Buzz Bake Sale Preview: Cage the Elephant

With a loud and raucous sound zigzagging over the lines of alt rock, rock n' roll and punk like a driver 14 shots of Jack deep, Cage the Elephant have been rattling the bars of that pen plenty. The quintet out of Kentucky blurs the lines of what their sound...

By Christopher Lopez

November 30, 2009

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With a loud and raucous sound zigzagging over the lines of alt rock, rock n' roll and punk like a driver 14 shots of Jack deep, Cage the Elephant have been rattling the bars of that pen plenty. The quintet out of Kentucky blurs the lines of what their sound is. Guitars shift from dusty, twangy, jangling acoustic riffs as equally befitting their Southern heritage as early Beck to thrashing, distortion-driven, electric crunching. Lead singer Matt Shultz goes from an easy, rapidly rambling drawl, right on into some mean howling. And then there's the lyrics--all at once razor-sharp and poignant, sarcastic and darkly witty.

You almost feel like you can place that sound, it almost seems like you've heard it before. But you haven't. And you only think you have because of the brief glimmers of something familiar, like the White Stripes and Jet, that glint just beneath the surface for a moment and then are gone once again. But make no mistake, this sound is all their own, and it's going to take a lot more than a cage to hold them.

Cage the Elephant will be performing at the Buzz Bake Sale in Cruzan Ampitheater on Saturday, December 5, along with Chevelle, Matisyahu, The Used, Panic At The Disco, Manchester Orchestra, and more. Tickets are $40 for reserved seats, $20 for lawn.

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