Art Brut @ Garage - January 17, 2019

My first show at Garage, but a nice little space, which I'm pleased about as I already have another gig lined up there.

Found out Art Brut were doing 2 shows in London before and after Xmas, unfortunately after they had both sold out. Twickets to the rescue where I bought 2 tickets, hoping to sell the other. I was going to go solo, but a fellow Solo Armada member was interested in the ticket and ended up being an enjoyable companion for the music intervals.

We met at doors opening and were some of the first to enter the cold room. A couple of hours earlier I was amused by tweets from Eddie Argos scolding anyone who wasn't going to arrive early for the openers. He was chatting with some friends at the merch stall and stayed out front to hear the first band, practicing what he preached, and standing directly in front of us.

Fightmilk were first up. A four member band with two guitars, one being female who doubled as lead singer. She had good stage presence and her between-song banter was amusing. Having checked out both openers beforehand, I recognized a couple of songs, but it was their energy that I appreciated more than the actual songs, although Your Girlfriend was pleasing in a Weezeresque way.

Gaffa Tape Sandy were fairly similar to Fightmilk, except they had three members, the female member was on bass and the two guitarists split vocal duties. While their stage banter wasn't great, it wasn't bad, but their energy was really great and some of their songs are really growing on me, particularly Water Bottle and Beehive.

Eddie Argos bounded onto the stage after the other band members had taken their places, and it's indisputable that he is the focal point of Art Brut. I believe only the guitarist, Ian Catskilkin, is an original member, with the drummer, apparently being brand new.

 They opened with Hooray! from their new album, Wham! Bam! Pow! Let's Rock Out! Argos then led into My Little Brother with some banter about the song being written when his little brother was 22, and how at 36, with a condo and a job and a nice car, that their mother is no longer more worried about her youngest son. This was followed up by a hilarious lengthy ramble (almost the sprechgesang of his song delivery) about his Mum telling him that shouty bands are now in fashion, like Sleaford Mods and Idles and Shame, and isn't that great.

Argos introduced Axl Rose by telling us that his two favourite singers are Morrissey and Axl Rose and isn't it unbelievable which one turned out to be the liberal and which the right-wing fascist.  The back-to-back "hit" songs played next were the closest they can get to saying they are going to play one of their hits, he joked. Then Hospital! and Alcoholics Unanimous were presented as 'effect' and 'cause'.

The increasingly energetic set with attendant high leg kicks focused mainly on their amazing debut and their newest release with only one or two songs from their three middle albums. Requests were screamed out, and Argos responded several times that they don't play Modern Art anymore, but the crowd kept trying. Delivering Emily Kane slightly before they left the stage for the first time certainly placated their fans and the mosh pit finally started to get a bit animated.

After a brief absence while the crowd chanted "Art Brut: Top of the Pops", the encore kicked off in similarly energetic fashion with Formed a Band. By the time Art Brut left the stage, most of the crowd seemed sweaty and satisfied. But they quickly reemerged and we were treated to a monster encore of Modern Art with a very extended stream-of-consciousness tale of visiting an art gallery as Argos waded into the very middle of the crowd. He got almost everyone to sit down on their haunches with him at the eye of a huge circle of fans, as he asked us to envision our favourite work of art, before at last releasing us to jump up to the repeated chorus "Modern Art! Makes Me! Want to Rock Out!"

Argos's showmanship is terribly entertaining and winning and I've only seen an encore bettered by Nick Cave at All Points East. And that's some high praise by association.

Setlist:
Hooray!
My Little Brother
Axl Rose
She Kissed Me (And It Felt Like a Hit)
Direct Hit
Hospital!
Alcoholics Unanimous
Too Clever
Arizona Bay
Emily Kane
Wham! Bang! Pow! Let's Rock Out!
Encore:
Formed a Band
Kultfigur
Bad Weekend / Demons Out!
Post Soothing Out
2nd Encore:
Modern Art

Gaz Brookfield @ The Monarch, Camden - November 8, 2018

I first stumbled across Gaz Brookfield in 2015 when I was looking for a drink after the Faith No More Roundhouse show. He was finishing his set at The Monarch and his instantly singable songs made me want to hear a lot more. He was actually the first person I followed on Twitter so I could hear about future shows near me.

A year and a half later I was in Norwich to go to the Levellers' Levelling the Land Anniversary show. Gaz Brookfield was the first opener so I asked my concert companions if we could try to catch his set. Wrangling several people for a 1/2 hour drive prevented this, and we walked in during Gaz's final song. He did a big splits jump at the end to underline what a good set we must have missed. I did manage to have a quick, awkward chat with him at his merch table, and grabbed a flyer with future dates, still hoping to catch his set one day soon.

Newly moved to Camden borough, of course I wasn't going to miss the next Gaz Brookfield show at The Monarch. I doubly wanted to go after discovering Solo Armada, a group for music loving solo gig-goers who want to support live music and meet up at shows. On their gig listings, I saw a few people were going to be there sporting their buttons. I had a slight second-thought when I got an alert that a ticket became available for Art Brut at Boston Music Room, but I'm glad I stuck with my plan, because it was good to meet some Solo Armada folk and see a really fun, engaging show.

Ben Sydes, aka B-Sydes, was part way through his set when I arrived. There were several laughs about shots being delivered to the stage and stage banter that all three singer-songwriters would continue alone and together through the evening. They were obviously good friends and having a fun night with the audience feeling part of the celebrations. I can't say any of B-Sydes songs particularly grabbed me, and his nasally voice isn't for me, but he did a great job of warming us up and setting a friendly tone.

Next up was Jake Martin, a great showman with some belting singalongs like For Fuck's Sake Jake where the crowd was encouraged to sing back "You're an Asshole" after the lines "I'm a King Without a Castle / You're my Queen. I'm an Asshole" and cooperated with gusto. He later joined Gaz Brookfield for a couple of songs that they've written together for their Aged Revolt album, a collaboration where they cover each other's songs.

There wasn't much of a pause and Gaz soon jumped into action with a short but energetic and feel-good set. We got a few songs from each of his albums and most of the crowd sung along enthusiastically. Brookfield is a warm and funny performer, happy to share jokes and go with the flow through any surprises or glitches.

Finally seeing a full Gaz Brookfield set has only reinforced my liking for his music. His songwriting is sincere and original. His guitar playing is clean and upbeat in the best indie folk  tradition and I really enjoy his gravelly voice. He's a well-seasoned performer and delivers a fun night out. Pretty damn good value for a mere £6.

Most songs were introduced with a bit of banter and before he sung Aged Revolt he shared a story about the origins of the name. Apparently, he and Jake wanted to write an album called the Travelodge Diaries and when he contacted Travelodge corporate for permission to use their name, they declined. So into an anagram generator went "Travelodge" and the album and tour had a name, and a fitting one he's mused, sharing that (despite his boyish looks) he is almost 40.

The final song of the night, the new Great Minds Drink Alike, saw Jake and Gaz off the stage in the middle of the crowd singing among us. I shot most of it on video if you care to have a look.


Setlist:
Solo Acoustic Guy
The Diabetes Blues
The March of Progress
The Tale of Gunner Haines
Under the Table
It's All So Rock and Roll
Godless Man
I've Paid My Money
Aged Revolt
Be the Bigger Man
Thin
Encore:
Great Minds Drink Alike