After the somewhat success of Big Guava Fest this past spring, Live Nation put together another festival at the Amphitheater. Coral Skies Fest featured two stages and a dozen bands in the alternative-indie rock genre. You also had food trucks and beer gardens to help build up the fairgrounds aesthetics A decent lineup made for a nice Saturday in Tampa.
Opening the day up on the main stage was Tampa native Benjamin Booker. The young guitarist commented on growing up just 8 miles away from the Amphitheater stage, before jumping into a rock heavy 30 minute set. Booker is increasing in popularity, partially due to his opening gig for a number of Jack White shows this summer. You can definitely tell White had some influence on the 24 year old, but he also reminded me a bit of the Jake Bugg show I saw earlier this year. The arrangement was similar as Booker took center stage in a trio. Check out "Violent Shiver" to get a feel for the style.
The bands following Booker were all average performances for the most part. I was neither overly impressed nor bored with Wild Cub, Bombay Bicycle Club, Tokyo Police Club and Bleachers. All the groups have familiar songs though, so it led to a decent afternoon of music.
After a quick dinner break at the Winghouse conveniently located across the street from the venue, I was back for the main acts. After seeing the Strokes at GovBall this spring, I was intrigued by the idea of Julian Casablancas set with his new band. Let this be clear: they are not similar to the Strokes! Jules and his new group, The Voidz, were NOT good in my opinion. They sounded like the background music you would hear while watching a horror movie, and despite the chants, it was easy to tell that Casablancas clearly did not want to play any Strokes material.
The strange vibe set by The Voidz quickly turned positive as headliner Cage the Elephant took the stage. Guitarist Brad Shultz walked up to the main microphone and yelled at the crowd immediately to move up to any empty seats they saw and get as close to the stage as possible. He was followed by younger brother and lead singer Matt, who didn't say anything before jumping into opener "Spiderhead."
I've written about Shultz before, mainly during Lollapalooza when Cage delivered one of the best sets of the weekend. The frontman is absolutely unpredictable on stage. During the Coral Skies performance, he did some stage diving, crowd surfing, and for lack of a better term, crowd-jumping/walking. Shultz is the perfect example of a lead singer that makes the most of not playing an instrument.
Through the exciting stage antics, the 6 band members put together a great setlist. It was heavy on their most recent album - Melophobia, which I was not at all upset about. I believe the album is a bit more laid-back than the first two Cage albums, but is still upon one of my favorites for the year. Lead singles on it include "Take It or Leave It," "Cigarette Daydreams," and "Come a Little Closer."
The Bowling Green, Kentucky natives also mixed in some of their greatest hits throughout the set as well. In total, it was just a classic rock show. There was no backdrop or fancy screens. This was simply a performance where the band was the main attraction.
Cage the Elephant Concert Rating: 3.5 Stars
Setlist:
1. Spiderhead
2. In One Ear
3. Aberdeen
4. Take It or Leave It
5. Cigarette Daydreams
6. Ain't No Rest for the Wicked
7. It's Just Forever
8. Halo
9. Telescope
10. Bach Against the Wall
11. Teeth
12. Come a Little Closer
Encore:
13. Shake Me Down
14. Sabertooth Tiger
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