wrexhammusic.co.uk presents Hot Club De Paris
Thursday 9th October – Central Station, Wrexham.

Temping is generally a great way of meeting people you’d never dream of spending time with. However, sometimes the temp can cross their fingers and toes hard and fate might deliver a colleague perfect for struggling through the summer with. In this case it happened to Paul Rafferty when he arrived for work at Chester Racecourse in July 2003. He was propping up the wrong side of the bar serving overpriced beverages to the gamblers when he overheard Matthew Smith waxing enthusiastically about legendary doom-punkers The Misfits. Realising that one another were the best of the frankly atrocious bunch, they discussed the finer details of their record collections and filled one another in on any gaps in their respective knowledge. Jealous that they had not yet met their match, the other temps looked on puzzled as Paul and Matthew spent the afternoon tossing relatively obscure band names back and forth, as they filled those bottomless jugs of Pimms and lemonade.

The rest of the summer was spent swapping the records they’d discussed that day and compiling mix-tapes for one another involving the likes of The Minutemen, Billy Bragg, Don Cabellero, Battles, John Fahey, Black Flag, Beastie Boys and Owls. Though Paul and Matthew already belonged to their own bands, they figured that the Minutemen’s Mike Watt’s legendary motto (“Everyone should form a band”) could possibly be re-interpreted as “Everybody should form another band”. Paul and Matthew dutifully enlisted Matthew’s little brother Alasdair into their ranks and they set about making music.

And so, in Matthew and Alasdair’s parent’s living room (the band have since relocated to a basement in Liverpool’s city centre) Paul picked up the bass guitar for the first time, Alasdair sat eagerly behind his drum kit and Matthew strapped his prized red Fender Stratocaster to his body. The music came out all odd and pointed; laden with complex time signatures but somehow retaining a familiar pop sensibility. Their early experiments were showcased at their first gig in Liverpool’s Heebies Jeebies in April 2004 and since then Hot Club de Paris have collected a small arsenal of skewif punk-pop bombs.

Live, Hot Club de Paris are one of the most exhilarating bands you’re likely to see. Oodles of humour and back-chat abound, they successfully manage to marry technical musicianship with pure fun. Their barbershop-style a capellas punctuate their set to produce a form of entertainment that once witnessed, makes you wonder why everyone’s not doing it. And this is far from your ‘post-punk-art-rock-pop-band-do-harmonies’ affair, it’s so much more than that.

Hot Club De Paris will be at Central Station in Wrexham on Thursday 9th October 2008. Supporting them will be Tellison (from London) and local favourites Danblagoyd.

Tickets are £7.50 in advance, doors are 7:30pm. Tickets are available from; Yales Cafe Bar, 15-17 Hill St, Wrexham – 01978 358780, seetickets.com or Ticketline – 0870 444 5556. Doors are open 7:30pm. This show is open to over 14s. I.D may be required to purchase alcohol.

Links

myspace.com/hotclubdeparis
myspace.com/tellison
myspace.com/danblagroyd