WORDS CHRISTIAN GOULD / IMAGES ALEKSANDRA HOGG
It’s been 5 years since American rockers Cage the Elephant last toured the UK but they’re back with a whistle-stop tour of Glasgow, Manchester, London and… Wolverhampton?!
We’re here tonight at the Civic Hall and while it’s not the most glamorous venue there’s still a long line of shivering fans outside waiting for security to open the doors. This tour is in support of “Neon Pill”, Cage the Elephant’s most recent album release and their first since 2019.
Support tonight is provided by Girl Tones and Sunflower Bean. Girl Tones are up first and the sisters take to the stage in front of a committed handful of fans securing their spots at the barrier. It’s a fiery, punky performance from a band that hasn’t yet released their debut album.
New Yorkers Sunflower Bean are veterans on the scene and their psychedelia-infused rock succeeds in pulling people away from the bars and to the stage. The band are battling technical problems with a rogue laptop threatening to interrupt their set but they pull through with some of the improvisational experience that has become a hallmark of their sets.
The Civic Hall is packed and it’s time for the main event. Cage the Elephant storm the stage, opening with “Broken Boy” from “Social Cues” before taking the rowdy crowd on a tour through past albums including “Tell Me I’m Pretty” and “Melophobia”. It’s not until 5 songs in that we get some new material as Matt Schultz conducts the audience through a stomping rendition of “Good Times”. The tour may be named Neon Pill but Cage have a deep back catalogue and they’re making sure that fans tonight get their monies worth. There are no complaints about the setlist but the performance feels a little static with most of the energy coming from Matt and little in the way of crowd interaction beyond generic “are you having fun tonight?”.
It’s a consummate performance from a band at the top of the game but maybe a song or two from a 22 song setlist could have been sacrificed for a bit more personality.
SET LIST
1/ Broken Boy
2/ Cry Baby
3/ Spiderhead
4/ Too Late to Say Goodbye
5/ Good Time
6/ Cold Cold Cold
7/ Ready to Let Go
8/ Neon Pill
9/ Social Cues
10/ Halo
11/ Mess Around
12/ Trouble
13/ Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked
14/ Skin and Bones
15/ Rainbow
16/ Telescope
17/ House of Glass
18/ Sabertooth Tiger
Encore:
19/ Back Against the Wall
20/ Shake Me Down
21/ Cigarette Daydreams
22/ Come a Little Closer
FOLLOW CAGE THE ELEPHANT
FOLLOW SUNFLOWER BEAN
FOLLOW GIRL TONES
My life is a soundtrack, i track my life through music, photography is my passion, my escape, my expression. Without both i have pieces missing, thankfully i’m blessed and get to combine both.
Born in Manchester, lived in Australia for 22 years where i was heavily involved in the Australian Music Industry, firstly in bands (Singer) and then managing bands (all original), I moved back to the UK, Wales specifically 10 years ago
