Cage the Elephant thrills sold-out crowd at the Mayan after Silversun Pickups crash party with surprise set

Kevin Bronson on
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Cage the Elephant did everything a good rock band should do on Wednesday night at the Mayan Theatre – the pride of Bowling Green, Ky., played their radio hits, and they played them hard. Matthew Shultz reasserted himself as one of the most explosive and athletic frontmen around, throwing his voluminous hair around as if there was something crawling in it. It was exhilarating and mosh-worthy but hardly surprising.

No, the surprise came earlier, at 9:45 p.m. when the band billed as the Nannerama came on. It was, in fact, L.A. quartet Silversun Pickups, playing a well-kept-secret set in support of the band with whom they toured in 2009. Not only was the crowd unsuspecting, many failed to recognize SSPU until the foursome played their latest radio single, “Bloody Mary (Nerve Endings).”

All good, though. SSPU singer-guitarist Brian Aubert was in good spirits, taking the stage to find some bananas hung over his microphone stand (the name the Nannerama came from an inside-band joke), and the Pickups proceeded to blare through a set of almost-all new material. Their third album, “Neck of the Woods,” comes out this week, and the dreamier, more ambient rock seemed gargled, if not completely swallowed, by the Mayan’s sketchy sonics.

By the time they actually introduced themselves, their set was nearly over, to be punctuated by a searing take on their 2009 single “Panic Switch.” (It was the first time in dozens of viewings that I’d ever seen the Pickups do a set without performing “Lazy Eye.” Time marches on.)

Opening the night was FIDLAR, the L.A. quartet whose surf-punk set the perfect tone for the night. Sparkplug frontman Zac Carper and mates toss out catchy 3-minute singles like Halloween candy. Their second EP “Don’t Try” is just out on Mom + Pop Records (they’re working on a full-length), and they have a date in August at Lollapalooza. Oh, and there are other gigs. In between Wednesday night’s show and an appearance Tuesday at the Whisky – opening for Keith Morris and OFF! – FIDLAR guitarist Elvis Kuehn has one more obligation. He’s graduating from Cal State Long Beach with a degree in composition. And Sunday is his recital. No scissor kicks, please.