NOTE: All photos are copyright of Howard Shiau Photography 2025
When Cage the Elephant announced a new studio album “Neon Pill” and an accompanying tour with support from Young the Giant, it brought together two extremely popular alt-rock bands that both came up around fifteen years ago. After the release of the previous album “Social Cues” in April 2019, Cage the Elephant did tour in support of Beck and had announced a North American headlining tour for 2020. However, we all know what happened to that tour. It was also a tumultuous time for lead singer Matt Shultz who had a prolonged period psychosis which affected his marriage and was arrested in NYC for gun possession in NYC. Those times were a huge driver of the lyrics on “Neon Pill”. It sucks to say but it always seems that anguish and pain are the inspiration for a lot of great music. Anyway, that time is past and both he and the band are ready to move on and focus on music.
Since the end of lockdown, Cage the Elephant has played music festivals and the occasional show but never ended up doing a full tour to support “Social Cues”. For fans of a band known for some of the best live shows around, this has been quite the withdrawal. However, with new music out, they embarked on the Neon Pill Tour across North America in June. As they near the end of their tour, they stopped at ArtPark in Lewiston, NY to play to a sold out crowd. Since they had played Madison Square Garden just a couple of nights before, it was amazing to think this band could be contained in anything smaller than an arena!
Two additional openers, Willow Avalon and Bakar (aka Abubakar Baker Shariff-Farr), we originally slated to kick off the show. Unfortunately, the UK indie rocker Bakar was a last minute scratch but, happily, Georgia native Willow Avalon was able to play a full set! Avalon first came to my attention via social media a couple of years ago as she was making the move from Los Angeles to NYC. She released her debut EP “Stranger” back in February, had her song “Gettin’ Rich, Goin’ Broke” go viral on TikTok, and has continued to write and release new music. In fact, her latest single, the upbeat “Homewrecker”, released just this week, will be on her highly anticipated debut album to be released later this year. On stage, Avalon looks like old school Country and Americana just stepped out from behind the curtain. Her bubbly personality and dazzling smile were just part of the package as she danced around the stage. Her lovely voice, complete with a trill in certain places, were a wonderful if surprising opening for two big alt-rock bands. Showing a dedication to engagement with fans, she was seen talking to and taking pictures with several fans in the crowd after her set.
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Unlike Cage, Young the Giant has been touring non-stop and, in fact, just played at ArtPark in June of last year! Folds in Buffalo were very familiar with this fan favorite and were out in force. Their last record “American Bollywood” was released in 2022 and, unfortunately, did not chart here in the US. They have consistently been one of the most underrated bands, even with some amazing songs in their discography. In fact, “Cough Syrup” from their self-titled debut album still brings me back to the feelings of that time. With frontman Sameer Gadhia leading the way, Young the Giant had the audience on their feet and dancing throughout their set. I wouldn’t say that Gadhia is the most animated lead singer in the world. However, during “Tight Rope” from 2018’s “Mirror Master”, Gadhia was dancing around the stage, even doing an (ahem) “moonwalk”. That song was probably the one song in their set that could be truly described as a dance track. Their fifteen song set, almost a full headlining set, comprised of a pretty even mix of songs from each of their studio albums. Even so, while I was eagerly awaiting Cage the Elephant’s set to start, I was sad to see Young the Giant leave the stage. Perhaps we’ll see the band at ArtPark again next year? One can only hope.
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One thing I knew before even going to the show was that Cage the Elephant lead singer Matt Shultz had broken his foot/ankle at a show in Atlanta in August and has been performing with a cast on his foot and moving around on a scooter. I wished him a speedy recovery but was also disappointed because his manic energy is a huge reason that Cage the Elephant’s live shows are so incredible. I still remember seeing them in London and watching as he ran up the stairs to dive into the crowd from the balcony. So crazy and so fun! So I was anxious to see how Matt and the rest of the band would perform due to the new limitations.
When they first took the stage, Matt did seem a bit more sedate than usual but my fears were soon assuaged. Let me start by saying that he’s the most mobile immobile man alive!! I truly believe that he has boundless energy that needs to go somewhere and, often times during the show, it both looked and felt like he was going to jump off his scooter!! Sporting a small mustache, Matt Shultz didn’t look like he was his normal animated self….ok, there was no climbing the stage supports or stage diving but otherwise the same. In fact, his brother Brad seemed much more sedate than he was the last time I saw him. Perhaps it was the dropping temperatures in Buffalo but he had a jacket on and sometimes had his hood pulled over his head.
The long twenty four song set was a hit parade of fan favorites and didn’t really seem like a show that was featuring songs from “Neon Pill”. It was great to hear “Rainbow”, my personal favorite track on the album but it would also have been great to slow things down a bit with a song like “Out Loud”. Those lyrics just hit so well. But the set of older songs were perfect for the audience and the crowd responded by jumping, dancing, and singing along to every song! Some highlights included a crowd singalong during “Trouble” and the whole venue lit with cell phones during “Telescope”. Overall, even with Matt Shultz’s broken foot, it was one of the best shows of the year! I’m glad to see Cage the Elephant on tour again and Matt recovered from his earlier issues and hope to see them again soon!
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