Brad Schultz isn’t supposed to be in Nashville. “We should be on a little run in Europe, festivals and things,” says the Cage the Elephant guitarist, “but our guitar player smashed his knee up pretty bad. He’s actually having surgery right now, as we speak.”

The accident occurred roughly 15 minutes into a recent festival set in the Netherlands. As the band played “Cold Cold Cold,” from 2015’s Tell Me I’m Pretty, guitarist Nick Bockrath approached the audience for his guitar solo, jumping off the drum riser toward the front of the stage.

“And he just landed weird,” Schultz says. “He tore his ACL, tore his TCL and fractured his tibia. Pretty gnarly injury.”

While Bockrath is now on his way to recovery, the on-stage accident was only the latest in a series of misfortunes, heartbreaks and tragedies to befall the Grammy-winning band. In just a few short years, the group encountered deaths, divorce, and overdoses—much of which became the influence for this year’s moody, slick Social Cues.

“We’ve always wanted our records to reflect the things that we’ve been through, leading up to that record,” Schultz says. “And it was a tough time in life for everybody. In the span of the last two or three years, we’ve had close to 10 of our friends and family members pass away. At one time it seemed like this never-ending wave of doom. And at the same time, Matt was going through his own struggles within his personal relationship.”

In lead single “Ready to Let Go,” singer Matt Schultz (Brad’s brother) details a portentous trip to the ruins of Pompeii with his then-wife.

“Sun went down over Pompeii,” he sings, over snapping guitar and a buzzsaw synth line. “On holy ground, our vows were broken.”

With the doomed city as its backdrop and central metaphor, “Ready to Let Go” builds to a huge chorus in which Schultz describes himself striking a match and spreading the ashes of his relationship.

“He was digging very deep,” Brad says of his brother’s lyrical process. “Sometimes those words are hard to sing when you’re in the middle of it, the middle of that kind of pain. I think in the end, though, the record became very therapeutic for us.”

Cage the Elephant come to Shoreline this week as part of the Night Running Tour they’re co-headlining with Beck. The tour draws its name from the band’s new single, which features their tour mate as a guest vocalist.

“We had only met him one time,” Schultz says, “but we started thinking about doing some kind of feature on the track and Beck just popped into my mind. We sent it on a whim, not even really thinking we’d hear back. And within maybe 24 hours he sent us back a demoed version with the verses that he’d put on there. He said he had four more verses if we wanted to hear more!”

“Night Running” is a clear album highlight—a dub-heavy pop jam that finds Beck rapping on the first verse and playing hype man on the chorus. The interplay of the voices, the back-and-forth chorus and the consistent forward momentum all make for one of the band’s most inspired songs yet. It also, hopefully, signals a step away from their recent run of bad luck.

“I think we’re in a good place, other than Nick’s knee,” Schultz says, chuckling. “We’re finally getting back to a bit of normalcy. Knock on wood. I feel like I’m constantly holding my breath even just saying that.”

Cage the Elephant
Jul 16, 6pm, $30
Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View

Mr. Worldwide brings his international flair to the South Bay for a night of Latin-infused pop and hip-hop. Pitbull has demonstrated an expansive range over the course of his 15-year career.  His proper discography begins with the Lil John-produced Dirty South anthem “Culo” and moves through to EDM-tinged club bangers, like “Give Me Everything Tonight.” He’s released 10 albums since his 2004 debut LP, M.I.A.M.I., and has gone from headlining sweaty Dade County dance halls to co-founding the Bad Boy Latino record label and rocking his signature three-piece suit on the Today show.

Pitbull 
Fri, 7pm, $29+
Shoreline Amphitheater, Mountain View

If Deep Purple had done nothing more than record “Smoke on the Water,” the band would have earned a place of honor in rock history. Though the riff-based classic (with a true-story lyric about a fire at a Montreux, Switzerland concert venue) has become a cliche among musicians and fans alike, there’s no mistaking its appeal. And the album that features the tune—1972’s Machine Head—is an undisputed classic.

The history of this British band is winding and complicated; since forming in Hertford, England in 1967, more than a dozen musicians have passed through its ranks. The most celebrated lineup is the one that made Machine Head and three other highly regarded albums, but every lineup created memorable music.

Deep Purple’s early style was prototypical progressive rock, with the dramatic organ work of Jon Lord at the center of the group’s sound (Lord retired in 2002 and passed away in 2012). By 1970 the group had changed its style to a heavier approach, but dazzling instrumental work—most notably from Lord, guitarist Ritchie Blackmore and drummer Ian Paice—meant that Deep Purple was always a cut above most hard rock bands.

Blackmore left for good in the 1990s; today the guitar position is ably filled by virtuoso Steve Morse, who came to fame with Dixie Dregs, the fusion band he founded. Paice is the sole member who has been with the group since its beginning. Longtime in-demand session keyboardist Don Airey took over when Lord retired, and bassist Roger Glover and vocalist Ian Gillan, two members of the prime early 1970s lineup, have both been back in the fold for many years.

Not content to tour and perform as a “legacy group,” today’s Deep Purple showcases both its classic material and songs from its two most recent albums, 2013’s Now What?! and Infinite from 2017. Both were produced by Bob Ezrin (Pink Floyd, Alice Cooper) and earned critical praise.

“Time for Bedlam,” the leadoff single from Infinite, balances melodrama, pounding riffs and muscular, flashy instrumental pyrotechnics. In the midst of what the band is calling its “Long Goodbye Tour,” Deep Purple’s current sound is contemporary melodic hard rock, rooted in the classic style that earned the band its reputation as masters of the genre. They share the bill with fellow hard rocking pioneers Judas Priest.

Deep Purple
Sep 29, 7pm $30+
Shoreline Amphitheatre, Mountain View