Tuesday 7th August 2012
Gig 5 in Paris – La Rotonde
It’s another beautiful day in Paris so we decide to head down to the Champs Elysees via Montmartre, Place de Clichy & Moulin Rouge (popped some postcards through the door @ La Machine du Moulin Rouge… just a little reminder who we are). Didn’t go shopping, I just love the Champs Elysees & Arc de Triumph. We ate lunch in the 17th at a very highly recommended Chez Ly. Alexis had Thai Spring Rolls & I went for the Veg Chop Suey with black mushrooms Hong Kong style, it was really excellent & also felt really healthy. Paris is so famous for it’s fabulous patisserie, that I sometimes forget that it also has other great eateries and I’ve done well to avoid temptation on this tour and will only have a big piece of cake on the last day as a treat.
We met up with Graham back at Belushi’s and headed along the canal to La Rotonde Stalingrad with Ben, Reggie and Johan to set up for the show tonight.
Alexis taking it easy pre-soundcheck at La Rotonde Stalingrad
It’s such a stunning building inside, but tonight we’re playing out on the terrace to make the most of the evening’s sun. The manager makes us feel so welcome and the sound engineer is great too. He has a few problems getting the volume he wanted out of the first set of PA Speakers he tried, so after a few head scratching moments & testing of Alexis’s French skills, he decided to just get the other set up which came with a sub-woofer and we used one of the first PA speakers as a vocal monitor – amazing! We were meant to start at 6pm but didn’t get going till 7pm (no one seemed to mind at all – everything was so relaxed & people were out enjoying the weather and beautiful surroundings).
Sacre Noir live at La Rotonde Stalingrad (Photo by Graham McIntosh)
We played the album set then after a quick break some tracks from the first LP along with some covers and older tunes. After the show we got loads of mailing list sign ups and sold some more CDs, so all in all the La Rotonde gig was a big success! Both Graham & Robert (the manager; who stayed and watched the whole show) got some videos & pictures too. My favourite moment was the dancing kids during ‘Ou Est L’arret Pour Moi?’ Sophie (mum) & her daughters were dancing around having a ball, whilst the little boy in the family was transfixed by Alexis & the guitar… so cute.
Sacre Noir live at La Rotonde Stalingrad (Photo by Graham McIntosh)
After a few post gig drinks we headed inside to have some food at the restaurant. We know that the chef there is good as we’ve eaten his food on previous trips to Paris, but he really does have a magic touch when it comes to marrying flavours and getting the most out of ingredients.
Alexis & I both ate the same meal; Aubergine Caviar with goats cheese on warm bread & then cabillaud with a ragu style veg base and baby cherry tomatoes (this description does not do the food any justice) – everything was great!
We got back to the hostel pretty late, but that was our last full day in Paris (for now). I really love this city and we’ve had a great time as always, but tomorrow we have one more show at the Plage then we’re off to Berlin… the adventure continues.
Wednesday 8th August 2012
Gig 6 in Paris – Paris Plage with Graham
Last day in Paris and it’s a scorcher! We pack up & check out, get the videos & pictures from Graham’s iPhone then it’s time to hit the park via the lovely patisserie on the corner of Rue du Crimee for some afternoon cake. We spent most of the afternoon at parc des Buttes Chaumont (which is just 10 minutes from Belushi’s in the opposite direction to the Villette Park.
Parc des Buttes Chaumont de Paris
We headed back to the Plage for about 3 o’clock and hung out there, played a couple of 30 minute acoustic sets, Graham played a few tunes (to the delight of old ladies and young babies alike) and then Antonio turned up for another show too. We convinced him to play ‘Purple Rain’ again as we ate our final meal in Paris of this trip and basked in the early evening sun.
Graham’s youngest fan at Paris Plage (Belushi’s)
After that all we had left to do was gather up our bags & instruments and head to Gare de l’Est for the sleeper train to Berlin.
A massive thanks you to Graham McIntosh for sorting everything out for us in Paris this summer, it was a blast & can’t wait to catch up with him back in Scotland!
sacrenoir 