Article and Photos by: Linda Carlson
Cincinnati, OH – On a Friday night in Cincinnati following a 100-degree muggy day, the crowd assembled at the Riverbend Music Center was packed to near capacity with fans ready for an amazing night of eclectic and energy-infused music.
Headliner Cage The Elephant originated in Bowling Green, Kentucky – not so far from this Cincinnati crowd. The band is touring to promote their latest album, Neon Pill, released in in May this year. The genesis of this album was a devastatingly dark dive into a prescription drug-related psychosis that lead singer Matt Shultz suffered in recent years, culminating in a well-documented arrest in Manhattan in January 2023, followed by recovery and a rebirth of sorts. Neon Pill was also born from this frightening mental chaos.
On top of this emotional bedlam, Shultz has also suffered a physical malady, having recently broken his foot. One couldn’t help but wonder, how will this impact his performance? Shultz is infamously a showman of epic proportions, typically moving around the stage incessantly, sometimes on a whim climbing stage structures that were not intended for climbing… that sort of thing.
Shultz entered the stage on a scooter (yes, a scooter), with his orthopedically-booted right foot on the horizontal scooter platform and his left foot ready for action. That man moved on that scooter in ways that were exhausting to merely watch. Shultz continually breezed from one end of the stage to the other, with stop-motion stuttering moves to the beat of each song, standing then kneeling then standing again, perpetually convulsing his upper body through powerful motions up, then down, then up, then down again. Shultz is an enigma… truly inspiring.
The performance was peppered with blazing pyrotechnics that added crowd-pleasing visual drama.
Along with guitarists Brad Shultz (Matt’s older brother) and Nick Bockrath, drummer Jared Champion, bassist Daniel Tichenor, and keyboardist Matthew Minster, the band put on a stellar performance. The entire audience stood, from those under the expansive pavilion to those on the lawn, and rocked it out, singing along, shouting, cheering, fists in the air. It was electric.
The band was primed by openers Willow Avalon, Bakar, and Young The Giant – three very diverse performances.
Avalon, with her melodic, gentle-yet-lively country-esque performance was the first on stage. Her sweet voice and coquettish demeanor drew the audience to her.
Bakar, an on-the-rise British singer-songwriter, next brought a raw energy that the crowd likewise embraced.
Young The Giant then gave an exciting, riveting performance to set the tone for the headliner. Coming off their own 2023 headlining tour, the band enthusiastically joined the Cage The Elephant tour. The band is celebrating the 10th anniversary of their second album, Mind Over Matter, and lead singer Sameer Gadhia explained that at the time of its release, this album confused and even angered their early fan base. The sound was different from their successful debut self-titled album, with an increased use of synthesizers that frustrated their fans. It was all part of the band’s evolution and fearless experimentation that Gadhia claims they still embrace. He said, however, that one of their largest hits came from that album, which brought the audience to their feet as they performed “Mind Over Matter.”
The Neon Pill Tour continues into September ( https://cagetheelephant.com/tour/ ), so catch a show if you can!
Check out the photo carousel below more photos from the evening’s performances.