Cage the Elephant-Omaha-9.16.24

Cage the Elephant, Young the Giant, Bakar, and Willow Avalon at CHI Health Center in Omaha, Nebraska on September 16, 2024.

Photos and Review by The Pit Magazine Contributor, Dean Birkheimer Photo

Back in May, Cage the Elephant released their 6^th studio album, Neon Pill. On the heels of that release, the band set out on a 45 city North American tour in support of the LP. Omaha would be stop 44 and they would bring an assortment of opening acts with them.

Up first for Cage the Elephant, and from a small town near Athens Georgia (GO DAWGS) was Willow Avalon. Willow became a sensation when she released “Drivin”, a song she wrote when she was 16. The song casts a similar sound to Fleetwood Macs, “Dreams”, but that similarity had nothing to do with it or her success. She has almost created her own genre of sound. Her most recent release is “Heartbreaker” it has been described as a response to Dolly Parton’s song , “Jolene”. Listening to them both back to back is a kick. I particularly enjoyed the recorded snippets played between songs, describing her life, her music and her Grandmother. The seven song set was far to short. I hope one day to catch her again, this time with hopefully a full set.

Willow Avalon Gallery

After a very quick turnaround, Bakar took to the stage. He personally describes his style as a “melting pot of indie, rap, rock, and punk. Yep, that pretty much covers it. Although all alone on the stage, he was able to command it and utilized every inch of it. His song of the night was “Hell n Back” which was a sleeper hit in the U.S. His most recent LP release was a year ago. Halo was given a 9 out of 10 by most online review sites. It is definitely worth a listen.

Bakar Gallery

After a little longer turnaround, Young the Giant took their turn. Behind the success of “Cough Syrup” and “My Body”, Young the Giant could headline any show at any venue. The fans at the CHI were proof of that. They packed the rails and sang, no, screamed the lyrics to every song. Young the Giants albums are exceptional, but somehow they are better when sung live. The bands front man, Sameer Gadhia is fairly quiet on stage, but he is also charming and cordial. There was a great mix of ballads and dance songs. The set was perfectly balanced. When a band plays a particular song it sometimes influences the crowd. It may make them light up their phones, cry or dance. This is true of Young the Giant, except it’s not a particular song…..It’s every song.

Young the Giant Gallery

After a much longer turnaround, but still pretty darn quick. Cage the Elephant stormed on stage. Before the first song the photographers were briefed and warned about the pyro that going to take place during the first song. WOW talk about Pyro. I haven’t seen that much for one song since my last KISS concert. They literally brought the heat. As if that wasn’t enough, guitarist Brad Schultz jumped into the pit and threw himself into the crowd, without missing a note. Lead vocalist Matt Schultz could not perform as he normally does as he had broken his foot and was utilizing a knee walker. But he did pop a few wheelies and kicked back a few times. There is passion and purpose behind a Cage the Elephant performance. They are there to entertain us. They do masterful job of setting up a show. From the pyro to the lasers. From the lights to the sound. Even their stage positioning has meaning. You get the feeling that the band is genuinely grateful to be on stage. Even after 44 performances on this tour, they gave us all they had, as if it were night 1.