I discovered Cage a little bit after the Strokes and Killers (arguably my favorite bands), but I love the band just the same. I appreciate Cage a bit more though. Cage was a band I didn't know I needed until I discovered them. I found them on accident one Friday night when watching music videos on YouTube and I instantly fell in love with "In One Ear" off the band's 2009 self-titled debut album and found the lyrics to the song to be weirdly relatable. It's an anthem to misfits and weirdos everywhere and it was exactly what I needed at the time. The song will never not fit into my life perfectly.
I don't know anyone my age who doesn't know the lyrics to "Ain't No Rest for the Wicked." At this point everyone is born with the lyrics to that song embedded in their brains. Cage is a rock band in a world where rock bands don't really exist and don't really have a place in mainstream music anymore and that's the best part of the band. I want them to bring back rock music.
My tenth grade dreams came true Saturday night when I saw Cage the Elephant for the first time in concert in Rochester, NY. I have found the more concerts you go to the less you want to go to so I wasn't that excited to go see the band truthfully. My tenth grade self would have been so jealous of present me. I didn't truly appreciate the fact I was seeing Cage the Elephant until I saw them. Cage the Elephant is truly a rock band in the 21st century. I hate telling people I like rock music because they think I like bands like Hinder and Nickelback (arguably the two worst bands in existence), but in reality I like bands like Cage the Elephant who give me faith in music.
People don't understand what rock music actually sounds like today. It is simply the same as it was 40 years ago. I felt like I saw the Rolling Stones on Saturday. And that's what I want people to know. There is good rock music out there that is reminiscent of one of the greatest rock bands to ever exist. I have never been so impressed by a band's ability to capture and cultivate an audience, like the way Cage did with their heavy metal guitar riffs and insane stage presence. Lead singer (and blond-haired babe) Matt Schultz came on stage wearing a red three-piece suit and was jumping and dancing on every corner on the stage, similar to Sir Mick Jagger, and throwing the mic stand around like the rock star he is. The tailored jacket soon came off. Then the shirt. But the energy and high pitched screams never stopped. I was at a rock show and that's all I ever wanted since tenth grade.
I cannot stress enough that there is good rock music out there today that is still being made and played. They are called Cage the Elephant, Foals, Bear Hands, and Silversun Pickups. I feel honored to have seen these bands live on Saturday night - three of the four bands I have been listening to since my musical revolution and bands I continue to listen to because they are that good. Rock music isn't going anywhere and it never went anywhere, because there ain't no rest for Cage the Elephant.