Cage The Elephant & Bear Hands @ The Fillmore

Another Cage show.  This time in the full-to-capacity Fillmore.  Such a good venue to see them in (compared to last year's support of Muse at Time Warner Arena).  Mike and I got there early as I wanted to see Bear Hands - had been hearing good things about them.  Unfortunately they weren't my thing and I kind of wish we'd stayed outside and had a beer somewhere else.

When Cage The Elephant came on the Fillmore was at capacity and from the first note singer Matt Shultz was on fire.  He exploded with his passion for his own music, and this energy immediately bled into the audience.  By the end of In One Ear the Fillmore was uncomfortably warm and would only get hotter (with relief not coming until we left).  The set was really heavy with songs from their latest album, Melophobia, which while good, meant a lot of great songs (James Brown, Indy Kidz, False Skorpions, 2024 etc) were left out - maybe a longer playing time is needed (hint hint).  Having said that, at my age it would've been hard to survive that intensity and heat for much longer.

I hope for great things for Cage The Elephant, they are a powerful live band, in a time where rock is not as relevant as it used to be.  The show they put on can really only be matched by either The Hives or Gogol Bordello for energy.  I'd like to see them do a longer set and vary their setlist to me more inclusive of some older songs, but I could say that about a lot of bands I've seen lately.

The Crap Facts:
This is my 375th concert.
This is my 10th concert at The Fillmore.
This is my 25th concert in Charlotte.
This is my 27th concert in North Carolina.
This is my 183rd concert in the USA.
Bear Hands are the 439th band I've seen.
This is my 5th Cage The Elephant concert.

John Butler Trio @ The Fillmore

A Father's Day out!  Amy and I took our neighbors out to see a great Aussie band out tonight.  I had seen John Butler Trio years ago, open for G. Love and remember being blown away, especially considering I wasn't a huge fan of his albums.  Knowing that Mark is a guitar player, I hoped he'd like this show.  I was not to be disappointed.

We missed the opening act as we had stopped at a place to get some appetizers.  We walked in to a pretty full Fillmore, but amazingly were able to get a great spot close to the front.  I do like it when an Aussie band does well in my adopted country and tonight I understand why John Butler Trio deserve all the success owing to them.

A lot of new stuff that I wasn't familiar with, not until Better Man half way through the set did anything known happen.  Oceans, the 10 plus minutes instrumental, was absolutely awe-inspiring.  There wasn't a person without their jaw on the floor after this great song.  It also took the vibe of the show to another level after that.  Loved Don't Wanna See Your Face No More, and Zebra was a rousing finish to the 2 hour set.  Not to be left short - an amazing 3 song encore left everyone buzzing as they left the Fillmore.

A great night was had by all, and we converted 2 new John Butler Trio fans.  Happy Father's Day.

The Crap Facts:
This is my 374th concert.
This is my 9th concert at The Fillmore.
This is my 24th concert in Charlotte.
This is my 26th concert in North Carolina.
This is my 182nd concert in the USA.
This is my 2nd John Butler Trio concert.