We join Art Brut as they sit nervously on battered old sofas, supping warm beer and perusing the abusively graffitoed walls of The Forum's back room; most of which centres around a band called Velt, who apparently "Are Shit", "Suck Dick" and are "A Bunch of Schlongers". Just in case you missed the message amongst the subtle word play, one helpful scribbler has also added a diagram to illustrate his point, which makes up in directness what it lacks in technical merit.

It's the kind of environment that would make any aspiring art-rock band feel welcome.

profusely, whilst beside him guitarist Chris Chinchilla goes one better, leaping from the stage and landing with knee shredding force on The Forum's hard concrete floors - it looks damned impressive (not to mention painful).

Art Brut have had the luxury of playing with several of their childhood heroes over the last few weeks, and tonight's no exception, Eddie

dedicates 'These Animal Menswe@r' ("A song about how Britpop saved my life") to tonight's headliners, and can chalk them up alongside Jim Bob & Fruitbat (both ex of Carter USM) as eccentric indie legends they've supported.

The success of recent single 'Formed a Band', which narrowly missed out on a Top 40 placing, seems to have added an extra belief and hunger to

The long standing live favourites 'Modern Art', 'Formed a Band' and 'Top of the Pops' all do their jump up and down infectious riffage thing to their usual impeccable degree, but tonight it's set closer 'Good Weekend' (as opposed to 'Formed a Band' b-side 'Bad Weekend'); as emphatic and joyous and wonderful an experience as you're likely to have in a converted public toilet in deepest Kent.

A hard act to follow for David Devant & His Spirit Wife, but you don't stay around as long as this lot without having a few tricks up your sleeve, and Devant frontman Vessel has them in spades; entering in silhouette behind

a paper screen before painting 'I Love Art Brut' on it and bursting through, wearing a cape and a shiny gold jumper.

He is joined on stage by a guitarist with his face painted as a scary clown, and greeted by a baying throng, waving aloft the balloon animals which they've just created following an instructional tape that had introduced the band, and making shadow bunnies with the light from the video projector.

All in all, it's a bit bonkers, and extremely entertaining to watch; unfortunately though, the tunes don't quite match up to the theatre - decent, quirky indie tunes, but lacking in that little something that makes songs special; not that anyone cares as Vesel and his crew parade through the crowd with torches, the whole venue humming a blood curdling chant, while his spirit wife (a white nightie dangling from a stick with torches shining on it) wafts eerily above the stage: it's like 'The Wicker Man' meets 'The Exorcist', and quite frankly it's a little unnerving.

See more pictures of Art Brut from this gig by clicking here.

Find out more about David Devant & His Spirit Wife at doremi.co.uk

More about Art Brut can be found in Joyzine's Art Brut pages