The DJ stops, the lights go dark and Martial Arts (Jim Marson vocals and guitar, Matthew Pearce and Jack Brown guitar, Jude Collins on bass and Tom Dunnell on drums), take to the stage for their first ever European gig.
This feels like a seminal moment in the band’s short history so far. The day is spent trying to relax, a photoshoot in the morning followed by some time exploring the Champs-Elysees and Arc de Triomphe, some food, anything to try and not put too much pressure on the gig in the evening. Benjamin, a local, shows the band around the night before and educates them on the French revolution. Most of them studied history at university, this is not a vanity project for graduates though, it’s a group of lads who are smart and know what they want and more importantly how to make it happen.
Since being signed by Akoustik Anarkhy, the band has gone from strength to strength. Just 16 months since their first gig at the Castle Hotel in March last year, there’s been a UK tour with Splint, headline gigs across Manchester at venues such as the Britons Protection and the White Hotel, support slots around the country and now this.
Parisians are treated to four bands tonight, London’s My Fat Pony have just played their set, Body Horror and Dea Matrona are up after Martial Arts and the club is packed. Word has clearly spread over the channel because there are people here to see this band. Music anoraks scurry their way to the front to get the best videos for their Instagram accounts whilst punters at the bar quickly shut up.
Those raw, angry opening chords of the first single released this year ‘Warsaw’ begin and the set is off to a flyer. The bass goes halfway through the second song but the occasion doesn’t phase them as no one notices because the whole performance from start to finish is just so tight. This is a band that doesn’t sound like they’ve only been doing regular gigs for such a short space of time, they look so comfortable and it is clear how much fun they are having on stage.
There’s only two singles out at the minute but the rest of the material is just as strong. It’s a 35 minute set but it feels like 10. Photographers can’t find a vantage point to stand on, an artist draws portraits in the corner, red wine flows for €5 and the smoke machine added in to all of this creates such a Parisian image. The venue even has an inside smoking room upstairs next to a toilet that has signs asking members of the opposite sex to not go in with each other. The band are on top form as new single ‘Defector’ also goes down like a fine glass of rioja.
And just when you think you’ve seen the set, right at the end there is this burning crescendo that comes out of nowhere. Frontman Jim throws himself into the crowd to the band’s fast paced sprawling chaos, jumps back onto the stage and sees a mosh pit opening up. The set finishes to a rapturous applause and calls for more.
I’m at the venue until it closes and every so often I hear mutterings about Martial Arts in French. More wine is drunk. The bar stays open until 4:30 on a Thursday night.
This is not a flash in the pan band jumping on the post punk bandwagon but one that has honed their craft over the last 18 months and are reaping the rewards as a result.
‘Warsaw’ and ‘Defector’ are out now, alongside latest release ‘Triumph’ – the perfect description of this Parisian adventure.
Words by James Young / Photography by Gary Conway
