Hot Club De Paris

Interview

I Interviewed Hot Club De Paris @ Pandapalooza festival. I spoke to Matthew Smith from the band. (The others were there too, he just talks LOADS!)

J: Hi Guys
All: Hi
J: So do you enjoy doing these university gigs?
Matt: Well they can be quite wide and varied bunch of shows. They can be amazing, or they can be the most horrific nights of your life, playing for 600 people who aren’t bothered.
J: That’s the thing with students; they can get really drunk and have an amazing time but they get bored quite easily.
M: Yeah, well it really depends, last night we played Kings College, and it was a lad we know that booked the show, and it was sold out, like 600 tickets and it was absolutely brilliant. But we’ve done stuff before that’s not been.
J: What have you been up to over the summer?
M: We’ve just finished recording a new EP, that’s coming out in January. We’re back on Moshi Moshi again, our old label. And we’re going to record something with Paul Smith from Maximo Park as well. We’re doing a track with him at the moment. We’re going to do a cover of ‘Cattle and Cane’ by ‘The Go Betweens’, he’s coming down to do the vocals next week, so I don’t know what we’re going to do with that.
J: Sounds good. So for people here tonight who have never heard of you before, how would you describe yourself?
M: Ha, yeah, that’ll be like 95% of the audience tonight. As we get older and the students get younger, there are more and more people who have never heard of us. Yeah, technical pop music, lean and taught (laughs). Yeah, were just quite technical, quite fast, fairly non standard sort of arrangements, a bit of a laugh really, isn’t it? Three lads having a laugh. That’s what most bands are really.
J: Who would you say your influences were?
M: Bands like ‘The Minute Men’, ‘Joan of Arc’, ‘Don Caballero’. I suppose, all kinds, just punk bands. Loads of experimental rock bands. Just anything progressive and interesting really, not ‘indie’, or not what is now known as ‘indie’, so independent music, made by people who like making music.
J: What can people expect from one of you r live shows?
M: About 40 minutes of us all standing in a row talking and playing songs, yeah just doing our best trying to go along with it really. Trying to cater for a drunk teenage crowd. One way or another it would be quite nice, or if the crowds not nice we’ll just be really really quick, then just pack up and go (laughs). Yeah, you could definitely expect us to be on the motorway less than 10 minutes after we’ve finished. Yeah we’re driving home to Liverpool tonight, it’s not too bad, we’ll be in bed by 4 in the morning, because you just stay and get pissed most of the time if you don’t. If we ended up getting a hotel, we’d just get pissed and be up until 4 in the morning anyway, (laughs).
J: So have you got anything planned for next year, where would you like to be?
M: Yeah, two EP’s and an album, yeah we’ve got like a 6 song EP coming out in January, hopefully followed up by another 6 song EP in March.
J: Do they have titles yet?
M: Yeah, the first one’s called ‘With days like this as cheap as chewing gum, why would anyone want to work’, it’s a quote from Matthew Welton, he’s a poet from Manchester. And I’m not sure what we’re going to call the second one, probably sorry we can’t release this (laughs), no I think it’ll be ‘bees, thunder, cats ,women, darkness’. It’s 5 things that people are afraid of. They were the answers to a quiz, and we thought it sounded funny when we were pissed, and it’s become the name of the record.
J: So have you got any tours planned.
M: Yeah a tour in January for the first EP and then another tour in March for the second, and then some stuff in Europe.
J: Cool, thanks guys.
All: Cheers.

