Spring Fling Rock AF 2016 Tour: Cage the Elephant, Silversun Pickups, Foals, Bear Hands
Sleep Train Arena, Sacramento • Saturday, March 12, 2016
As spring break vibes come to a bittersweet end for some—or are just about to start flowing for others—Sacramento was fortunate enough to experience this wistfully transient period’s sweet spot in what will now forever be remembered as the second stop of Spring Fling Rock AF 2016 Tour.
Four of the music industry’s hottest alternative bands graced Sleep Train Arena this weekend in an almost five-hour extravaganza of rock ‘n’ roll tunes. While many ticketholders may have showed up to witness Saturday’s marquee headlining act, Cage the Elephant, there were certainly shining moments to be found in the three preceding groups’ sets as well—namely, Brooklyn-based Bear Hands, the United Kingdom’s Foals and the California-grown Silversun Pickups.
Bear Hands | Photo by Phill Mamula
Bear Hands kicked things off, promptly taking the stage at 7 p.m. to a somewhat underwhelming arena presence (it was early-going, with folks still trickling in). That didn’t stop the four-piece East Coast outfit from setting the mood for the rest of the night, though. As the house lights came down, the opening rapid-fire guitar strumming of 2014’s “Peacekeeper” snapped the low murmuring of the crowd into a spirited cheer—the Spring Fling was officially underway.
“You got a long night ahead of you,” said guitarist Ted Feldman about midway through Bear Hands’ seven-song set. How right he was.
Shortly after Bear Hands exited to a warm applause, Foals stormed the stage and immediately—like, no intro or anything—dove into its set with a thunderous opening track: “Snake Oil,” off of their 2015 album What Went Down. The song proved to be a perfect pivot back into the punk-rock grime this show needed to balance out the more indie feel of the previous act. While lead singer/guitarist Yannis Philippakis screamed into the mic, the crowd roared with excitement and Sleep Train Arena finally began to light up.
Foals | Photo by Phill Mamula
Unfortunately, Foals only carried a nine-song set list, but ended up with one of the most notable performances of the night. The ever-charismatic Philippakis showed a true sign of bravado during his band’s final number, when toward the end of the song he decided to move off stage. Lowering himself into the pit area and then hoisting himself back up onto the front row barricade, Philippakis came face-to-face with a sea of Sacramentans, singing to and with them all. And then, of course, he tried to crowd surf, which didn’t turn out all that well when a bunch of weaklings damn near dropped him. Come on Sac, the guy’s like 5-foot-6. We can do better.
Silversun Pickups | Photo by Phill Mamula
And with that, Foals bowed out to make way for Silversun Pickups, who appeared highly anticipated and VERY well-received before they began to play even a single note (the high-pitched screams said it all). Their set—spanning 11 songs and pulling from albums as old as 2006’s Carnavas to as recent as 2015’s Better Nature—adhered to a much slower pace throughout and seemed to have a little bit of a slow-build/slow-burn element to them. Whereas Foals’ were upbeat and succinct both sonically and lyrically, Silversun Pickups’ music was much more layered and spread out (at least that’s how it felt). Nevertheless, they too had their highlights: be it lead singer Brian Aubert’s consistent showmanship in his onstage gesturing and engaging theatrics; or a duet sung between himself and fellow bandmate Nikki Monninger; or just the sheer number of entire-band solos that conjured wave after wave of applause and praise. Silversun Pickups finished up with a fan-favorite in “Lazy Eye,” gracefully leaving the stage soon after to what was without a doubt the biggest crowd reaction of the show until that point.
As if the energy in the room hadn’t been high enough already, Saturday’s headlining band took it to new, palpable levels.
It wasn’t long before five musicians filed in in almost single-file fashion—each man taking his post at his respective instrument—and the opening sounds of “Cry Baby” began to play. And when lead vocalist Matthew Shultz came running onstage last, wearing what looked like a silk white and blue cowboy shirt and tight black jeans, everyone knew Cage the Elephant had finally arrived. For brevity’s sake, I’ll keep this part of the review short and just say it was quite a spectacle watching Shultz and his troupe maintain an abnormally high level of enthusiasm throughout their 16-song set without once dropping the baton. Even more impressive was Shultz’s ability to use his voice and body as instruments in their own right, channeling Mick Jagger-like moves and star power into every single song.
