[Dixielandjazz] Sac à Pulses at Café de France

[Gary Kiser]

Hi Y'All,

Sac à Pulses had a great evening at the Café de France in Sainte Maxime. A good sized attentive crowd, a picturesque view of the harbor and EXCELLENT FOOD. My gratin de saint-jacques was just wonderful.

Bar/restaurant/club owners on the Mediterranean Coast have a reputation of being centime pinching a$$ h*les. Definitely not the case at the Café de France. Fréd and his staff gave us the full red carpet. After a five hour drive, he insisted on a round of cold beers before unloading the van, then he helped us unload.

Because of our price, we rarely play restaurants. On top of our gig pay, the 500 euros we charged in travel costs surely took a bite out of his receipts for the night. (There are five hotel rooms for two nights too) But, Fréd explains, as few restaurant owners do, that he doesn't look at the bottom line for the night, but rather, the bottom line at the end of the month.

The Café de France has a very regular clientele that come back when there isn't a band because they have such a good time when there is live music. Fréd would rather have 25 to 35 concerts a year than pay for advertising. I love this concept. He says it was hard the first two years because he ponied up for both. Now, everyone knows the score and he hasn't paid for advertising in five years. The mostly full house on a Monday night shows his business model is a good one. Fréd thinks the few empty tables were due to a televised debate. Apparently, the good folk of Sainte Maxime take there politics seriously. Tonight, he says he has enough reservations to fill the house.

Now, ready for this? The average age of the clientele was younger than me. There were some old-timers, but there were a lot of 30- and 40-something couples with their kids. Most of our CDs were sold to 'kids' between 25 and 35. I'm sure a lot of these people listen to Lady Gaga and the sort at home or in their cars. But, these open minds can turn off the television and go have dinner with a live trad band.

Now I have all day to decide whether to have the Grilled Fish Trio or the Mediterranean Tartare.

All the best, Gary

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