A little help from my friends: Cage The Elephant never disappoints
I am more than pleased to tell you this is the second time I have gotten the chance to see one of my favorite bands, Cage the Elephant. Since they dropped their latest album, “Tell Me I’m pretty” I have been biting at the chance to see them in concert once again.
This time instead of seeing them at a festival I got tickets for myself and three friends to their Spring Fling Rock AF tour featuring Silver Sun Pickups, Foals and Bear Hands.
The show opened up with Bear Hands a popular indie rock band that has already had two popular hits “Giants” and “Agora.” Even though they may have lacked a certain preforming finesse that has made Cage the Elephant so popular, their upbeat Cali’ vibe kept the audience engaged.
Bear Hands were followed by Foals, who I had never heard of before, but carried a lot of energy. Their lead singer, Yannis Philippakis, played lead guitar and carried immense power. He seemed to be the driving force behind the band.
My personal favorite out of the three openers were the Silver Suns Pickups. The band has a down-and-dirty rock and roll sound. Their lead singer was very engaging, but what surprised me the most was their bassist who stood out because she appeared to be the only female on the tour.
Even though I had not heard any of their songs I was quick to add them to my ITunes playlist.
Eventually Cage The Elephant took the stage, and as expected, took the entire audience by storm. It is not just their music that attracts me, but their sheer performance. Matt Shultz, Cage The Elephant’s leading front man, is a class act when is it comes to pure showmanship.
Never in my life have I seen such energy on stage. When Matt wasn’t surfing through the crowd, he was climbing on top of other band members performing his own “aerial stunts” all while still holding a tune.
I was curious to see if their newest material was going to measure up to their previous album since it was very different from “Melophobia” which came out in 2013.
Thankfully, I was more than pleased when they sang hits “Cry Baby,” “Mess Around” and my favorite “Punchin’ Bag” while maintaining the bands signature acid rock sound even though “Tell Me I’m Pretty” features a more laid back feel.
Unsurprising, Shultz left the crowd wanting more after finishing their set and returning to the stage for a more than satisfying encore. He was completely shirtless while he threw himself into the sea of his unyielding hungry fans.
He closed the show with the popular song “Cigarette Day Dreams,” while being accompanied by his brother, Brad Shultz, on acoustic guitar. Cage the Elephant left me reliving much of my own “day dreams.”
That is until the next show. Until then I will have to settle for listening to my enormous collection of live recordings and albums on my Ipod.
