Cage the Elephant’s return from five year detour finds the rock act menacingly mature

The Starlight show featured support from Young the Giant, Bakar, and Willow Avalon.

September 17, 2024

Haley Mullenix, Brock Wilbur,

Haley Mullenix

Cage the Elephant
with Young the Giant, Bakar, and Willow Avalon
Starlight
Saturday, September 14

Touring in support of their latest album, Neon Pill, alt-rockers Cage the Elephant hit Starlight on Saturday night. Fellow rockers Young the Giant were there for support, along with indie rockers Bakar and Willow Avalon.

Avalon got the usual short end of the stick for 3rd opening act at a Starlight gig—a few songs before most people are there, while the sun is still out in full force, and sort of thankful for anyone that isn’t stuck looking at their phone. As usual, this was a shame for those not locked in, as the short set had some excellent songwriting and a slightly outside-of-genre kick-off to the night.

Bakar’s somewhat truncated 2nd opener position was a great fit to get a rising group up onto a larger venue stage, and the English singer made the most of it. Catching “Hell n Back” was charming, but the rest of the set added some new fixations to my playlist for the month.

Co-headliners Young the Giant took the stage next. On the subject of playlists, my personal journey to YtG has mostly involved a decade of the algorithm continually suggesting the act as a group up my alley. Each track usually gets a response from me of: “Hell yeah, I look forward to giving that band the time and attention it deserves”—then failing to do so. Saturday’s gig was both a form of penance and punishment, as I simultaneously clicked immediately with every note they summoned while hitting the third or fourth song of the night and suffering profound disappointment at all the opportunities to catch them on previous trips through town. The ability to slide between Freddy Mercury-in-sandals leading 80s pop between extended anthems with freakout breaks that would’ve been right at home in a Mars Volta set—a top notch showing and one for the books.

Cage the Elephant, somehow a band I’ve seen almost more than any other touring group this generation, brought their all-time best performance to the stage. Out of nine or ten rounds with them, ranging from once serving at 3rd opening themselves, up to headlining stadiums, this saw them achieve their final form.

After a five-year break, including a noted legal and medical dark period for the lead singer, their return to touring presents a gang of noisemakers with the same penchant for chaos but with a powerful sync that only comes from surviving the trenches for nearly two decades together. Tracks from the new album felt right at home alongside a career-spanning set—a little light on Thank You, Happy Birthday for my taste—including all the bombast and joy one could hope for. Matt Shultz brought his signature swagger despite a foot injury, leaving him committed to covering the stage via scooter all night. Considering the sheer amount of pyrotechnics, it was a thrill just to see him survive to the encores.

Our photographer Haley Mullenix was there to capture it all.

Cage the Elephant

Cage the Elephant setlist
Broken Boy
Cry Baby
Spiderhead
Too Late to Say Goodbye
Good Time
Cold Cold Cold
Ready to Let Go
Neon Pill
Social Cues
Halo
Mess Around
Trouble
Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked
Skin and Bones
Rainbow
Telescope
House of Glass
Back Against the Wall
In One Ear
Sabertooth Tiger
—
Shake Me Down
Cigarette Daydreams
Come a Little Closer

Young the Giant

Young the Giant setlist
Jungle Youth
The Walk Home
Cough Syrup
It’s About Time
Call Me Back
Superposition
Mind Over Matter
Tightrope
Silvertongue
My Body

Bakar