Over the past couple of years, Kentucky punk-rock quintet Cage the Elephant have gained a reputation for their incendiary live shows, on-stage brawling, crowd baiting and unpredictable antics…. and their sell-out performance at the Concorde was no exception. As howling hurricane frontman Matt Schultz pogos around the stage (a mix of Jagger swagger and the twitchy energy of Iggy Pop), there is a definite sense that anything could happen….

After a few crunching, balls-to-the wall garage numbers, they lose me with a lame pseudo-Chili Peppers rap, “Ain’t No Rest For The Wicked”- a puritanical parable about the evils of prostitution. This was followed, somewhat ambivalently, by “Free Love”, a slinky bass-driven anthem to group sex. A testament, no doubt, to Matt’s religious upbringing: he lived in a hippy commune after his parents found God on acid.

The rest of the set is straight-up dirty rock’n’roll and scorched-earth power-punk. “Tiny Little Robots” comes on like a slap to the chops – a frenetic full-on aural and visual feast replete with frantic guitar slashes between dramatic drum fills. Midway through, Matt storms the crowd, barking in the faces of enraptured punters in his rich, smoky southern drawl. Back on stage, the intensity heightens as Brad and Lincoln trade fierce guitar licks amidst cymbal crashes to create a thick, squalling wall of sound. Throughout the mayhem, bassist Daniel Tichenor stands aloof and impassive with only his hair flicking and fret-picking the signs of any life.

Hook-laden recent single “In One Ear” is dipped in vintage blues and “Lotus” is chock-full of big fat riffs and quick witted lyrics about ending war. After a Pavement cover, Cage The Elephant close on an explosive version of The Stooges’ “I Wanna Be Your Dog”, before Matt dives into the mosh pit.

Although the punk ethos of nihilism and recklessness is familiar territory, these Kentucky fried chappies avoid any cliche by their sheer exuberance and contagious energy, giving the gig a raucous, untamed intensity, and like the animal in their name, one that I won’t forget for a long time.

Words by David Gallienne

Photography by Rob Thomas