Pandapalooza Festival

Pandapallooza 24th September

Bucks Students’ Union held its very first ‘Pandapalooza festival’ on Thursday night (24th) during its action packed fresher’s fortnight. In true festival form there were live Bands, market stalls, food and even a chill out area, making sure that all the fresher’s needs were properly catered for.
Kicking off the festival was Southampton band ‘Burn the Fleet’. Combining their heavy rock riffs with frontman Andrew Convey’s melodic voice was a real winner for the crowd, and they ensured their audience was captivated for the whole of their set.
Next we crossed over to the Venue, where we were treated to an extra special acoustic set by Tom from Towers, (formally ‘Waiting for Sirens’). Armed with just an acoustic guitar and his beautiful voice, Tom won over most of the excited audience, and when joined by Andrew from ‘Burn the Fleet’ for an acoustic duet, the rest of the crowd followed.
Back in the White room, eager fans were waiting for ‘Post War Years’ to take to the stage. Describing their sound as ‘ambient’, their set was 30 minutes of pure electronic beauty. Despite feeling stupidly sleepy after they’d finished, I thoroughly enjoyed it along with the rest of the crowd. Stand out tracks for me were ‘White Lies’, and ‘The Whole World on Its Head’, which can be found on the album ‘The Greats and the Happenings’. The band is also embarking on a UK tour supporting indie band White Lies. Kicking off on September 21st, the band will tour until October, releasing their new single in November as they prepare to stamp their mark all over 2010.
Going back to the Venue for the final time this evening, we were joined by ‘Eat Sleep Attack’, aka Sammy Little. Having spent most of the afternoon busking outside the union Sam decided to venture indoors and unleash his powerful pop tunes on the eager audience. His songs are both charming and sweet, definitely a worthwhile listen if its catchy pop music you’re after.
Finally, as the night was drawing to a close the crowd shuffled back into the White room for one last time, as the headliners, ‘Hot Club De Paris’, took to the stage. The three piece from Liverpool, who describe themselves as ‘3 lads having a laugh’, combine catchy riffs with their love of experimental indie, to create wonderful pop punk tunes that you can really dance to. Having earlier mocked the crowd as being ‘the stillest audience in the UK’, they were soon proved wrong, as a mini pit formed and a mass of sweaty students abandoned the room as the band left the stage.
As resident DJ’s took to the stage I decided to call it a night and I think overall it was an enjoyable night for everyone, even if the freshers got so drunk they forgot everything..

Alas...

I have been away for quite sometime now...Some would say having a well earned rest, I, on the other hand would say that I have been studying meticulously...Cramming in every last possible thought and idea that I could possibly use for my dissertation. Panicking? Me? I think not. Every fibrous inch of my brain has been working hard, and although as of yet I haven't come up with a single thing, fear not, something will inevitably spring into my mind, in what I think is now described as a 'eureka moment'...Yes, I very much look forward to having one of those...
Anyway, I did originally say that this was a professional blog, not one for noting down the ramblings of my brain. This is, however, just to let you all know that I am still alive...
Ciao
x

Lovebox Sunday 2009

Before I write my review of Lovebox- day 2, here are a few of my personal highlights.
1. Being a VIP all day without having any form of wristband...well done security.
2. Watching Tom Findlay from Groove Armada in a tent with about 10 other people.
3. Free drinks/ free entry.
4. Almost getting free Levi’s Jeans.
5. Weird, naked cabaret.
6. Getting stopped by a Japanese girl who wanted to take a photo of me because she liked my dress, completely unaware that people around her were now stopping and staring to see which celebrity they had just stumbled across. Very embarrassed I ran back to the VIP area to hide...my first taste of celebrity was rather uncomfortable.


Luck was definitely on our side on Day 2 of Lovebox. The morning began with an absolute drenching, but it soon dried up and the sun emerged, setting the scene on what would be a glorious day of sunshine. The crowd filtered in slowly throughout the morning, weary and hungover from the night before, (the advantage of this festival is the no camping policy). But they quickly awoke and livened up as the first acts took to the stages.
The atmosphere throughout the day seemed calm and relaxed, and it was nice to just be able to sit and chill rather than be trampled by a million drunk festival goers, but there was a lot to do in just one day. There was bowling, lots and lots of food stalls, different bars, and the arena was huge; so the majority of people were just milling around and generally having a nice time, which made a relaxed little me.
The festival, hosted by Groove Armada, and who were set to headline tonight’s festival put on a wide array of new and upcoming talent. Ladyhawke wowed the main stage with her electro pop tunes in the afternoon and pulled in the biggest crowd of the day so far, while Dance act Filthy Dukes tore up the Gaymers stage with an incredible live set with songs from their new album ‘Nonsense In The Dark’. A band that we should definitely be looking out for in the near future.
Keeping in theme from Saturdays 80’s heroes Duran Duran, another electro legend took to the main stage on Sunday in the form of Gary Numan. His dark and eerie rock songs raged through the arena captivating fans both young and old. Next up on the main stage were Doves, a simple indie band hailing from Manchester that never fail to charm an audience. Even when it started to rain, they carried on happily, telling jokes and amusing the crowd. They played hit after hit, and there were plenty of those to go around. Songs like, ‘Kingdom of Rust’, and ‘There Goes the Fear’, brought the crowd to a roaring applause, and were definitely one of the highlights for a lot of people.
Finally the night drew to a close, and the sun went down to illuminate the burnt orange London skyline. There was a tough choice this evening; to watch hosts Groove Armada on the main stage, or up and coming band Simian Mobile Disco on the Relentless stage. I opted for Groove Armada, and I was not left disappointed. Joined by Becky from The RGB's, the set was like a big explosive party. There were tinfoil suits, lasers and of course, a lot of noise; even the flaming pillars over at Relentless could not overshadow the true might of this band. Finishing off with ‘Superstylin’, there was not a single person watching that was not dancing like a complete idiot, but no one seemed to care at all. The set ended, and we wandered over to catch the last of SMD, which just sounded like a lot of noise, but I’m sure if we’d had been there for all of it (and were on something a bit stronger than beer) it would have been electric.
So that was it for another year, brilliant as always, and the weather stayed alright too. As the 25,000 music fans all made their way towards the same tube line, stressed and tired, they will surely be left with fond memories of the weekend.

