1 of Cage the Elephant’s performances has been reviewed on Tourch.
What They’re Saying About Cage the Elephant…
“Simply, I thought Cage was playing through their songs way too fast and it made the show less enjoyable.”
“The chaotic, carnage-filled energy was still there, but not in full and it didn’t feel as genuine.”
“Young the Giant had a cool, confident demeanor about them in this show…. a real luxury to have as an opener.”
From the submission: Show Thoughts: Cage the Elephant with Young the Giant, at Hartford Healthcare Amphitheater on Monday, August 19th, 2024
For context (Cage the Elephant):
The first time I saw Cage was at Firefly in 2021. They were a spectacle, hard to keep my eyes off of, and fun to watch (and hear). I had known Thank You Happy Birthday and Melophobia (more so Melophobia) pretty well going into it, and knew the radio hits off of Social Cues. I held them in really high regard, and still do, and know their music even deeper now because of this show. They came out with Broken Boy (as they seem to do most of the time), and Matt wasn’t even on stage yet. I remember being worried that they were playing without him, because this guy in a fully bodysuit (face covered), came out on stage and I thought it really didn’t sound like him. But Broken Boy came in hard, the instrumentals were awesome and powerful, it didn’t even matter that the vocals were so muffled. I especially remember hearing the overpowering (woosh-like?) sound in the chorus right before “Broken Booooooy” is sung out. I think you all know what I’m talking about, I am just not sure what instrument or synth that makes that noise because it sounds like nothing I’d heard before. Anyways, I didn’t know the song, but I liked it and it immediately drew me in. And it was soon revealed that Matt was the masked man (I think one more song later). Not surprising, they just really had me going for a second. I wasn’t sure it was him.
To fast forward, the set was electric, with really full sound. Cage has a harshness to them that is very chaotic, and I felt like they really harnessed that chaos. They made it feel organized, complete, even though it was nonetheless a loud, rumbling screeching, trainwreck of a show. Matt was Fucked. Up. He was ballistic on stage, but once he got that body suit off, his voice sounded good. His unpredictable, unique, howling, raspy, etc. voice matches the carnage that their music brings. But he was clearly hurting. At one point before a song, he said something along the lines of, “We talk about regrets. I got regrets…” I don’t remember verbatim, but it was a sad, awkward moment that was cutoff by the band breaking into the next song. Matt also forgot part of the lyrics to Ain’t No Rest, which I’m not knocking him too hard for. That stuff happens, but it just added to the reasons to believe that he was not himself.
They closed with Teeth, and Brad absolutely clattered his acoustic guitar. There was a second, even stranger moment with Matt after this. The PA system started playing “We are the Champions” by Queen, just as a way to signify the set was over, I assume. And Matt stayed on stage through the whole song, by himself, repeatedly throwing his arms up and getting on his knees, I guess praising the crowd. I’m not sure. But he looked pretty crazy. Then AFTER THAT WAS OVER, the lights came on and he actually stayed on stage and walked around picking up some of the sound equipment. He was stuttering around though, walking a little like a zombie and just looked lost.
So THAT is what I experienced the first time I saw Cage The Elephant.
The Second Time:
The second time did not match that. The chaotic, carnage-filled energy was still there, but not in full and it didn’t feel as genuine. They opened with Broken Boy again, which was surprising, but it’s a fucking killer opener, so I’m for it. Matt addressed his broken foot situation, talked about how he was connected to Bridgeport because he had bought a puppy that day. He also broke into a bit about how the leg scooter that he was wheeling around in wasn’t so bad because was learning how to be because he was learning “new moves” and loved that when he would sit down on the scooter, then stand back up and say “Yuh!” everyone in the crowd would go crazy. He prompted the crowd to follow that reaction throughout the show. It was, dare I say, wholesome. Not a word I like to say, but it’s the best way to describe how Matt was in comparison to the first time I saw him. So yeah, he’s sober as ever, which makes me happy because the guy has been at the front of some life-changing music for me and millions of other Cage fans out there, and he’s clearly in a much healthier state of mind. He even mentioned at one point that he had been through a lot, and that’s a lot of what the album was about, and that if anyone is going through a rough time, they need to talk to someone. Brad gave em’ a kiss, too. They clearly have come together and are not afraid to show that they care about each other. And that’s a great thing. That being said, it was a bit daunting to see how much different Matt was, and it made his performance less “Must see, can’t take your eyes your eyes off of. This guy is fucking NUTS!” To his credit, he managed wheeling around in that scooter pretty damn well. It was pretty funny to look at, but I respected how he embraced it and still did what he could to be entertaining. I felt that, because Matt was hindered a little, that Brad took care of some of the usual body language/interactions with the crowd that a front man usually would. He was out on the small platform often, and was physically the first person I was looking at, at times. That’s just my speculation, though, Brad may always do that, he’s a nut too (and I love em’).
