By this point Cage the Elephant need no introductions. The queue snakes round the back of Manchester’s Albert Hall long before doors, ready for the Kentucky firebrands. Inside it’s no-nonsense; the sound’s tight and more than big enough to fill the grandeur of the room. Matt Shultz moves like Jagger being exorcised, ricocheting around and hanging off the cliff-edge stage as the crowd surge to him. With the floor buckling underfoot, the bar for 2017 has just been set.
Words and photos by Ethan Weatherby.