From the cell-phone-light crowd swaying on “Telescope” and the straight up sing-along on “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked,” to the almost-attempted crowd surf on “Mess Around,” Cage the Elephant grew progressively unhinged. When it was all said and done, this so-called caged elephant had definitely been released, and the circus that had engulfed Sleep Train Arena was in full swing.
A three-month commitment to spring might still be coming, but it was nice to have a quick taste beforehand to sample the relationship.
The last time the beloved American rock band Cage the Elephant played Sleep Train Arena in Sacramento, they opened for the legendary Foo Fighters and nearly stole the show with their stage-diving, crowd-surfing, guitar-riffing, microphone-swinging insane energy level. Now, Cage is coming back to the old arena in Natomas for a headlining show of their own on Saturday, March 12 and they’re bringing with them three of the best rock and indie bands on the scene right now: Silversun Pickups, Foals and Bear Hands. The Spring Fling Rock AF Tour, as it’s being called, is only stopping in 15 cities, so Sacramentans are lucky as hell to have a rock-tastic bill like this coming through town. Tickets are on sale now at Ticketmaster.com and start at just $29.50, a bargain for how much talent you’ll get to see grace the stage. Come on out and jump into spring with the fling. Visit Cagetheelephant.com for more info on the night’s headliner
Cage the Elephant’s Matthew Shultz Faces His Fears on Melophobia
Chances are, you’ve heard of Cage the Elephant. After all, that’s not the sort of band name you really forget. And in the five years since the their debut album, conveniently also titled Cage the Elephant, the band has certainly done their best to make their music equally hard to forget, hitting a palatable sweet spot between the trendy ‘70s revival blues of bands like The Black Keys and harder edged Janes Addiction-style psych rock. And it’s been a winning formula so far, forging a string of hits—“Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked,” and “Back Against the Wall,” from their first record; “Shake Me Down,” from 2011’s Thank You Happy Birthday and the latest, “Come a Little Closer,” the first single off their recently released third album Melophobia—and catapulting them from their sleepy college town roots in Bowling Green, Ky., to being bona fide rock ‘n’ roll titans. From Letterman to the MTV Video Music Awards, to arena tours with The Foo Fighters, to video game trailers, to pretty much any rock radio station on the dial: even if you haven’t heard of Cage the Elephant, if you’ve been alive the last five years, you’ve at least heard Cage the Elephant.
For his part, frontman Matthew Shultz seems to be both a reluctant, and an ideal, rock star, demure but confidently cool. In light of the band’s relatively successful first two records, the title of their third effort, Melophobia, the fear of music, would seem to suggest that the band was perhaps feeling the pressure of following success with more success. But speaking by phone from his home in Kentucky ahead of a string of radio shows (including headlining Radio 94.7’s Electric Christmas, Dec. 4 at Sacramento’s Sleep Train Arena), Shultz said the only thing that he and his Cage the Elephant band mates feared when writing and recording the songs on markedly more eclectic Melophobia, was fear itself.
It’s been about a month since Melophobia came out. How has it been, being on the record release cycle for the third time now?
I think that with each record that you release, there are new things that arise. Hopefully as your band evolves, the way you present your music and creative works also evolve. But it’s been really cool to see how we’re three records in and people are still responding. So I guess that’s a good thing, right?
You guys have worked with the same producer, Jay Joyce, for all three of your records now. Is that just a case of “if it’s not broke, why fix it?”
From the very first moment we met Jay, he was one of those kindred spirits and it felt right from the very beginning. He’s never been one to shy away from confrontation, but he’s not a confrontational person. He has an incredible ability to pull things out of you. You know going into the studio that the songs are probably gonna change quite a bit when you’re in there, because if he feels that something isn’t up to par, he’ll tell you, which is one of the beautiful things, one of the things that will drive you crazy. But it always produces good things. He pushes us real hard, but we get along. So we continue to work with him.