Lovebox

I'm going to Lovebox...
That's about it really.
I'll write more at the end of the weekend, when there is actually something to write about...

Dear Lord, Please do NOT let it rain like it has done today.

Jx

Friendly Fires review

Can I just say, before I write my review, if anyone reading this wants to donate £500 so I can be a member to this club, please feel free. x

Levi’s ‘Ones To Watch 5 Night Revue’, came to a phenomenal climax on Tuesday night as indie pop band Friendly Fires took to the roof of the Swanky members club Shoreditch House.

The St Albans trio graced the 100 lucky fans who had won their tickets, whilst the elite members of the club could only watch through the glass partition. Curious at who was invading their luxury space, they were quickly sent away by the doormen.

The small crowd of fans gathered at the bar were quick to notice the not so cool £8.50 cocktails, and most opted instead for the cheapest drink on the menu, a bottle of Corona at £3.25, a far cry from what the bar staff would normally be used to.

Soundcheck issues meant that the band was a little late to start, but eventually they took to the stage about 9.30 as the sun was setting. The London city skyline hidden behind them, and 100 screaming fans in front of them ensured that this gig was going to be special for both band and fans.

The band who was accompanied by a brass section of trumpet and saxophone kicked off with an electrifying version of ‘Lovesick’, and followed it with ‘Jump In The Pool’. However fans decided to ignore the clubs best feature, and kept themselves dry. Not even the rain could put a damper on spirits, as the motorized roof sheltered the crowd, and protected the band from being electrocuted by their equipment!

There was an exited reception from the crowd half way through the set, when the band burst into their new song ‘Kiss of Life’, their first new material since their self titled album was released in September 2008. The track, ‘is a progression of Jump In The Pool’, says singer Ed, and the samba infused beats seem to be taking the band in a completely different direction that will surely have everyone talking.

Forty minutes after they first kicked things off, they finished with the massive track ‘Ex Lover’, and the elated fans headed back to the bar to grab a drink before they were hastily moved out.

The night was undoubtedly a huge success and the band consistently live up to the standards of the fans. Having just done an immense show at Glastonbury, the band is off to Lovebox festival this weekend, where they are most definitely the ones to watch.

Friendly Fires

I have been invited to go see Friendly Fires in a 'secret gig', that is not so much secret anymore really as it is going to be on the roof of Shoreditch House in Bethnal Green on Tuesday. Point being, I absolutely love this band and put most simply, I am very excited and a very happy lady. There is only going to be 100 people there, which by gig standards is really not that many. Also, because I managed to interview them a few weeks ago, and they are such lovely lads, I was wondering if perhaps if I decided to jump up and down and wave my arms they might recognise me and say hi. However, I think that if I was to act in such an unorthodox fashion, even if they did remember who I was, they may be a little freaked out by my actions and thus, ignore me. We shall have to see.
Anyway, there will be lots of pictures I should hope, if my camera is not confiscated, which I highly doubt.
I shall write back Wednesday.
x