog"
"On Top Of The World"
"It's Time"
"Nothing Left To Say"

Read more of NT's show reviews here.

Reach Editor-in-Chief Brianna Sacks here.