Hot Club de Paris

Ian Brown once famously said Manchester has everything except a beach. Well, there’s no sand, but local bands and punters know that if they want to experience something akin to basking in the armpit of a Turkish wrestler, while sipping on a cool beer and wearing sunglasses, they should get down to the Night and Day. With the weather outside crisp and icy, tonight it’s sweltering in the bar and packed to capacity as Scouse maritime obsessives Hot Club de Paris take to the stage.

Jostling for space, I feel almost ashamed that this will be my first Hot Club live experience. I say ashamed because ever since their album, Drop It ‘Til It Pops leapt out of the belly of the Moshi Moshi records factory last October, it’s barely left the clutches of my battered Walkman. The only reservation I have is that they may not live up to my massive expectations.

It’s now almost de rigueur for them to begin sets with their filthy vocal harmony theme tune,‘Welcome To The Hot Club de Paris (Can I Get A Rewind?)’. As the three of them “shush” the audience and gather around the microphone, guitarist Matthew Smith still can’t help giggling as they deliver the line “we fuck anything that moves” in choirboy tones. In fact, the striking thing about HCdP live is that despite plenty of touring, including a long stint supporting Dirty Pretty Things, none of the initial excitement or enthusiasm has been drained from their frantically kaleidoscopic songs.

While Matthew jerks around the stage as though he’s enduring a bout of electro-shock therapy, the songs are anchored by the grit-crunching vocals and technical brilliance of bassist, Paul Rafferty. Although he’s not quite got the vitality of Don Callabero’s drummer Damon Che, the fantastically inventive off-signature rhythms of Alasdair Smith are a sight to behold, particularly as he’s able to hammer the kit while delivering note-perfect harmonies. Songs fly by with breathless pace; the only flaw is that Alasdair’s vocals are occasionally lost in the balance of sound. ‘3:55am: I Think We Should Go Home’, ‘Names and Names and Names’ and _ Yes/No/Goodbye’_ glisten with sea-salty arpeggios and an instinctive synchronicity that’s almost effortless. But the set isn’t without some much-needed breathers both for the band and the audience. When a punter shouts something about violins, Matthew modestly responds, “We’re not Arcade Fire mate… but I bet you bloody wish we were!”

But, in fact, we’re all more than satisfied with what this humble and inventive three-piece can offer. There’s something spine-tingling about the way the second half of ‘Everyeveryeverything’ morphs from a simple pop song into double-speed with a treacle thick bass-line that pinballs around the second verse. An encore that includes ‘Clockwork Toy’, doused in glorious shimmering guitar and three-part harmonies, plus the rapturous ‘Who Am I? (What’s My Name?)’ ensures no one is left in any doubt that, in the flesh, HCdP can surpass the energy and passion of their amazing debut album.