Cage the Elephant // Albert Hall, Manchester, 2017 – Nancy Colbert
Hungry for action, we jump and fight for our place with a view. So this is what it looks like when an elephant becomes uncaged. They take to their stage like it’s their one natural home, so happy to be back in the safari. They run for miles. We can’t keep up, but we follow along.
We are a sea of hyenas flooding the deserted plain. Singing out all together but never in sync, spiralling into overlapping screams. Watching our prey, knowing we will never get close enough; we can only watch the elephants perform and tease ourselves. The giraffes scamper as we all travel. The last thing they want is to get caught in our excitement and run the risk of being tonight’s dinner. Unbalanced, unstable, unable to walk in straight lines. Mind out the way of those rhinos, charging through the crowds with no rhyme nor reason but to cause chaos. The meerkats avoid predators, perched high up in the trees but still watching the elephants relish the fresh taste of freedom.
Covered in sweat from the heat and breathless from the adventure, we can rest… but we’ll never catch or Cage the Elephant.