Cage The Elephant at The Anthem

November 10, 2025

Photographed and Written by Caden Forrester @flicksby4ster

Bec Lauder and The Noise

The Night kicked off with Bec Lauder & The Noise, a three-piece rock outfit from New York City riding high on their debut album release. The trio’s sound is like their hometown: songs often began as brooding, slow-burning atmospherics and then exploded into intense crescendos, with the band truly living up to its name in intensity. Frontwoman Bec Lauder commanded the stage with powerful, raw vocals and a confident swagger on guitar, while her bandmates, Maggie Bishop on drums and Soph Shreds on bass, locked into tight grooves. Having honed their craft through nearly a year of relentless gigging, the group has created a sound that thrives on live energy and connection. By their final number, Bec Lauder & The Noise had convincingly primed the crowd with their dynamic post-punk-tinged anthems and high-voltage chemistry.

At exactly 8:45 PM, the stadium lights went dark and an eruption of screams announced Twenty One Pilots’ arrival. Josh Dun introduces his skills with a drum preamble to “Overcompensate.” Moments later, Tyler Joseph runs on stage and leaps over his piano with a bang. As Josh’s thunderous drums hit hard and Tyler’s vocals rang out, the crowd was literally alight with wristbands provided by the tour. Without missing a beat, the duo tore into songs off their brand new 2025 album, Breach.

hey, nothing

The evening kicked off with hey, nothing, an Atlanta duo barely out of their teens. With the two frontmen on stage, they delivered an intimate set blending emo folk and lyrical wit. Tyler’s gentle guitar melodies and Harlow’s delicate harmonies went through emotions, but between songs they lightened the mood with some self-deprecating humor.

With Karmen Smith holding it down on the drums and Tommy Trautwein on bass, the groove stayed alive deep in the music. The arrangements put their heartfelt vocals front and center, drawing the early crowd in. By the end of their opening set, the full audience was nodding along hey, nothing had transformed the venue into something similar to a cozy living room show, earning warm applause for their honest performance.

The Journey back to the main stage was just as exciting. As Tyler wrapped up a shortened rendition of “Chlorine” while mingling with fans on the return walk, Josh appeatred carrying a flaming torch, personifying the “Torchbearer” character from the band’s lore. The theatrical narrative of the Dema universe (a story spanning multiple albums) took center stage in the final act. Ominous chants and the instrumental “Torchbearer’s Theme” played as the main stage scenery transformed into the silhouette of a burning city. With a burst of pyrotechnics, the duo confronted this figurative city of Dema by ripping into “Jumpsuit.” It felt less like a rock concert and more like a full-scale final culmination of years of storytelling. Throughout it all, Tyler and Josh’s synergy was on full display: Tyler would race across the stage or climb atop the piano to belt out high notes, while Josh attacked his drum kit with ferocity.

Cage the Elephant

When the headliner emerged at last, The Anthem’s capacity crowd erupted. Cage the Elephant wasted no time igniting the atmosphere quite literally. The band burst onto the stage amid a row of pyrotechnic flames to launch into the jagged funkpunk of “Broken Boy,” immediately setting a pace. Frontman Matt Shultz was ecstatic from the first moments. With an eye-catching suit, he darted across the stage, gesturing theatrically and engaging every corner of the venue with his unmatched stage presence. By the second song, “Cry Baby,” Shultz had the crowd clapping along in unison under a wash of blue light, and the energy only climbed from there. The band ignored conventional white spotlights in favor of vibrant neon backlighting and a massive wall of vintage bulb fixtures encircling them. Those bold visuals bathed the stage in shifting color from greens, pinks, and electric blues, perfectly showing off the music’s frantic pulse and giving the performance a hazy ambiance. Through early standout cuts like “Spiderhead” and “Too Late to Say Goodbye,” Cage the Elephant barely paused for breath, ripping through each number with grit.

Despite the high-octane opening, the band proved talented at controlling the night. Mid-set, they changed gears for “Trouble,” a more plain, slow-blooming song that had the entire audience swaying and singing along to its melancholy chorus. On this gentler tune, Daniel Tichenor’s bass and Matthan Minster’s keyboard lines shone by providing a subtle undercurrent, while Jared Champion’s drumming eased back to a steady, patient beat.

It was a brief but memorable breather that highlighted Cage the Elephant’s versatility, a contrast before the show ramped up again. Soon after, the band went back into a heavier mix, Nick Bockrath’s lead guitar roared to the forefront with bluesy riffs and psychedelic flourishes, and Brad Shultz, on rhythm guitar (and Matt’s older brother), could be seen grinning as he leaned out over the crowd, slashing away at power chords. The dynamic among the members was electric. Bockrath and Tichenor often locked in together to drive the songs’ backbone, and Champion’s drum work injected an almost groovy beat beneath the rock chaos. Through it all, Matt Shultz’s vocals ranged from a raspy punk to tender, depending on the song, one moment practically rapping rapid-fire verses, the next belting out sustained notes.

As the concert hit its final stretch, Cage the Elephant held nothing back. A mid-set performance of their breakout hit “Ain’t No Rest for the Wicked” sent a jolt through the venue. Shultz spit out the verses with playful bite while the band went hard behind him, creating a jolt of energy through the 6,000 people in attendance (a sold-out show). The crowd’s energy fed right back, generations of fans jumped and sang the infamous chorus, turning the floor into a sea of moving bodies. Without ever losing that momentum, the band barreled through newer tracks like the energetic “Neon Pill” (the title song from their latest album) and fan favorites such as the bouncy “Mess Around,” keeping hands in the air and heads banging. After an incendiary main set, the lights briefly dimmed, but the audience’s roar only grew, refusing to let the night end. Moments later, the six musicians returned for a well-earned encore, digging into their back catalog. Finally, Cage the Elephant closed with “Come a Little Closer,” unleashing one last sing-along. Matt Shultz leapt from the stage and leaned into the adoring front rows, sharing the microphone and letting the crowd finish the refrain. It was a fitting culmination to a performance that was equal parts chaos and camaraderie.

In just 90 minutes, Cage the Elephant showed DC why they’ve become one of rock’s most strong live acts. Nearly two decades into their career, the Kentucky-formed band’s chemistry is tighter than ever. Each member brings something unique to the mix, from the raw showmanship of Matt Shultz to the infectious energy of Brad’s guitar antics, the depth added by Minster’s keys, and the rhythmic backbone held down by Tichenor and Champion. The group’s overall sound this night was a mix of hard rock and punk attitude with signs of blues and psychedelia, executed with a purposeful reckless abandon. By the time the final notes rang out and the stage lights glowed one last neon hue, it was clear that Cage the Elephant had turned a November night in Washington into an unforgettable, sweat-drenched show.