Art Brut & Shitdisco @ the Barfly

Fringey was very excited to find out that SHITDISCO were supporting ART BRUT at the Barfly tonight, but this meant we were forced to leave the lovely Lock Tavern a bit earlier than we’d like. Pants, but can’t have everything. And so, waving goodbye to the pretty barman with a flower in his hair, we head over to the dank dingy Barfly.

We ended up getting there quite a bit early and watched CICCONE do their thing. They were ok, (and the singing lady was wearing a plunging top with very good bra). Shitdisco also made an extra special effort with their “image” and were working the pikey chav look. While I appreciate their devotion to a particular aesthetic (and it makes a change from tight jeans and skinny ties) I think they can safely leave the leisure wear at home next time. They did however gaffa tape over the “Carling” part of the backdrop. So, bonus points for that chaps! And the Art Brut audience eventually warmed to their thudding lunatic disco punk, but I would love to see what they're like with a crowd who want to dance as hard as Shitdisco play.

Then came Eddie and his gang! The shy bassist, the amazing standing up drummer and the duelling guitarists who almost manage to upstage the Argos! But not quite. We know all the words to 'Emily Kane', 'Rusted Guns', 'Modern Art' etc now and I feel we’ve all seen Eddies new girlfriend naked more than TWICE, but we still can't wait to hear what else we’ve got to stay away from, besides the “crack” of course. (it’s Pete Doherty ... again.)

I get the feeling that it’s a tired Art Brut tonight, going through the motions, even Argos fighting his way through the audience, (to stand on the BAR and sing in his stripey socks) is a bit old. Running through an audience singing was way more impressive when he did it in the HUGE Brixton Academy and to the bemused LCD Soundsystem crowd! Still, we love him for trying. He's looking good (and has lost a bit of weight), being in love must agree with him.

Oh, and the campaign to move Top of the Pops back to Thursday night, starts here!