Friday 13/10/06 Hot Club de Paris @ The Plug, Sheffield

Plug tonight looks like something out of a George Romero film. Hordes of drunken students loom over each other, descending viciously on the first mate they see at the bar that hasn't got the brains to avoid showing they haven't spent their entire loan yet. Obviously the crowd have wandered in on the premise that Pete Tong is playing a set later, rather than the fact a few lads with guitars are playing earlier. "Vodka and coke, vodka and coke" they chant, and by this time I'm shitting it for Hot Club de Paris, arriving on stage looking bemused at the chaos below them. Instantly they launch into the barbershop-alike 'Bonded by Blood', and not even managing to finish before the crowd erupts in applause, our fears are quashed.

Hot Club tonight do what they do best, rushing from the American punk meets The Futureheads tinged hits such as 'Sometimesitsbetter....' to forthcoming single 'Eveythingeverythingeverything'. They’re good at what they do, but despite the fact belting out the singles is pleasing the crowd (then again Gina G played here on Thursday, so what does that tell you) its their more mature sound which displays why they could go from a good band to a great one, 'I Wrote A Song For You Called Welcome To The Jungle' is a brooding lament fit for any album of their contemporaries Storm and Stress, while 'Your Face Looks All Wrong' employs a repetitive riff that belies a confidence and swagger that only few bands this young can dream of. Hot Club can be a band that will always impress with their youthful pop punk gems, but could astound if they mature into their own sound yet further.

Give em' a year or two, and keep your fingers crossed for something very special.