Art Brut, Manchester Academy. 14th March 2020

First gig of the night sees me at the Academy for The Subways. I’m not here for The Subways though, I don’t really like The Subways. They’re okay, but I’m here for the mighty Art Brut! I’ve never seen them on a stage this big, having only seen them headline smaller and quite frankly better rooms. It’s a treat though, as it’s pretty quiet in here, making the often awkward Academy a pleasure to watch a band in. There are a few Art Brut shirts dotted around, I’m wearing my new one with pride. I suspect they might stay for The Subways, I won’t, I’ve another band to see. But I get ahead of myself as the band saunter on, start the opening riff of Welcome to the Jungle, as a moustachioed Eddie Argos joins them, pinches the guitarists bum and smashes into We Formed a Band. Fucking fantastic! We get songs new and old, including My Little Bother, with Eddies trademark extended chat interlude in which we’re encouraged to touch each other’s faces. As they belt out the hits for an hour it’s beautifully ramshackled. Only Art Brut can do this and make it work, it’s chaos perfected, with Eddie orchestrating the storm. This is largely thanks to the band though, ridiculously tight and ready to jam, groove, or unleash a pop rock hurricane at a raised eyebrow from Mr Argos. I’ve said it before, this is one of the best live bands in the country, it’s both brilliant and bizarre they never became more successful. The Subways have a lot to live up to, but I’m off to the next gig...