I imagine that many of my readers have some passing familiarity with The Fall, one of the only acts born of punk's first generation that has managed to remain vital without ever becoming -- or perhaps because they never became -- truly successful in a record-store sense. Together with The Ex, which I wrote about last year for Tikkun and The Mekons, they have managed to demonstrate the virtues of slogging away in spite of indifference. Their music ranges widely and is suffused with an aura of I-don't-care-what-you-want experimentation that perfectly frames the bitter greens of lead Fall guy Mark E. Smith's wordplay. You should go.
But you might have a better time at the Art Brut show. This is the band's first time playing in Tucson. Their album doesn't get released in the States until May 23rd. And they're supposed to put on a great live show.
tropicopolitan's account of seeing them at this year's Coachella festival has further amped up my excitement. I know that Islands, the sequel to the Unicorns, is playing tonight at Congress. I'm willing to bet, though, that more bliss will be had at Plush, both because of Art Brut's performance-friendly songs -- Annie Holub's feature in this week's Tucson Weekly gives a nice sense of Art Brut's low-fi charms -- and because Plush is a way better venue for live music these days. I put Art Brut's debut album on the car stereo a few months back and Skylar took to it immediately. She particularly likes the second track, "My Little Brother," which I'm making available as an advertisement for the show. It's ridiculously simple and fun, fun, fun. You can also download tracks with the band's blessings, if you like. I should point out that the song I've provided should not be regarded as exemplary. The music is typical, but the lyrics are not. Indeed, since Art Brut songs cover everything from erectile dysfunction to David Hockney to the New Musical Express, it would be very difficult to find lyrics that are typical. Suffice it to say that Art Brut keep company with the Arctic Monkeys at the leading edge of neo-punk Brit wit. I like Art Brut better, though, both from a musical and a lyrical standpoint. So you should go to tonight's show too. See you there.