The title of the new record, Melophobia, translates to “fear of music.” Was that just a cool word, or is there a deeper meaning to that?
Well for us it’s not so much of a fear of music, as in an actual fear of music as it is a fear of creating music to fabricate, or to create some kind of image of self. Sometimes we build these images of how we like to be perceived and that takes over the creative process rather than just trying to communicate an honest thought or feeling. So it was more like a fear of fear-based writing, writing with all kinds of fears and safeguards to create an image rather than to communicate a thought, if that makes any sense at all.
Was there any pressure, writing these songs or in the studio to try to live up to the success of your first two records?
The pressure didn’t come so much externally as it did internally. With each record you get to learn some things along the way and hope to be able to apply them to the creative process. I think for us it was just that we wanted to become better communicators, definitely didn’t want to be so directly externally influenced as we had been in the past. So there was a little bit of pressure, externally, but most of it came from within ourselves. Just to make a record that we loved and that the people would love. But it wasn’t really dictated by the past success of the band or anything like that.
Was it a fear of sort of wearing your influences on your sleeve?
It wasn’t so much a fear of wearing our influences on our sleeve, as much as it was just being so directly influenced in general. And I think that all goes back to fear-based writing, too, because as we were talking about earlier, as human being we’re working tirelessly to create images of ourselves and project those images, and so that limits your creative works. As human beings we tend to lean towards things that we see have already become socially accepted as cool or artistic or poetic, and so we start writing poetry for poetry’s sake or making art for art’s sake or creating things to sound intellectual, rather than trying to communicate an honest thought or feeling. So it was really a battle against fear-based writing or fear-based creation; trying to get back to the root of songwriting or any creative work for that matter, which is communication, to communicate a thought or a feeling or a freedom or a moment of joy or happiness or whatever it is, but just to communicate freely and honestly. And in doing that, I think you do shed some of those influences, or they’re probably not as noticeable, because you’re just drawing from the things that have woven themselves into your heart rather than catering toward cool.
Do you think that your past successes sort of gave you more of an opportunity to do things the way you wanted this time around, maybe more so than on the first two records?
I think that if we were a band back in the ‘80s or the ‘90s when the music industry was thriving that probably would be the case, but the way things are going you can’t really say that anyone today is completely established, unshakable or unremovable. Because everything moves so fast. For us, it wasn’t a comfortable thing. It took a lot of convincing ourselves just to go for it and to chase after this theory. But I think you have to take chances. I think the greatest accomplishments are made by taking very huge risks.
So what’s next for you guys, what’s the next risk you’ll take?
I don’t know, I hope that we continue to push this forward. For me, it’s learning all along the way, and hopefully becoming better communicators, and understanding more of what that means. Music has always been a communal thing, to share thoughts and feelings. When you speak to people, you have to speak from your heart, but it’s best if you speak their language. If that makes any sense… It’s just trying to learn how to speak to people, to communicate, and to do it honestly.
Don’t be scared… Check out Cage the Elephant as part of Radio 94.7’s Electric Christmas at the Sleep Train Arena on Dec. 4, 2013. Also performing? Glad you asked: Alt-J, Grouplove, Capital Cities, The Features and MS MR. Check out Sleeptrainarena.com for more info and ticketing information.
Foo Fighters, Cage the Elephant, Mariachi El Bronx
Power Balance Pavilion – Tuesday, Nov. 1, 2011
Twelve red semi trucks lined the northeast corner of the parking lot of Power Balance Pavilion on Tuesday, Nov. 1, offering a glimpse at the amount of gear this monstrous rock tour, featuring one of the world’s biggest bands, had traveled with into town.