The Music:
Simply, I thought Cage was playing through their songs way too fast and it made the show less enjoyable. You couldn’t absorb the songs, it was the chaos I talked about in the first show, but not as contained. It felt like they were speeding through songs just to get to the end, like they had a quota to hit, but they set their quota higher than necessary. Their sound wasn’t as sharp, as pungent, and the power of their sound wasn’t as digestible. What I mean by that is many bands can go up there and be powerful as hell with their sound, make a lot of noise, but when you can feel the power of their sound without wincing a little, and you find yourself banging your head around to their music, that’s when you know it’s good. I didn’t find that throughout the set and it didn’t quite draw me in as much as their music does in general most of the time. The setlist was 22 songs long, and it really didn’t need to be if they were gonna try to squeeze that into about 90 minutes. I’d rather hear 14-16 songs played without a rush that the band pours into, and pours all over the audience in doing so. Also, the speedy electric sound made them sound a little – a LITTLE… pop-y. For example, I’m not against original acoustic songs being played electric live, plenty of bands do it and it works. But the electric version of Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked did not sound good to me. The hallmark, so-recognizable sound of that song is the slide guitar riff on the acoustic. Without it, I just think it’s a cheap version of the song. It’s got too much of a distinct acoustic sound to make it electric. I respect Cage trying new things, and I’m just some guy, but an electric guitar leading Ain’t No Rest, ain’t for me.
I loved that they played Telescope, but it was the fastest f-ing version of Telescope I had ever heard. It’s a slow song! I think it’s normal for a band to speed up a bit live, but the chorus of Telescope went by in a blink. I’ll stop bitching about the pace of the songs here, but you get my point.
Off the new album, they played “Good Time,” “Neon Pill,” and “Rainbow.” I will say, I really thought Good Time was a pretty boring song off the album, but it did sound better live. The chunkier instrumentals in the verse with Matt’s more “rapping” type of vocals sounded cool. Neon Pill and Rainbow are softer songs, and were delivered that way. It was a little strange, at one point, Matt brought up the new record, talked about playing some songs off of it, then the band broke into “Too Late to Say Goodbye.” They played Good Time right after, then Neon Pill two songs later, but it just felt like they were gonna go into a couple new songs in a row.
Overall, I thought Cage’s performance matched “Neon Pill” as an album: good, but lacking the punch that Cage has always had. I wanted to like the album badly, I was so excited when I saw Cage was coming out with a new album, but I just couldn’t enjoy it as much as I enjoy Cage overall. There are good songs on it, as a matter of fact, I really wish they played “HiFi,” I think that song is better than all three that they played off the new album. But nothing off the new record rocked me like Cage has in the past. And I think this show emulated that. The performance didn’t reach a level as alluring, inspiring, and purely fucking awesome that I associate Cage the Elephant with. It’s not a terrible thing – bands evolve. Change their sound. And they most certainly don’t owe me (or any fans) a single thing. Cage has given me some of my favorite songs ever, and that impact lasts forever. But, if this is how they are as a live band now, I think their best live performances are behind them.
If you were at the show, please add your perspective in the comments. Tell me I’m dead wrong, tell me I’m right. Tell me I’m slightly off. Tell me something about Cage the Elephant and/or Young the Giant and I’ll be happy.