He knew exactly what he was doing. Exhorting his band to romp into battle with cries of "Come on Art Brut!" Argos expertly and ecstatically led the British five-piece through the funhouse maze Wednesday night (3/15) at The Parish to the delight of a squeezing-room only crowd.

Argos and his band played up the punk-rock outcast angle on their first single, "Formed a Band," and subsequent album, "Bang Bang Rock and Roll," but on The Parish stage they are nothing less than professionals, banging out one rollicking anthem after another as Argos points and preens, and guitarist Jasper Future pulls a seemingly endless supply of rock-god theatrics out of his hat.

"Formed a Band" might be the perfect opener. Consisting mainly of the lyrics "Formed a band, we formed a band / LOOK AT US! We formed a band," the song is a classic musical statement of purpose, and Argos milks it for all it's worth, pointing an accusatory finger at his bandmates with each passing chorus,

Other songs explore equally simple themes: dancing, sleeping late, bad sex, drinking too much. Like The Ramones, Art Brut mines gold from these simple themes precisely because they embrace them. When Argos sings about forming a band, he's really offering a blueprint: "if a guy like me can do it, certainly you can, too," a point he makes explicit later during "Top of the Pops," when he threatens to grab you by the arm, look you in the eyes and ask you if you're in a band, and if he gets the wrong answer, "I'll ... be very disappointed in you."

Anyone who came looking for emotionally charged music or soul-searching lyrics probably went home disappointed. Art Brut is straightforward, slapstick, relentless and madcap. Don't expect a miracle; just expect rock and roll.