It takes a certain skill to make your whole crowd happily squat on their haunches for two minutes midway through a song.

But it was just one example of the innate showmanship Art Brut frontman Eddie Argos demonstrated on Tuesday night as he joined the crowd for an extended monologue midway through fan favourite Modern Art.

Like a Suggs for the 21st century, Argos is the bandleader, spiritual force and lyrical genius behind Art Brut, but that's not to denegrate what the rest of the band brought to the performance.

Like The Ramones, everything the band did was aimed towards the audience, with guitarist Jasper Future counting in every punky lick like a man possessed, and drummer Mikey Breyer eschewing a drum stool so he could stand and have a better view of the audience.

Argos's self-aware monologue midway through My Little Brother pointed out that the rock and roll-loving subject of the song was now 29, an English teacher and not the member of the family that his parents worried about most any more.

Although their set may have largely focused on their classic debut Bang Bang Rock And Roll and latest (and fourth) album Brilliant! Tragic! the plateau in quality and sales from their second album onwards that Argos referred to later in his monologue should not be seen as a band stagnating.

It's more that Art Brut started off so well it would be almost impossible for them to achieve more musically. If only more people would listen.