Art Brut frontman Eddie Argos, clad in button-up shirt and tie, looks nothing like a rock star; in fact, he's almost Dudley Moore with a mic instead of a martini glass.
Thus, he was perfectly suited to lead the irony rockers (you heard that here first) through their fast-paced set at the Metro.
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Art Brut with We Are Scientists
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 Entertainment
 Art
Metro
Chicago, Ill.
October 12, 2006
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Argos swaggered around the stage – and once into the crowd – embracing his droll singing voice and unleashing hilarious rambling monologues. He challenged the audience members to go form their own bands – "Look at us; it's not that hard!" – and later demanded that people forget about old lovers, then said never to listen to people in bands.
Argos' songs contain rambling riff-style versus, in which he talk-sings his way through mostly self-deprecating stories. Then the band hits you with inescapably catchy choruses, with hooks like: "All my friends think I'm insane/ I'm still in love with Emily Kane," or the chant that capped the show, "Art! Brut! Top of the pops!"
Guitarists Jasper Future and Ian Catskilkin delivered excellent stutter-stop rock, propelled by the head-nodding rhythm section of bassist Freddy Feedback (she's a chick) and drummer Mikey B. One of the best things – or worst, depending how you look at it – is if the band had a more technically skilled and "sincere" singer, they'd be indie darlings, drooled over by those people who define cool, then move onto other things the moment the world catches up.
By lampooning the hip world of rock, Art Brut alienates the very fans who propel indie bands upward. Indeed, a number of people left the show, which embellished the love-hate relationship people seem to have with the band. Either you get why a song about failing to maintain an erection ("Rusted Guns of Milan") is great, or you don't.
We Are Scientists, on the other hand, offered earlier in the night their more-traditional earnest rock, which sort of nestles between new-new wave and minimalist garage. Guitarist/singer Keith Murray and bassist Chris Cain have banter down to an art. They have some fine numbers, but the set lulled near the end. It may be telling that they did the best job covering Art Brut's "Bang Bang Rock and Roll," joined by the six members of whimsical opener The Spinto Band, who engaged in a hilarious choreographed dance.
The entire night was a display of good humor that's sometimes lacking in the too-emotional world of rock; many rockers forget to have fun, with themselves and with the audience. For example, even though Art Brut's set was maddeningly short, Argos didn't hesitate to blame this on crowd members as they screamed for an encore: "If you'd let us go home," he said, "we'd have more songs."
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