Cage The Elephant Share Valentine’s Day Love at Manchester O2 Apollo [Photos]

On an evening more suited to love and romance, the O2 Apollo in Manchester was packed to the rafters with music lovers wanting to spend their Valentine’s evening soundtracked by a dirty dose of gnarly indie/punk rock from Cage The Elephant.

Opening the three-band bill were the high-energy rock sisters Kenzie and Layla, aka Girl Tones. Kicking off the night with a short, brash set of fuzzy guitars and uncomplicated tunes, made sure the night got off to a decent start.

Next up were New York three-piece Sunflower Bean who looked cooler than everyone else in this room and brought with them a setlist which matched their looks and attitude including recent single “Champagne Taste.”

After two solid support acts, headliners Cage The Elephant made sure that they weren’t going to be upstaged. Not that there was much chance of that despite their quality choice of touring partners. Opening with “Broken Boy,” the energy and swagger filling the stage was hypnotic, seeing the band live up to their raucous live reputation.

Front and centre were brothers Matt and Brad Schultz who must have covered every inch of the stage even taking to the barrier to bring things to a little more personal level. Touring in support of their new album Neon Pill, the set didn’t weigh heavily on new material instead the band choosing to intersperse new tracks with more fan-friendly crowd-pleasers like “Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked, and “Cigarette Daydreams.”

“Come A Little Closer wrapped up the set. A slower number given the energy-laced performance that had preceeded it but the indie jangle of the much-streamed track was the perfect end to this Valentines night in Manchester.

Our photographer, Maryleen Photography, checked out the show in Manchester, and you can check out her photos and the Cage The Elephant setlist below:

Cage The Elephant Setlist:

1. Broken Boy
2. Cry Baby
3. Spiderhead
4. Too Late to Say Goodbye
5. Good Time
6. Cold Cold Cold
7. Ready to Let Go
8. Neon Pill
9. Social Cues
10. Halo
11. Mess Around
12. Trouble
13. Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked
14. Skin and Bones
15. Rainbow
16. Telescope
17. House of Glass
18. Sabertooth Tiger
19. Back Against the Wall
20. Shake Me Down
21. Cigarette Daydreams
22. Come a Little Closer

Cage The Elephant (w/ Sunflower Bean, Girl Tones) @ O2 Apollo (Manchester, UK) on February 14th, 2024

42 photos