Art Brut

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Reading Festival 2005

Friday 26th to Sunday 28th August 2005
Richfield Avenue, Reading, Berkshire, England MAP
£125 for weekend (including camping) - SOLD OUT, £60 any day

Daily capacity: 55,000

If any further proof is needed that the sound in the Radio 1 tent is well and truly knadgered, it’s this. Usually, Art Brut are a brilliant post-Pulp homage with Eddie Argos’ witty lyrics raising the odd laugh or two (“My little brother’s just discovered rock and roll…stay off the crack!”), but effectively stripped of the vocals by the terrible PA, they’re reduced to a fairly average indie-pop band who sound like a slightly less interesting version of Elastica.

Entering to the sound of AC/DC’s ‘Back In Black’, (a slightly cynical attempt to win over the hordes of folk eager to see Iron Maiden, no doubt), Argos orders his band to deliver first single ‘Formed A Band’. They do, and it goes down nicely, an incisive look into the world of starting your own band that’s going to take over the world. It’s just a shame that they can’t top it during this set – perhaps the dreams of world domination were slightly premature.

review by Tom Foster