Art Brut, Yes. 29th October 2024

Warning I’m likely to exaggerate a little here. You see I think that Art Brut are one of the greatest bands, ever!!

Before I go full gush, there’s the not inconsequential case of DeafDeafDeaf. I missed this lot a few months back when they supported Bodega, so tonight is my chance to right that wrong. They’re five local lads taking to the Yes Pink Room stage with a definite confidence about them. They’re a bit raw and ramshackle, sounding a little like early Murder Capital, creating a big wall of guitar noise, over which the sunglasses sporting singer shout sings lyrics that I can’t quite make out, but that sit nicely within the maelstrom. “How shit’s this weather” asks the singer between songs, “Not sunglasses weather” replies the bloke next to me. They’re very dark and dystopian, but there a lot of bands around with this sound. They definitely show glimpses of something very interesting though and certainly worth keeping an eye on. Closing with ‘Totally in Love’ they took a little while to really grab me, but the last few songs sound great.

Speaking of great… ART BRUT! They come on to Holst, now that’s classy. ‘Pump Up The Volume’ guides us steadily in. It’s a catchy bugger, they all are, but it’s a calm start as Eddie in his favoured polka dots does his thing. ‘She Kissed Me (And It Felt Like A Hit)’ is much more visceral, Eddie’s jumping, barely clearing Yes’ low ceiling, before breaking for the first of many mid song interludes. Every song comes with a story almost as brilliant as the songs themselves. ‘My Little Brother’ breaks down for nearly 5 minutes while we catch up with news on brother Collin who’s no longer 22 and out of control. Sure some of these stories are engrained in Art Brut lore, but Eddie’s such a captivating frontman it’s still highly entertaining. No one does this like Eddie. It’s almost a shock when the song comes crashing back in. ‘Axl Rose’ is next and is slightly spoilt for me by yet another clown videoing the whole bloody song (see the last gig review). I’m gathering evidence on these idiots (photos ironically) and really fancy starting a dedicated Xitter thread, but does that hell site really need another angry man. Probably not. Anyway it’s one of my favourites next, it’s ‘Modern Art’ time. Strap in, this might take a while. Always an extended live opus, Eddie wanders into the crowd. Discovers there’s AC and is thrilled. Then goes too far and disconnects the mic cable, before plugging back in to tell stories of Van Gogh fridge magnets, licking paintings and of course the everyone get down before jumping back up and going wild bit. Tried and tested yes, still brilliant. Eddie needs a breather now, so we get ‘Rusted Guns of Milan’. A slow lament with buzz guitars about errectile disfunction. Who says Art Brut aren’t sensitive. Half the band are new, maybe more than half, I’ve lost count a bit over the years, but they’re tight on ‘St. Pauli’, a song with not one awesome bass riff but two! The now very vocal pit takes over on ’Summer Job’ as Eddie now very sweaty looks on approvingly. ‘Bad Weekend’ is so brilliant I forget I’m wearing a shirt with its lyrics on it. There’s more improv, of course there is, it’s part of the Art Brut live experience. Songs twist and turn playfully, it feels wonderfully chaotic, never knowing quite where they could be headed, but always delighted with the destination. Honestly I could watch them play for hours and hours. ‘Nag Nag Nag Nag’ marks the first hour. Sadly they won’t quite stretch to a second, but it sets up the perfect pop punk song in ‘Emily Kane’. A song bridging the heartfelt and humour of unrequited love. There’s so many great songs and they just keep coming, but I could probably name a good dozen or two that I’d love to hear as well. ‘Wham! Bang! Pow! Let’s Rock Out!’ is the sound of a band that’s never gonna grow up. Thank fuck. Never grow up, never get big. I used to say it’s a travesty that they’re not playing to huge audiences, but this is perfection. Art Brut are a cult band after all and rooms like Yes feel like home. A chant of “ART BRUT TOP OF THE POPS’ welcomes them back for the encore. The pit erupts for ‘Formed a Band’ with alt lyrics that declare “When Tops of the Pops comes back this will be the theme tune!”. ‘Unprofessional Wrestling’ is the deepest cut in a hit packed set and some use it to head to the back, not me, I’m happy in touching distance of Eddie as he swings on the ceilings pipework. ‘Post Soothing Out’ I thought an odd choice to close but it’s a wonderful wind down. Arms are in the air, it’s joyous and as Eddie shouts “Bye!” he disappears to leave the ever ready Art Brut to wrap things up as the chant of “ART BRUT TOP OF THE POPS” starts up once more and echoes into the night. They really are one of the greatest bands, EVER!!!