Cage the Elephant, Foals, and J Roddy & The Business hit Terminal 5 for two electric shows this week and we caught the second gig.

J Roddy & The Business started the night with a short but sweet set of Southern rock tinged numbers to a nearly packed house. The thirty minute set was laden with flying hair, soaring and sometimes gritty vocals, and some crazy piano playing. It was a fine way to warm up the crowd and left this photographer wanting much more.

The Foals took the stage next and in no time got the crowd involved with their sizzling set of indie/alt rock. The guitar driven songs, combined with lead singer/guitarist Yannis Philippakis’s affinity for interacting with the fans had the crowd riled up and inspired some light crowd surfing. The British band is hard to define into any one category, and that is a good thing as their diversity is pretty neat to hear. Midway through the set Philippakis took a stroll through the wide eyed crowd and didn’t miss a beat on his guitar. Near the end of the set he even handed his axe off to a delirious fan in the front row, although the tech came and got it directly after, it’s a moment the kid will never forget.

Not long after a quick set change, Cage The Elephant took the beautifully lit stage and did not let up for nearly an hour and a half of in your face indie rock. In a matter of minutes lead singer Matt Shultz and brother, Brad Shultz were stagediving and crowd surfing which would be repeated a few times over by the end of the night. The upbeat tunes had the crowd freaking out, dancing, surfing and even getting onstage (and then getting kicked out).

This is my pick for show of the year thus far, every band had a lot to offer and highly encourage everyone to hit this gig, you will not be disappointed.

Article and photos by Shayne Hanley