Art Brut @ Highline Ballroom - 7.9.07

My friend and I got to the show a bit late, which seems to have become a habit, but I actually don't think we missed more than a few songs. The venue is amazing. This was my first time at the Highline Ballroom and it did not disappoint. Sightlines as good as the Bowery, but an even smaller club, yet wider. Killer lighting, the whole works...well, except for the sound, which i guess was a bit of a problem. It didn't happen constantly but Eddie Argos was hard to understand a couple of times...and no, it wasn't b/c of the accent. As for the show itself, it was as always dead on. They always seem to be having the best time, which is incredibly refreshing for a rock band. I guess I've just seen one too many sourpusses in my time, looking miserable while performing to sold out crowds, so seeing Eddie and the gang really get into it totally warms the cockles of this music fan.

They played a good mix of the newly released songs, like this great bit:

I'm taking it slowly

I've been reading the signs

I found my hand in a place

Where I can't tell if she minds

Rolling around amongst our clothes on the floor

I can't help it:

"Have you heard this song before?"

I know I shouldn't

Is it so wrong

To break from your kiss

To turn up a pop song

How can you not love a song about being distracted by pop songs while making out?

Or this one:
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fgcDaYqOaGI

Once they left the stage for their encore, the crowd started yelling out "Art Brut, Top of the Pops", which for the uninitiated, is a refrain/band's wish from a ditty on their first album. So ingrained has this song become in my psyche, that when I heard about TotP going off the air, Art Brut is the first thing that came to my head. 'Oh no' thought I, 'now they'll never be able to be on Top of the Pops.' That's how crazy catchy their music is. It's silly, funny, and just plain fun. While doing a medley of songs, during which they do the Top of the Pops bit, Eddie starts calling out where that song had hit number 1 - Estonia, Brazil, Jamaica, former Yugoslavia, Disneyland, Disneyworld, and progressively sillier and sillier. But it's not just Eddie that makes up the band, although he is quite the showman. I have to also point out Jasper Future, one of the guitarists. He seems to have walked out of a 70's Bowie session and to my mind, could fill in for one of the excellent Hives, if one of them should ever have some sort of odd sledding injury. He has that kind of smart-aleckiness that I so love and treasure in the Hives' Nicholaus Arson.

On a side note, I'm sure I would've gotten excellent photos, since the lighting was so good, except, oh, I left my camera on during the ride over and so had no battery left. I attempted to take a photo with my cell phone but the results of that were too pitiful to post.

The crowd was decent enough, although for a while I was wishing bloody murder on the magpie couple in front of me who proceeded to canoodle without actually making contact, throughout the entire show. I think the show was just an elaborate set music piece background to their enchanting banter/flirtation. Grrr. Look, it's obviously ok that you go to a show on a date (although a bit stupid, since you can't really, or shouldn't, talk while the band is on), but don't ruin it for everyone else behind you, i.e. poor little me who had nowhere else to go. But I digress...

End result: Band was in top form as always - this was the third time I've seen them and they haven't disappointed yet. I had a great time jumping around a bit and yelling out obnoxious lyrics. And I hope they can come back soon so I can do it all over again. But next time I'll definitely show up earlier so as not to miss any of the fun.