Concert Review: Cage The Elephant (w/ Young The Giant), KC’s Starlight Theater, 9/14/2024

*Picture of Cage The Elephant, barely visible in the light show, taken by your intrepid blogger

I think I have found my new favorite alternative rock band and it’s Cage The Elephant. In the early days of our marriage the Rock Chick and I shared very similar musical tastes. But as time has gone on, she’s stayed more in touch with current alternative rock and I, well, have burrowed into my classic rock cave. In those early days I always drove our concert ticket purchases, but of late she’s been the one saying, “Let’s go see xyz…” which makes her the perfect spouse. I’ve become much more open to checking out new bands like Starcrawler, or Dirty Honey.

I’ve been aware of Cage The Elephant (Matt Shulz, vocals; Brad Shulz, guitar; Daniel Tichenor, bass; Jared Champion, drums; Nick Bockrath, lead guitar; Mathan Minster, keyboards) for quite a while now. I really like the track “Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked.” It’s got a dash of blues and let’s face it, the title implies it could be our theme song around here… I remember when the Rock Chick turned me onto that tune, it came on the “shuffle” at a party we were having and a buddy of mine said, “Who is this? I’ve gotta buy this song…”

So when the Rock Chick said, “I’ve got tickets for Cage…” I was pumped… there was also that moment when I thought, “Well, does that means he’s taking me?” Last night we drove out to venerable Starlight Theater on the East side of KC. When I was kid they wouldn’t let rock bands play there, it was strictly musical theater, which I despise. They finally opened it up to rock shows and I remember seeing Elton John there in 1982 and Aerosmith when they were still on heroin and Joe Perry had just rejoined the band. Over the years I’ve seen a number of wonderful concerts and last night was no exception.

The evening started off when a gentlemen named Bakar walked out alone on the stage. The guy can sing but I’m sorry, he didn’t have a backing band. It was just him singing to recorded backing tracks. I wasn’t down for any karaoke. The Rock Chick and I quickly decamped to the bar. I returned to my seat excited to see Young The Giant. I can only surmise from that performance last night by Young The Giant that the bass player and to a lesser extent the drummer must be paying for all the equipment because they were so prominent in the mix it was all I could hear. I haven’t heard bass that loud since an Allman Brothers show in the 90s and I’ve seen the Red Hot Chili Peppers. If I ever have a heart attack, just prop me up in front of Young The Giant’s rhythm section and they’ll act as a defibrillator. It’s too bad as it marred a wonderful vocal performance from lead singer Sameer Gadhia who was excellent.

Finally, Cage strolled out on the stage. Well, most of them strolled out on the stage…I was surprised to see lead singer Matt Shulz with his foot in a boot, rolling along on what of those rolling walker/scooter things like people down at your local WalMart. Trust me, if you went down to WalMart right now you’re bound to find someone using one of those. It’s a shame Matt was injured, he’s quite charismatic on stage from what I’ve seen on YouTube, but that damn scooter didn’t slow him down one bit. He was rolling and bouncing all over the stage. His brother Brad plays rhythm guitar and he straps his guitar up high on his chest the way George Harrison used to in those early Beatles videos. Brad actually jumped into the crowd early in the show… he may be the most charismatic rhythm guitarist out there.

These guys have been around for over 15 years and you’d be surprised by how many songs you know or have heard. At least, I was. They launched with a trio of great songs, “Broken Boy,” “Cry Baby” and “Cold Cold Cold.” These guys rocked with a reckless abandon. This was all made better by the enthusiastic gal across the aisle from us, who moved out into the aisle and danced like she was being electrocuted. There was a grey haired gentlemen in front of her dancing like he was trying to flag down a rescue airplane. It was a real mix in terms of ages, from old guys to young kids. It was great to see how locked in everybody was with the band. I just love that communal concert vibe.

Probably my favorite stretch of the show was late in the main set when they hit me with “Ain’t No Rest,” “Back Against The Wall” and “In One Ear.” They played a song I was unfamiliar with, “Skin And Bones” that may be one of my all time favorite songs now. They played almost two hours last night and I’d estimate it was over 20 songs.

They ended the main set with a song called “Sabertooth Tiger” and it was the only sour note for me. It was just loud distorted noise to these ears. They played a 3-song encore and it was perfect. “Shake Me Down” was my favorite moment in the encore. It was a great capper to a great show.

If you’re a classic rock guy like me, I think you’re gonna like Cage if you haven’t checked them out yet. This is a great band that deserves a listen. If they come anywhere near me again, count me as “there.” If they come to a town near you, grab a ticket, see the show.  You’ll thank me later.

Cheers!