A Closer Look: Cage the Elephant

For having only found out about this group a few days ago, Cage the Elephant [Facebook, Twitter] has really taken control over a lot of my music time. The band, from the rock 'n roll hot bed of...Bowling Green, Kentucky, formed in mid-2006 and are well known for their high energy live performances, which is good news for Coachella attendees as the band will be performing this year. The band did the 2009 festival, performing a 45-minute afternoon set on the first day of the festival. Their role will likely be similar to their debut appearance, but they will be pumping up a new album that they just released a few weeks ago, "Thank You, Happy Birthday" which was released on the 11th of January. The band actually will be doing Jimmy Kimmel tonight to help spread awareness on their new material.

I'm not quite sure what it is about the band that has gotten my attention. Maybe its the fact that it makes me reminisce to growing up, their sound reminds me of Eve 6 with a Cracker twist. They sound like they would have fit in well with '90s rock. 

The first song of theirs that I heard was on the Coachella-themed radio stationed I mentioned in a previous post. The song "Back Against the Wall" brings me back to Eve 6's hit "Inside Out", but Cage the Elephant has a little more of an edge to them and I enjoy the way they buildup to the chorus.

The song is from their first album "Cage the Elephant" [2008], and after skimming through it the tracks that left a memory were the one above, "Ain't No Rest for the Wicked" [which reminds me of another 90s act, Everlast], and "James Brown" [which sounds a lot like early White Stripes].

Off the album which they are now promoting, the lead single seems to be "Shake Me Down", which is a bit lighter track with some heavy guitar riffs halfway through. Lead singer Matthew Shultz is memorable and carries a rhythm pretty damn well.

As far as how high of a priority this band is on my "Must See List" in April, they rate rather high. Unless they are going up against one of the acts I am familiar with their whole catalog, they stand a good chance of getting my time. I'm crossing my fingers that they play mid-afternoon on Saturday and they don't run against Jenny Lewis & Jonathan Rice, Bright Eyes, or The Swell Season because otherwise I am not sure there is an act slated for Saturday I would choose over them. I'm predicting a 4PM playtime.

Video from their 2009 performance of "Ain't No Rest for the Wicked"

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Coachella Songza Radio Station

Here's a helpful link if you're going to be at your computer for extended periods of time in the leadup to Coachella in April. Its a "radio station" [some dude's playlist] comprised solely of acts that will be performing at the festival. Along with known commodities Kings of Leon, The Black Keys, it has a ton of lesser known acts that I personally have made sure to keep my ear out for when I get down there in April.

Here's a helpful link if you're going to be at your computer for extended periods of time in the leadup to Coachella in April. Its a "radio station" [some dude's playlist] comprised solely of acts that will be performing at the festival. Along with known commodities Kings of Leon, The Black Keys, it has a ton of lesser known acts that I personally have made sure to keep my ear out for when I get down there in April. Note that the station is more heavily indie rock than anything. If that's your preference, this is a good mix.

Mark's recommendations: Cage the Elephant - "Back Against the Wall", Kings of Leon - "Ragoo", Warpaint - "Billie Holiday", The National - "Mistaken for Strangers". Read more!

Coachella Confidential - what this is

What exactly is Coachella Confidential? If you're interested in finding out about some musical acts you may not be familiar with upon taking the trek to Indio, California for three days of music, keep your eye on this blog. Hey, you shelled out $300+ for your tickets, didn't ya? Don't you wanna know about more than just The Strokes and Kanye when you get there?

If you're checking this blog out, you obviously have some interest in the music festival known as Coachella, which takes place the weekend of April 15th to April 17th in Indio, California. Hopefully, you already grabbed tickets because the entire festival is sold out. General admission, camping passes, everything.

To some people, Coachella is "a three day concert in which you stand in overwhelming heat to see bands you have never heard of". To 80,000 ticket buyers as well as countless of hundreds of thousands kicking themselves for missing the boat, its perhaps the greatest gathering of music all year. This year's lineup features a wide range of acts, from the reuniting of The Strokes to Kanye West to Eryka Badu and everything in between.

Until that weekend in mid-April I will be blogging about various musical acts that will be performing at this year's festival as well as helpful links to lead you in the direction of some of their material in case you want to become more familiar. I myself am only supremely familiar with a dozen acts or so this year, so it will be an ultimate challenge to me to find some new stuff I may have not heard before.

As far as my Coachella experience? I have none. I have only attended one music festival, Austin City Limits in 2006, and it will be hard for any festival to top that one. Coachella's 2011 lineup is certainly testing it already. At ACL I saw Ben Harper, Tom Petty, Kings of Leon, The Raconteurs, Nada Surf, G Love and Special Sauce, Phoenix, Cat Power, really an amazing variety of music. Coachella has the variety factor matched, featuring a wide range of hip hop and rap acts alongside some of todays best indie rock.

Until that weekend in mid-April I will be blogging about various musical acts that will be performing at this year's festival as well as helpful links to lead you in the direction of some of their material in case you want to become more familiar. I myself am only supremely familiar with a dozen acts or so this year, so it will be an ultimate challenge to me to find some new stuff I may have not heard before.

As far as my Coachella experience? I have none. I have only attended one music festival, Austin City Limits in 2006, and it will be hard for any festival to top that one. Coachella's 2011 lineup is certainly testing it already. At ACL I saw Ben Harper, Tom Petty, Kings of Leon, The Raconteurs, Nada Surf, G Love and Special Sauce, Phoenix, Cat Power, really an amazing variety of music. Coachella has the variety factor matched, featuring a wide range of hip hop and rap acts alongside some of todays best indie rock. Read more!