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Cage the Elephant have enjoyed a prosperous year within the UK music scene, entering the awareness of those who prefer their rock served dripping with Americana and preaching “Free Love”, through securing the support slot for the not-quite-so-either-of-the-above Pigeon Detectives earlier this year.  Two of their three singles released thus far and their debut self-titled album reached fairly but not impressively high positions within the UK charts, with mixed reviews from the critics: some hailing the offering as pure and unadulterated rock here to save the spirit of rock’n’roll, with others dismissing it as chart fodder .  When reading about CTE, it’s hard to ignore the references to their stage antics which have been likened to those of the likes of AXL Rose, and it would seem the band have already built themselves quite a reputation for wreaking havoc wherever they pass through.  I had little idea therefore as to what to expect from their performance in the smaller of the Carling Academy venues, but I was sure the event would not disappoint in entertainment factor at the very least.
 

First to the stage were British trio Bleached Wail, a band who seemed to already have a smattering of fans among the audience (which incidentally was reassuringly not solely made up of 15 year olds).  These three, relatively young and unprepossessing looking boys managed to win over all spectators by the end of their set through their impressive guitar work, strong vocals and general sense of enthusiasm displayed.  The bassist in particular seemed to be having a “wail” of a time, something which one sees far too rarely on stage these days.  All songs played clearly showcased the band’s unavoidable talent, but two songs which stood out from the set were “Stolen Thunder” and “Bounty Hunter” and are definitely worth listening out for (check them out at their obligatory myspace page)

Unfortunately (or judging by the one song I did catch at the end of the set, which seemed to last an entire lifetime, maybe “fortunately”) I missed the second support act, as I was lucky enough to score an interview with Matt Schultz and Daniel Tichenor, (front man and bassist respectively) from CTE.  Fellow interviewer, Emily, and I were led into the depths of the Carling Academy building by the band’s tour manager and into their dressing room, where Daniel already sat and Matt joined us.  Matt immediately curled up in the corner of the sofa with his packet of pretzels, and did not move throughout the entirety of the interview apart from to rub his eyes or stretch his arms out occasionally; something which struck me as odd given his reputation for rowdy behaviour and over excitable nature.  Having been introduced and told we had only a short time with the two, we immediately settled down to ask them our questions.

What’s the weirdest thing a fan’s ever done?
Matt: Oh man, all kinds of weird s***, stuff we’re not allowed to say!
Anything that stands out at all?
(they both laugh)
M: One guy dressed up as an elephant three nights in a row and crowd surfed and got up on stage with us

If you weren’t in the band, what do you think you’d be doing today?
Daniel: (gesturing to Matt) He’d be shovelling s*** and I’d be hauling concrete. 
M: Yeah I was a plumber
D: and I was in like construction, so…

We’ve done a bit of reading of your previous interviews, and you’ve talked a lot about your Christian upbringing on a Christian commune?
M: On a farm
D: It was actually a pig farm, you’d travel down this gravel road and you’d get to these barns, and there’s a bunch of people, friends, that lived out there - ex hippies and stuff.  A lot of people played music out there and they started a church community out there.  Anyone was invited to come, you know?  It had a lot of that hippy spirit, you know?

Do you think this influenced the music that you make today or did you really try to move away from your Christian backgrounds?
D: We’ve always been around music, like his Dad (gesturing to Matt again) played guitar..
M: I think everything influences you in your life, so I can’t say it hasn’t influenced us but I can’t say it directly did, no.
D: I wouldn’t say Christian music influenced our music

What other bands around at the moment do you really like, or really dislike?
M: I like Foals
D: There’s a band called Maps and Atlases who toured with Foals, they’re from Chicago
M: MGMT
D: yeah, MGMT are cool
Anyone you really don’t like?
D: We’re not gonna say that!  No there’s a lot of friends we have in bands that are great, like..
M: Sleeper Agent
(when asked if they‘d ever met Born Ruffians)
M: No we’ve never met them.  Maybe we could be friends if we ever did meet them.
Maybe we should try and organise a meeting!
M: Yeah, Born Ruffians, we wanna be friends!

