Bring it on Back

The queue is composed of an eclectic mix of people but the majority lies with scene kids; all vintage tracksuits and skinny jeans. A constant flow of geek-chic acolytes brandishing ID cards give an adolescent vibe to the queue uncoiling endlessly down Seel Street. Hot Club De Paris saunter casually across the road, the kids, too cool to make a scene, nudge and shuffle with star-struck wonder at seeing their heroes in such an intimate setting. The tension in the atmosphere becomes noticeably charged and finally the doors open.

By 20:45 the venue is almost full. The low ceilings and red walls feel surreal without the thick blanket of cigarette smoke that has loitered here for years. A couple snog with surgical aggression while in the corner a gaggle of girls point fruit covered nails at boys who could be in bands. As a glug of red wine is spilled over a table the tension smashes like a plane of glass.

Not content with whetting our appetite, opening act Elle s'appelle project opaque shards in a million directions. A three piece with the emphasis on the bass and organs, the enigmatic boy/girl vocal partnership captivated the audience with their textured call and response harmonies and swirling organs: Superb. They are followed on-stage by the equally brilliant This Aint Vegas who up the indie ante perfectly for the night?s main attraction.

Opening with the no bullshit introduction of ?Hello, we?re ?Ot Club De Paris? the band launch immediately into lyric-less new track Nautical Jig. Immediately silencing lazy critics who place Hot Club in a singularly post-punk canon, the track is more Mudd Club than Factory Records. With a funk-laced bass-line interspersed with melodic guitar fills, Nautical Jig evokes ESG and Liquid Liquid primarily and demonstrates an elastic fluidity to Hot Club?s music. Another new track Little Haunting follows; all lush melody and jerky staccato, again it?s warmly received.

The first two tracks set the tone and from here on in the crowd are assaulted with an eloquent art rock performed at break-neck speed. The boys appear to be genuinely happy to be back in their hometown; sharing banter with friends in the crowd and regaling everybody with a rapid fire assault of badly rehearsed jokes and witty verbal nods towards Red Stripe. Evidently everyone is having fun, even the bar manager is cracking jokes.

Launching into a brace of tracks encompassing Shipwrecked, Hello Comrade and Bonded by Blood, an expansive cross-section of musical diversity is demonstrated, supported by the articulately complex time signatures of drummer Alisdair Smith. Shipwrecked is an orchestrated exercise in geometric music. Its incessant drumming and deconstructed song structure allow the crowd to feel the full intensity of the band which in a venue this small is frenzied to say the least. Hello Comrade (I quit my job) takes a snarling, street poetry stance; nasal and shouty social commentary, like John Cooper Clarke in his prime. The remainder of the set mixes up new tracks with old; covers with jingles. There is a tribal, world music feel to the rthyms which is present throughout. Crowd pleaser Your Face Looks All Wrong champions the strange time signatures upon which the band are famed. Fluctuating in a contradictory angular fluidity, Paul teases the crowd with his clipped, urgent vocal style, following the bass-lines and drum fills with a rigid precision.

Hot Club adopted a workmanlike approach to this homecoming gig and, despite Paul?s fluctuating tonsillitis, performed like the returning prodigal sons they are. Observing Mathew on the final tracks it is clear he is technically amazing. Finger-tapping his way through the final few tracks a deep connection flows from body to instrument and back. Contorted to the melodic awkwardness of his music; he played with the intensity of a man on the edge of something rather severe. To the right of the stage Paul is leading the crowd in a rousing chant of what?s my name (who am I?); to say the lead vocalist is involved is a glaring understatement. Sweat dripping form his clothes and limbs jigging in time to the Jamaican influenced drums, the moment is captured perfectly. Hot Club De Paris: sharp and inventive, witty and dry. As the crowd leaves the venue you can?t help but feel smug: the night had a feel of a secluded, secret gig, like you were watching them in their front room, part of something special. It?s a shame we won?t see them this intimately again.

• Nautical Jig (working title... it's a new song that's unfinished)
• My Little Haunting (again new)
• Shipwreck
• Hello Comrade (I quit my job)
• Snitches Get Stickets
• Bonded By Blood
• I Swung for Judas
• Balance and Symmetry
• The Anchor (this is a Minutemen cover)
• This Thing Forever (new song)
• Your Face Looks All Wrong
• Clockwork Toy
• Sometimesitsbetter...
• Everyeveryeverything
• What's my name? (Who am I?)

Clash: How does it feel doing a homecoming gig?
Matt: Fantastic. It is quite rare these days that we get to play in Liverpool so to be here now is fantastic. It?s brilliant to be playing with people we evolved with musically, people who were on the same scenes, who we saw in the clubs and bumped into in the streets. I mean, I was walking down the street today and I bumped into a mate that I hadn?t seen for over six months. After spending nearly a year on the road it was just great to be able to catch up and chat.

Clash: The venue is really intimate and personal, not the kind of place you will be playing in the future. Does it evoke many memories?
Paul: We?re not as big as you think mate (laughs).

Clash: Yeah but you?re the current darlings of the underground scene, with plaudits all over the music press, you?re surely playing bigger shows elsewhere?
Matt: Well not necessarily. We?re signed to Moshi Moshi, who are a relatively small independent. We don?t have the support of a cash cow major behind us, pumping millions of pounds every year into the band. You can only go so far on a small label.

Clash: So is the plan to leave Moshi eventually?
Matt: No, to the contrary, we love being on Moshi. They?re a cool little label and what we don?t have in conglomerate style financial backing is made up for in ultimate creative freedom. There?s a nice community vibe about the label too, it?s more low key and organic.

Clash: So what?s your current situation?
Matt: Well, we?re recording a new album with Moshi, which is at the writing stage at the moment. After that we?ll see what happens. We?ve recorded lots of the music but at the moment they?re mostly instrumentals awaiting lyrics and vocals.

Clash: Listening to you there are hints of Gang of Four, Wire and The Talking Heads present, but also a world music feel to the rhythm, who are your main influences?
Matt: It?s good that you picked up on the Wire, Gang of Four thing.
Paul: I like Gang Of Four.
Matt: We are into those bands, but our influences in that direction are more the bands that they (Wire etc..) influenced. People like the minutemen and Black Flag.

Clash: Black Flag? So are you guys Hardcore aficionados deep down?
Matt: Well, I used to be in a hardcore band, and all our mates are still in hardcore bands, In fact we were a bit of a hardcore band in the very early days.

Clash: So how have we arrived at the Hot Club of today, all melody, angles and funk?
All: The evolution is primarily because we love melody and harmony. We?ve incorporated lots of drone timings which allow us more harmonic variations and make the music flow, which are hallmarks of our sound.

Clash: The name is loaded with cultural reference points, can you elaborate?
Matt: Yeah, it?s a obscure reference to Django Reinhardt, who is one of the most renowned Jazz guitarists of all time. Also it?s a bit camp, which we liked.

• Digg
• del.icio.us
• reddit
• Send to a Friend