We had to set up camp early at the Parish to make sure we weren't shut out of Art Brut, but the wait was worth it. First off, there were some good-to-great bands to help pass the time. In addition to those acts mentioned in my last post, the Young Knives turned out some decently arty Futurehead-y pop-punk. And the Ponys were simultaneously more atmospheric and harder rocking than I'd seen them in the past--not so much a change for the better (I already liked 'em) as a change for the just-as-good.

But the real pay-off was that Art Brut themselves. Singer Eddie Argos has a face that's half straight-man, half comic--ordinary features, but soulful eyes shaded by bushy eyebrows and a thin, gentlemanly moustache. His button-down shirt was a size too small, his pants a size too tight, and he kicked off his shows when he walked on stage.

Plenty of Art Brut songs are little more than extended sets of one-liners, but Argos has the timing to keep them fresh. He's also got great one liners--"Good Weekend," about some private time with a "brand new girlfriend" builds up to the ecstatic shout "I've seen her naked! Twice!" After "Rusted Gun of Milan," a harrowing tale of erectile dysfunction, he cautioned us, "I'm not glorifying bad sex here."

Argos can upstage the band, but their two-chord attack, equal parts Wire and the Fall, deserves notice. No music this simple is as easy as it sounds. Not to mention the fact that Argos keeps 'em on their toes--instead of counting off to start a song, just shouts "Art Brut! Go!"

Art Brut will be at the 7th Street Entry in a week or so. Go.