[Most of this was written back in May immediately after the gig and for some reason it never made it here. So I’ve amended the text a bit, and hope you all don’t mind too much that it’s old news. There will be several such “lost posts” coming up in the next few days.]

Art Brut don’t care if you, Artrocker, the NME, or anyone else think they’re cool. The fact that you probably do is completely coincidental. For a band that named itself after a modern art movement and made their reputation as ironic scene outsiders, one could be forgiven if one assumed a certain degree of pretention present. You would be sorely disappointed, however, if that was your expectation seeing as nary a shred could be found during a storming set of highly danceable art-punk at the Houston stop of their tour to promote the American release of one of 2005’s best albums, Bang Bang Rock and Roll.

Having already seen the band twice during the South By Southwest festival this year, I knew to expect a terrific show and the set at the Proletariat, with the addition of new/old track “These Animal Menswe@r” (which appears as a bonus on the American version) and a few new songs, “Blame It On The Trains”, “St. Pauli” and “Post Soothing Out”, even exceeded the SXSW sets.

As a band, they all play off each other exceptionally well, and there’s a remarkable everyman (or woman, for that matter) appeal to them. “Formed a band! We formed a band! Look at us! We formed a band!” can be taken as both a triumphant announcement of accomplishment and a call to arms, in a sort of “we did it, so can you” sort of way. In fact, they encourage just that. Eddie Argos has been heard to tell the audience if he asks if you’re in a band, you better tell him yes! They also encourage Art Brut cover acts, one of which is none other than We Are Scientists, who opened for them about a week later in their Art Brut cover guise (thus explaining why Eddie told me they’d be playing with them but to “give it a week or so” before I told anyone, so I kept it, because secrets are fun.) Now the cat’s out of the bag that they’ll be tourmates on a US jaunt this month, no harm in mentioning it now, I suppose. Be sure to check out the show if you’re stateside this fall, and be sure to bring extra cash for the special tour-only cover-exchange split they’ll be hawking, on which We Are Scientists cover “Bang Bang Rock and Roll” and Art Brut are purportedly setting down a 9-minute rendition of “The Great Escape”.

Most importantly, Art Brut are a lot of fun, so check your pretention at the door because believe me, a band that tears up the dancefloor to Michael Jackson’s “Smooth Criminal” after their set has no time for pretention. (Bless Mikey and Jasper for that highly entertaining floor show, by the way. It was great.) Modern art may not make you want to rock out, but Art Brut will.

Here are photos from the Prole show back in May.

Art Brut official site
Art Brut myspace

One of the oddest double-bills in recent memory rolled its way through Houston, Texas last Thursday when Death Cab For Cutie and Franz Ferdinand played to a packed house at the Verizon Wireless Theater. It was an odd bill because either band was sufficiently popular on their own to be capable of selling out the 3,000 capacity venue, and this crowd seemed pretty fairly split between fans of one band or the other. If anyone was actually there for both, they were rare, as most people randomly polled in the queue were there for either Franz or Death Cab, but not both.

Opening the show were English band The Cribs, back in Texas two weeks after tearing up stages all over Austin at SXSW this year. Their set list didn’t vary too much from what they’ve been typically playing here in the States, but they ripped right through it and, as usual, were an absolute joy to watch play. Guitarist Ryan Jarman seemed to be in good spirits and sounder health than previous gigs, barely one month after a particularly nasty injury at the NME awards in London, and brothers Gary and Ross (on bass and drums respectively) certainly held down their end during their 10-song set. Despite the boys’ feedback-laden, chaotic brand of scuzzy lo-fi pop punk being quite different musically from either of the two bands set to follow that night, they were received quite enthusiastically by the Houston crowd. It was a good first showing in Houston for the boys, and if I may break objectivity here for just a second, I was really proud of them, and of the Houston crowd as well for treating them so well. They definitely won over some new fans that night, and deservedly so.

The next band on was Death Cab, who’ve always seemed just a bit too dull and emo on record, but I was more than willing to give them a chance to change my mind. After four or five songs, however, I decided it was simply not to be. There’s a reason they have such a huge following, I’m sure, but they’re just not my cup of tea. But in all fairness to them, their fans seemed happy.

Franz Ferdinand took the alternating headlining spot that night, and when they took the stage one could definitely see why so many in the crowd were willing to wait all night for them. In a music world over-populated and over-polluted with far too many boring sound-alike bands, their slightly Glasgow School revival sound brings a welcome and much-needed smartness to pop. And girls can dance to it, too! (And did they? Indeed they did.) The first half of their set featured mostly songs from their second album, and despite my initial dislike of that one I’m certainly willing to give it another try based on how good it actually sounded live (minus single “Do You Want To”, which still comes across as just plain grating). The second half, comprised of songs from their debut, was even better, closing the show with a rendition of “This Fire” that ended with three, yes, three band members banging away at the drums. Frontman Alex Kapranos was engaging and actually rather charming onstage, but the real star of the night had to be bassist Bob Hardy, who despite never saying a word onstage nevertheless stole the show with his ever-present cowboy hat.

For a big gig at a huge corporately-owned venue, it actually was a surprisingly decent night on the town. It’s not the sort of place to trade in the small clubs for on a regular basis, but regardless there didn’t seem to be a single person in the house who wasn’t having a great time. And sometimes, that’s all it takes to make it.

In which Manda Does Hollywood — and kinda hates it. [ed. note: Photos of this gig are available in the gallery.]

They say Los Angeles is the kind of city you either love or loathe. Although there were a few lovely people there, if I’m honest, I’d have to say I wasn’t too impressed with it as a whole and wasn’t at all sad to leave it. The entire week I spent in California was a bit jinxed from beginning to end and by the time we came to our final night in L.A. I’d decided it was time to just cut loose and let the chips fall where they may.

Famous last words.
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The Los Angeles venue where this gig was held was more in keeping with the sort I like than any other we went to that week: a small, dimly lit space with a bunch of people crammed in. For some reason, the friend who took care of our tickets that night thought the show was meant to start later than it actually did, so by the time we realised our mistake and procured a taxi to take us to the club the first band, Manchester’s Nine Black Alps, were already halfway through their set.
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When I first had the chance to see the Kaiser Chiefs at this year’s South by Southwest music festival in Austin, Texas, they were virtually unknown outside the UK. Their debut album, Employment, had only been released two days prior to their festival showcase gig at Austin’s La Zona Rosa. I’d been hearing for months from friends in England about what a fantastic show the five-piece band from Leeds put on, and was sufficiently convinced by the album’s Britpop-tinged infectiousness that they were definitely worth checking out. I wasn’t disappointed by their energetic festival set, and neither were the rest of that audience, many of whom had trekked out from the UK to see their boys take on America. So it was with a great deal of anticipation that I went to see them play again, this time a full headlining gig at San Francisco’s renowned Fillmore auditorium.
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