In the heart of the New Orleans French Quarter sits the House of Blues, an 800+ capacity venue, the walls of which are covered with nearly 300 pieces of folk art.  Directly above the stage, is an oval emblem of Bo Diddley dressed in glorious white, standing as an angel above a sanctuary under the caption, ‘Who do you love?’ This Friday night crowd loves Cage the Elephant.  The Nashville Indie group is currently touring the U.S. in support of their 2009 sophomore release, ‘Thank You, Happy Birthday.’

Opening for Cage is a group of fellow Tennessee rockers named Bad Cop, featuring drums along with three and four guitars to produce raging spacedelic kick-ass rock and roll.  The frontman stares maniacally into the crowd as if to indicate that it is simply a matter of time before subliminal messages achieve massive mind control. Perhaps someday.  But this night’s crowd belongs to vocalist Matt Shultz and the band, comprised of guitarists Brad Shultz and Lincoln Parish, along with bassist Danial Tichenor and drummer Jared Champion. Continue reading »