Cage the Elephant stomps all over Ventura

By Diana Ramos |Asst. A&E Editor|

Cage the Elephant’s performance on Friday April 18 left many feeling nostalgic and wanting more.

The American rock band from Bowling Green, Kentucky performed in Ventura, CA selling out The Majestic Ventura Theater.

When Cage the Elephant came out, they saw a pair of burgers and fries patterned undies on stage and said, “You know it’s going to be a good show when there’s underwear already waiting for us.”

Indeed, it was an amazing show. The vibes from the crowd were incredible; everyone was eagerly anticipating the bands performance, and when they finally made their appearance, the loud cheers were deafening.

They opened up with “Spiderhead,” and as soon as they began to play, the crowd’s roar grew louder and they all began to sing along.

Matt Shultz lead vocalist of the band is very passionate about his music.

 His passion was apparent in Ventura. He  appeared to be transported to another universe while performing.

The energy he exuded while performing was eye-catching and contagious. They were captivating throughout the entire performance.  They would get so caught up in the music that they would dance and jump all over stage. The audience also seemed to feel the urge to jump and dance with them.

In certain cases, a band will sound better on a recording than they do in a live performance.  

This was not the case for Cage the Elephant.

Jamie Torres, student said, “Hearing them on your iPod is one thing, but actually having them sing right before your eyes is electrifying.”

The light show went well with the band’s songs. They would turn a light blue when the songs were more soothing and mellow.

The venue was intimate, yet it was jam-packed.

When the band was near their last song, they told the crowd that they have been the best crowd so far.

When Cage the Elephant played their last song, the crowd went crazy and began to chant, “One more song!”

The band took a few minutes before running back on stage and said, “You all are an amazing crowd, much better than Coachella, yeah F**k Coachella!”

They performed two songs for their encore, “Shake Me Down” and “Sabertooth.”

While playing “Shake Me Down,” Shultz and one of the guitarists climbed on top of the speakers.

The guitarist asked the equipment managers to throw him his guitar. Shultz and the guitarist then performed the last two songs from there.

At the end of “Sabertooth,” Shultz stage dived into the crowd from the tall speaker and crowd-surfed. The audience did not know how to respond.

The fans were so happy and excited; seeing Shultz crowd-surfing and doing hand stands within the sea of people was beyond words. If you could not hear your thoughts before, you definitely could not hear them now.

Jessica Botello, a student at CSUSB said, “I was expecting this concert to be crazy with everyone jumping up and down. This performance was better than what I anticipated.

“I actually enjoyed it, and that’s not the type of music I’m into.” continued Botello.

The crowd was amazing and the vibes were out of this world. I am definitely going to another one of their concerts.