Upon walking into the arena just before the opening band started, one couldn’t help but notice a giant runway extending from the stage all the way to the back of the general admission floor area that created a rift between the crowd. And since this wasn’t a fashion show, it was apparent that someone would eventually rock the shit out of that runway and the mini-stage at the end of it. My money was on Dave Grohl. But first, Mariachi El Bronx took to the stage, all eight of them, and dazzled the crowd with their impressive and upbeat set. Mariachi El Bronx is the alter-ego of esteemed Southern California punk band The Bronx, and everything about them is authentic, from their instruments and their sound right down to their charro suits. They played to an ever-growing crowd, maybe two or three thousand (an usher informed Submerge he’d been told to expect 10,000-plus in attendance) scattered throughout the arena, most shoveling nachos or pounding over-priced beers.
Serving as main support to the Foo was Cage the Elephant, best known for radio hits like “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked” and “Shake Me Down.” Lead singer Matt Shultz convulsed around the stage, shaggy long hair in his face, very Kurt Cobain-esque. He even flung himself off the stage a couple times, clearing the barriers (a solid seven- or eight-foot gap) into the crowd, resulting in some of the most Jesus-like crowd surfing possible. Overall, Cage the Elephant’s set was heavier than one might expect having only been exposed to the band’s more radio-friendly vibe. Their heads were down the whole time as they charged through their surprisingly scream-y and edgy sounding set. Definitely a punk-rock-meets-grunge sort of vibe, and Sacramento was into it.
At 9:03 p.m. the lights dimmed again and Foo Fighters burst into “Bridge Burning” and then “Rope” back-to-back, the first two tracks off of the band’s seventh studio album, Wasting Light, released on April 12 of this year. What followed was an onslaught of songs (over two dozen total, including a five-song encore) delivered with gut-wrenching passion. “My Hero” was played early on in the nearly three-hour set and Foo Fighters’ charismatic frontman Dave Grohl ran up and down the rock runway for the first time, shredding on his guitar and screaming in the faces of fans. During the same song, he incited a massive sing along and slowed the song down, then moments later they finished it off heavy-as-hell again. They had the crowd in their hands, taking the place from rocking and chaotic to mellow and serene, to rocking again in a split second. “I just want to make sure you understand you’re not going home early,” Grohl told the now-entranced crowd. “Get comfortable, you’re gonna be here a long fucking time.” People went apeshit.
After ripping through another 10 or so songs, including crowd favorites “Breakout” and “Monkey Wrench,” as well as a guitar solo-off between Grohl and fellow guitarist Chris Shiflett (during the song “Stacked Actors”), where Grohl was standing on the mini-stage at the end of the runway that had now been lifted a good 15 feet off the ground, the two faced each other down from opposite ends of the arena. It was impressive and fun to watch, but it drew a four-minute song into what felt like half an hour. Drummer Taylor Hawkins also squeezed in an impressive but maybe excessive solo at the tail end of one of the songs. Submerge would have liked to have seen some of the filler cut and replaced with B-sides from old albums. But, it was an amazing performance nonetheless and it’s safe to say the audience got its money’s worth. Grohl even put a local touch on the massive show. “I dated a girl from Sacramento,” he announced at one point, speaking in reference to professional snowboarder Tina Basich, who is from here. The two dated years ago. He apologized for taking so long to make it back to Sacramento, “It’s been eight years?” he said. “I’m sorry. We’ve been practicing for tonight.”
During their encore, Grohl first appeared with just an acoustic guitar to play a song called “Wheels.” “It’s big in Germany,” Grohl exclaimed. “If you’re louder than the Germans…” he said as the crowd sweltered. “OK, we’ll play a bunch more songs.” Grohl played a couple more acoustic songs, “Best of You” and a cover of The Beatles’ “Blackbird.” “Times Like These” started out with just Grohl on stage, asking the crowd to sing along, but halfway through, the full band kicked in, bringing the energy in the building back up to a boiling point. After blazing through the track “Dear Rosemary” and a cover of Tom Petty’s “Breakdown,” Foo Fighters closed the epic set with their smash hit “Everlong.” It was nearly midnight when the last note (more like feedback) rung out, well past most of the crowd’s bedtime, but you won’t find anyone complaining. Unless, that is, they have to wait another eight years to rock ‘til midnight with Foo.
