Hodad's Hosts Cage the Elephant

Author

By Gail Powell

Publish Date

Jan. 30, 2011

Alt-rock five-piece Cage the Elephant from Bowling Green, Kentucky, played a "secret" acoustic show for FM94/9 at Hodad's in Ocean Beach. Toning down their garage-rock volume to acoustic versions worked well for the cramped confines of Hodad’s, if not for the boisterous O.B. crowd jamming the sidewalk outside.

The three guitars (no drums) maintained high energy, while tousle-haired lead singer Matthew Shultz sang radio hits "No Rest for the Wicked" and "Shake Me Down." The song "2024" celebrated “love for toast,” and then Shultz introduced a cover of British band Let's Wrestle's song "My Arms Don't Bend That Way, Damn It!"

The half-hour set was brief, but the enthusiastic packed house was proof that Cage the Elephant is building a buzz.