Cage the Elephant, Young the Giant, Bakar & Willow Avalon 8.21.24

Bank of New Hampshire Pavilion 

Gilford, NH

 

Words & photos by Arlene Brown

The diverse music of the evening was a very direct correlation to the diverse crowd and their moods for the evening. Cage the Elephant is currently touring with Young the Giant, both of which are known for their high energy filled alt rock vibes. Bakar is known for his unique indie rock solo style and Willow Avalon brings her southern country meets LA charm. The crowd also had very different energy levels for the evening.

Self deemed, “Southern Belle, Raising Hell” on her Instagram account, country artist Willow Avalon was first on stage. With her large social media presence, songs “Yodelayheewho,” “Tequila or Whiskey,” and crowd involved “Homewrecker” were big hits. Granted, not many were in the venue yet, but those that were there definitely enjoyed singing and dancing along. 

As a few more people trickled in, London native Bakar stood alone on the stage. With no backing band, it seemed that a lot of the crowd tuned out, unfortunately. I was completely shocked and disappointed that most of the crowd had no idea who he was. Luckily, his experimental indie rock vibe definitely had several in the crowd singing and dancing. Granted it was very different from the country songs of Willow Avalon. I did hear a few people saying, “Oh, I’ve heard this song before!” “Hell N Back” (and "Hell N Back" featuring Summer Walker) have nearly 700 million plays on Spotify. “Alive” is another one of my favorite songs of Bakar. “Stop Selling Her Drugs” and “1st Time” are also extremely popular songs of his, as well. His music is all over TikTok and the radio. His newest album, Halo is out now and I double dog dare you to listen to it. It’s so good!  I’m hoping his next show in Boston has more fan support as he was visibly frustrated that only a handful of fans were singing and vibing along with him. And thank you Bakar, for showing love to those few! I promise your fans are here in New England! 

I have to admit that it’s been ten years since I last covered Young the Giant on stage. At the time, they were on tour for their second album, Mind Over Matter. They have since released a few more making a total of five studio albums. For this show, their set was a walk through those albums. Some songs were widely known, others not so much. I was also very surprised that most of those on the rail weren’t familiar with or hadn’t seen Young the Giant before. They started out with “Jungle Youth” followed by “The Walk Home,” both of which weren’t as familiar to those in the GA area. But when they started playing “Cough Syrup” the crowd was definitely reminded of who Young the Giant is. The rest of the set featured “Waves,” “Dollar $tore,” “Cult of Personality,” “It’s About Time,” “Call Me Back,” “Superposition,” “Mind over Matter,” “Tightrope,” “Silvertongue” and the crowd favorite “My Body.” Their last album release was American Bollywood in 2022. I’m hoping there will be a new album soon and after hearing lead singer, Sameer Gadhi talk about finding themselves as musicians and going back to their roots and celebrating their work over the last fourteen years, I’m getting the impression that something new is in the works! 

Now that the sold out crowd was finally in their seats and starting to warm up both literally and figuratively, Cage the Elephant turned up the heat! Their first song, “Broken Boy” was filled with ten foot flames across the stage. The heat and energy from the band definitely woke everyone up and reminded us all why we were there. And you might think that the lead singer’s broken foot would keep him calm. If you think that, you obviously don’t know much about Matt Schultz. He would still figure out a way to dance even in a full body cast. Rolling, dancing, and popping wheelies around the stage on a knee cart only added to Matt’s energy. Thankfully, his brother and guitar player Brad Shultz was there to add some more of an extra kick of energy the fans wanted. With a brand new album out, Cage the Elephant’s set was a perfect mix of their new stuff and almost all of their greatest hits. I’m still sad they didn’t play “In One Ear.” It was great to see and hear Cage again. It’s been five years since they last toured and it did my soul some good to see Matt and crew doing what they do best. There has been a lot of speculation as to delays in the latest album and tour. If you follow Matt’s Instagram, it’s been so motivating to see the love and support of fans from all over the world. That love was definitely shown from the fans in Gilford, New Hampshire!

Arlene's Photo Gallery

www.cagetheelephant.com

www.youngthegiant.com

www.bakarofficial.com

www.willowavalonmusic.com

Cage The Elephant Setlist: Broken Boy, Cry Baby, Spiderhead, Too Late to Say Goodbye, Good Time, Cold Cold Cold, Ready to Let Go, Neon Pill, Social Cues, Halo, Mess Around, Trouble, Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked, Skin and Bones, Rainbow, Telescope, Tokyo Smoke, House of Glass, Sabertooth Tiger”

Encore: Shake Me Down, Cigarette Daydreams, Come a Little Closer