Art Brut - Live at Mean Fiddler

Art Brut – Mean Fiddler, London, 15^th November 2006
Chris George

That bastard who’s always at gigs who stands in a tightly packed crowd spilling beer and fag ash on everyone is standing next to Neon Buzz; the tall sod who should be forced by venue policy to stay at the back is stood in front of Neon Buzz; that tosser who insists on wearing a leather jacket in the middle of a sweat-streaked audience IS Neon Buzz. The point is that there are few things that can spoil an Art Brut gig. Not even the tosser in the jacket.

The set starts with the beginning of AC/DC’s “Back in Black” as an alternative opening to Art Brut’s “Formed a Band” which gets the audience fired up and grinning like drugged-up lobotomy patients. Their set-list is superb – their full album, plus B-sides and new songs like latest single “Nag Nag Nag Nag”, a disdainful stormer that deserves to be a dance-floor classic.

But where Art Brut have always shone is in their lyrics and Eddie Argos’s vocals – droll, honest and wonderfully British – and these are what makes their gigs such a good experience. Eddie is extremely charming, instantly forming a genuine rapport with the audience– “That was very good,” he says of the audience after the first song, “and as a reward, we’re going to play you a B-side.” Ok so they were going to play it anyway, but you can’t help but feel loved. The band stops halfway through “Emily Kane” to let Mr. Argos explain that, after speaking to her a year or so ago, he realised that he didn’t love her and implores the audience to forget their ex’s – it’s like this showman’s your mate giving you good advice. The band then dive back into the song so choreographed it makes the little asides like this just as entertaining as the usual lyrics and tune, if not more so.

If you were ever on the fence about Art Brut, their live show will win you over – tight, personable and relentlessly entertaining, they put on a live show quite unlike any other band.