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"