Photos: Cage the Elephant, Young the Giant, Bakar, & Vlad Holiday rock Chicago

Cage the Elephant performs at Credit Union 1 Arena in Chicago on Aug. 14, 2024.

The Social Cues single “Broken Boy” hits different right now.

“Captain Obvious, I broke my foot,” said Cage the Elephant vocalist Matt Shultz early in the band’s headlining set at Credit Union 1 Arena in Chicago on Aug. 14. “But I’m learning all these new moves on stage.”

Cage the Elephant – Matt Shultz, Brad Shultz, Daniel Tichenor, Jared Champion, Nick Bockrath, and Matthan Minster – may have been breaking out some new moves, but there live show remained turned up to eleven as they ran through hits like “Cry Baby,” “Spiderhead,” “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked,” and “Cold Cold Cold.” New songs, including the title track off their 2024 release, Neon Pill, also delighted fans in the packed venue.

Cage wasn’t the only band pushing themselves into new territory, as their tour-mates, Young the Giant, Sameer Gadhia (vocals), Jacob Tilley (guitar), Eric Cannata (guitar), Francois Comtois (drums), and Payam Doostzadeh (bass), are also trying something different this time around.

Young the Giant performs at Credit Union 1 Arena in Chicago on Aug. 14, 2024.

“We had to tell ourselves that we had to do something different,” said Gadhia of joining this tour. “We wanted to switch it up. We wanted to feel uncomfortable on stage, getting to the edges of our comfortability.”

Gadhia continued, “We want to take it to the farthest extreme and play songs that we haven’t played in a long time. Play deep cuts from the first record, second record, third record, fourth record, fifth record, and even, as you will see very soon, some new stuff that we just haven’t played before for many people.”

“Waves” and “Call Me Back” were among the gems shared by Young the Giant, as were hits like “Cough Syrup,” “Mind Over Matter,” and “My Body.”

Bakar also treated fans to radio favorites including “1^st Time” and “Hell N Back,” while Vlad Holiday – who opened the show – added some fuzzy jams to tracks like “I Don’t Wanna Party Anymore.”

Check out photos of Cage the Elephant, Young the Giant, Bakar, and Vlad Holiday below and click here to pick-up ticketsto future tour dates. More information about upcoming shows at Credit Union 1 Arena can be found at Creditunion1arena.com.

(Photos by Laurie Fanelli)