What has been your favourite tour moment so far?
M: My favourite moment’s your moment (nodding at Daniel)
D: This isn’t a favourite moment, but a bad moment.  I got up on top of the bus, there’s like a little hatch or opening on the top of the bus, and I tried to climb out there, and I started rollin’, you know, ‘cause I’d lost my balance and then Brad (Schultz, guitarist for the band) and his wife Lindsay caught me before I fell face first off the f***ing bus

We’re guessing as a band you party quite hard, so what’s the best hangover cure?
D: Beer!  No we don’t drink that much, maybe 2 or 3 beers.  We’re not a daytime drinking band at all.
M: But, the best cure for a hangover is: first drink like 4 or 5 glasses of water, then take a bunch of vitamins and you’ll feel f***ing great for the rest of the day, oh and greasy food.

You’re called Cage the Elephant, but what is your favourite animal?
D: I like tigers
M: Cheetahs
D: We’re a cat kinda band.
M: I want a pet monkey!
Do you have any pets as a band or on the tour bus?
M: I want a dog but my Mum won’t let me
D: Too much maintenance, you know?

Do you play any pranks on each other on tour?
M: Lincoln (Parish, lead guitarist) shaved his pubes into his (pointing to Daniel) suitcase once.
D: It’s an on going thing, but this was one of the worst.  He shaved them into my suitcase and spread them all over my clothes, so one day I came downstairs, like, “what’s up guys?” and there’s just these pubes on my shoulder.  So gross.
So would you say Lincoln’s the worst for pranks?
D: (shaking his head) Brad.
M: Brad’s pretty good at them, but any one of us can be pretty ruthless.
D: It’s just expecting the payback, you know?

Does anyone have any bad habits on tour that annoy you?
D: Not really…
No fights or spats, or anything?
D: Yeah, there are small fights, but nothing ever gets out of hand.

So what can we expect from tonight’s performance?  Are you pulling anything special out of the bag?
D: Matt’s gonna burn himself on stage in protest against marmite.
M: Yeah! I’m gonna protest against Marmite.
D: We f***ing hate that s***.  It tastes like f***ing tree bark.
M: That’s why I’m gonna kill myself.

If you had to describe yourselves in three words to someone who didn’t know what Cage the Elephant were about, what would they be?
M: (makes an indecipherable set of sounds and then laughs)
D: I’ve got it!  I’ve got it written on my shoe.
M: No!
D: No, I can’t say it!
M: It’s tough to describe yourself in three words!
D: Can we have five words?  No actually I don’t wanna say it.
M: OK, peanut-butter and jelly sandwiches!

After we had said our goodbyes we returned to the venue above, now eagerly anticipating their performance, and sincerely hoping all members would leave the stage at the end of the night alive!  The band finally arrived on stage a half-hour later to a rapturous welcome from the audience, who it seemed were most definitely here for a good time.  And they were not disappointed.  Although CTE may not be the most musically exciting band (the southern tinged American indie thing seems a little done now - think Kings of Leon meets Reef) you can feel the energy buzzing from all aspects of their performance from start to finish.  The band open with the lyrics “Seductress, seduce me” but it was most definitely those watching who left seduced by the end of the show.  The band thrashed through their set, made up mainly of songs from their debut album, with new song “Doctor doctor doctor, help me help me help me” (a song which might indicate a different sound being adopted for future material, whether for the better or worse) thrown in for good measure, with all aspects of the album’s material translating well to this live set.  Inexplicably the band’s two successful singles “In One Ear” and “Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked” were both played mid-set, and a Pavement cover instead used for the encore, but the audience didn‘t seem to mind much, with a flurry of crowd surfing taking place left right and centre.  The band certainly lived up to their reputation for their stage antics, with Matt almost flying across the stage (becoming at times just a mess of bleached blonde hair) and guitarist Brad mounting one of the speakers and later (much to the audience’s entertainment and the staff‘s displeasure) throwing himself into the crowd during the break before the encore.  Thankfully, however, the antics were limited to excessive movement, and no self mutilation took place - nay not even a mention of the dreaded marmite!  Whatever their critics might say, I doubt much would phase this quintet, and as their song “In One Ear” makes all too clear, they’re here for the music (whether you like it, or not), and more importantly, they’re here for a good time.

The band are touring again in January, and if you'd like to the chance to see them perform at our very own Mountford Hall at the Guild, visit winagig.com and vote for our University to win the gig.  All those who vote, should we win, will also win free tickets to the gig!

to listen to Cage the Elephant, and for more information on the band, visit their myspace page.

Katie Paxton