Cage the Elephant headlines Target Center
Cage the Elephant is an incredible live band. Unfortunately, Target Center in Minneapolis was too large of a venue for them to play. Even with the upper level closed off, the basketball arena was only two-thirds full to see the rockers from Kentucky. Judging by the never-ending squeals of the young crowd who did attend, most were enjoying the show immensely however.
Opening the night was the garage rockers from Chicago, Twin Peaks. Their set was short and buzzing, setting up Portugal, The Man nicely. Some things have changed since I shot Portugal, The Man a couple years ago at Loring Park. They have a new drummer, Aaron Steele, who laid down a solid groove, and the band has also added a hype man for their live shows. A hype man for a rock band may very well be the antithesis of rock-n-roll, and this case was no different. While Portugal, The Man’s guitarist and lead singer John Gourley may not be the most energetic front-man, he writes great songs that speak volumes live. “Modern Jesus” sounded great and is super catchy. The hype man dancing around and trying to liven up the crowd was nothing more than a distraction for their set.
Cage the Elephant hit the stage at 9:30pm and rocked straight into “Cry Baby” from their 2015 Dan Auerbach produced release Tell Me I’m Pretty. While the crowd jumped and rocked from the start, it wasn’t until “Spiderhead”, from their superb 2013 album Melophobia three songs in, that the vocals started sounding good to match the tightness of the band.
Led by live-wire singer Matthew Shultz who moves around the stage with the swagger of Mick Jagger, and the carelessness of Iggy Pop, Cage the Elephant have the sound to fill an arena, but this show would have been so much better in a venue half the size. Songs like “It’s Just Forever” and “Mess Around” hit hard, and “Cigarette Daydreams” during the encore was really beautiful. Cage the Elephant at Target Center was good, but I’m convinced it would have been truly great at nearly any other venue.
