With a new EP in the pipeline for February, Hot Club de Paris decided it was that time of year again when they just have to come down to London. Though the three piece are regular guests in this part of the country, they can count on a large enough fan base to fill up the Lexington this evening.

Flashguns played with a sense of urgency

But before the Liverpudlians can enter the stage, it’s up to the support acts to make sure everyone is in a good enough mood to deal with the Northerners. Unfortunately, yours truly had to miss out on the apparently excellent songwriting qualities of Sparky Deathcap due to an absence of any sense of direction combined with an incapability to ask for directions. The next act lining up tonight is Flashguns, a three piece about to record their debut album. A certain kind of urgency is implied in their indie, guitar based songs that most typical indie bands seem to lack these days: they don’t love to make music, they just have to. This feeling is only magnified by the stage performance of lead singer Sam Johnston, whose charm is just what this band needs. You could say they might be a bit over-pretentious in proclaiming their song ‘St. George’ England’s new national anthem, but you’ve just got to admire their spirits.

Then it’s on to the main act of the night, comprising the afore mentioned Hot Club de Paris. After being slightly put off during the first song by a man bearing a striking resemblance to Sting (guitarist Matthew Smith: “It’s like I’m playing for one of my heroes!”), the gig can really take off. Hot Club de Paris’ music can be best described as energetic math rock: it’s a mix between the energy of bands as Dananananaykroyd and Johnny Foreigner combined with complicated rhythms and guitar riffs. Add a bit of Ramones-style counting off before the song starts to that and you’ve got all the ingredients for a night of Hot Club.

Hot Club de Paris played admirably

The musical part at least. As the gig evolves, it turns out to be part music, part comedy road show. This is partly due to some apparent technical difficulties in tuning the guitars necessitating some stage banter to fill the time, but mostly it’s just because the three men feel right at home on stage and seem to want to share this feeling with the rest of the crowd. They never get lost though in long stories on how their songs came to be (singer/bassist Paul Rafferty: “This song is about being poor. You’re not poor, are you Sting?”), but find the balance needed to create the perfect atmosphere.

All in all Hot Club de Paris provide a very entertaining night. They are not one the most innovating bands out there, but they do know how to put on a good show and keep the crowds interested, which you have to give them credit for.

Words by Linda Wijlaars