So, after a lot of organisational planning and music swapping through e-mails, the big day had arrived for our great adventure – we were travelling to France to meet and perform with two of our longstanding musical heroes, Gabriel Yacoub and Sylvie Berger.
The sun shone kindly as I picked Rob up in the 'tour bus' and headed down the M20 for the EuroShuttle. We had a planned dinner with Gabriel, Sylvie and others in the village of Marçais, in the Cher Department of France’s Central Region and we were of a mind to catch an earlier EuroShuttle if we could, to ensure we made it there in good time.
As we drove, we couldn't help but notice the number of sports cars that were passing us on the road and, when we enquired at the Terminal about the scope for an earlier crossing, the reason for this came clear - it was the weekend of the Le Mans 4 hour race and there was no chance of getting an earlier train. Testosterone was high in the Terminal buildings and we knew that the first part of our journey in France was going to be spent watching out for the next Porsche, Ferrari or such like, racing past us.
This was my first experience of the EuroShuttle and, I have to say, I thought it went incredibly smoothly. From there, even with the roads considerably busier than usual, the driving was relatively straightforward and easy, apart from a few hairy moments as we clipped the edge of Rouen.
We drove hard, stopping only for fuel and sandwiches in Evreux and, in the warmness of a late summer evening we made it to the pretty village of Marçais. A quick phone call to Gabriel established that he and others were still en route from a commitment in Brittany, but he very kindly asked Sylvie Berger to come and meet us and take us to his house.
If we were somewhat in awe at meeting one of our most revered voices of French traditional music, Sylvie put us at ease immediately after she pulled up in the village square and proved the perfect hostess. Within minutes we were sat in front of Gabriel's lovely house with a bottle of beer and nibbles - just what was needed after a very long drive.
Gabriel arrived not long after with the very lovely Marie Sauvet of Malicorne and (as we were to discover) the extremely talented squeezebox player, Romain Personnat. Despite being tired after their own long journey, dinner was quickly made ready and we were soon round the table with Morgan, the young teacher in the village school whose children we were to play some songs with. We were also joined by the wonderful Christophe Goudot who, we were to discover, was not only a superb sound engineer but a very very fine musician in his own right.
As Sylvie had done before, Gabriel and the others now put us at our ease and we had a very pleasant time over dinner becoming acquainted. They showed great interest and courtesy in understanding us. And what we were interested in. They all made us feel at home immediately. I should say that not only is Gabriel a great musician, he is also a very fine cook!
After dinner was over, we got back in the car and followed Christophe to the gîte in which we were staying for the weekend. By now it was very late and, as such, we were more than a wee bit worried about the fact that there were already some occupants in the gîte who had spent the day working on nearby roads and had been staying at the gîte. One of the guys was actually asleep on the couch in the very room we were bringing all of our kit into! I guess if you are working on the roads all day, you must sleep well. Despite the entire unloading of the car and the banging and crashing as we took the stuff up the creaky stairs, there was no break at all in his easy snoring, and we were installed in our rooms very quickly. Time for rehearsal with Sylvie had been set for the following day - thank goodness it was so late and we were so fatigued from the drive, otherwise sleep might have been impossible.
We awoke in good time on the Friday morning and, in the same way that we had not woken the roadworkers when we arrived, they had not woken us when they left. Definitely ships passing in the night; the house was quiet. We took a quick trip into the village to get some things for breakfast and visited the local cafe for a quick 'livener' of very good, strong, coffee provided by a very friendly proprietor and her two gorgeous little dogs..
As we were going to rehearse for the Saturday concert in the gîte, we got the instruments out and were tuned and ready for Sylvie's arrival. Bang on time, she arrived armed with croissants - so, we started with a quick cup of coffee and some excellent further nourishment.
The plan, worked out through prior e-mail exchanges, was for Sylvie to sing on a few of our songs and for us to play and support her on some of her and La Bergère's songs. Rob and I, particularly Rob, had put a lot of time into listening and working out these beautiful songs which included Victor Hugo's' beautiful poem, Le Chanson de Spectre and the Gabriel Yacoub /Julien Bigot composition La Rivière. There were also some fabulous traditional songs that Sylvie has been working on with her colleagues in La Bergère. For our set, Sylvie was happy to perform on Les Larmes Aux Yeux, which we learned from Le Vent de Nord, Three Bonny Ships and Three Matelots.
So, there we were, in a beautiful gîte on the edge of a beautiful village in the very centre of France, playing music with the wonderful, friendly and generous Sylvie Berger - can it get any better than that?
Through the morning a number of key people arrived to say hello, and the schedule for the day took shape. The organiser for everything practical to do with the festival, the lovely Babette, arrived to introduce herself as did the very friendly local mayor and owner of the farm and gîte on which we were staying, Michelle.
Preparations were taking shape in the village that afternoon so the first step was lunch down at the Salle des Fetes in the village with Gabriel, Sylvie and some of the festival volunteers. Later in the afternoon, all of the musicians were going to rehearse with the local schoolchildren who were going to sing a couple of songs with us on the main stage on Saturday. Dinner was going to be with all the festival volunteers at the gîte.
It was great to begin meeting the people of Marçais. Our French was improving noticeably by the hour as we happily engaged the villagers and musicians in conversation. A happier, more welcoming group of people would be hard to imagine. They were generous and funny. The lunch was characteristically simple and excellent - good cheese, good vegetables, good meat and great bread.
After lunch, we returned to the gîte for more rehearsal and were joined by Romain Personnat, with Gabriel dropping in briefly. We knew all about how good Gabriel was going to be but what a wonderful player Romain also is. Prior to setting off, Romain had also sent us some mp3s of his band's (Bourre et Bal) music - which were all great tunes but one of which Rob and I had really fallen in love with. So, we had a play through that tune and we were able also to introduce him to some of the jigs and reels that we were intending to play at the dance after the concert on Saturday evening. Given the constraints of the diatonic accordion, this required some interesting juggling about with keys to facilitate joint playing – all good stuff for us to learn and appreciate. The speed with which Romain picked up the tunes was very impressive.
All four of us then piled into our respective cars and headed off to meet the local schoolchildren we were to perform with. It is a long time since I'd been inside a primary school - my children are adults now. So, it was lovely to be back in the classroom again. The kids were really excited and had been talking for days about how they were going to be playing with real musicians on a real stage. Sylvie had been helping Morgan to get the children prepared and they performed very well indeed!
After the rehearsal, we all went to have a look at the main stage for the following night's performance. It hadn't been there before - because it was a mobile stage. The regional authorities have a mobile stage which can travel from village to village to support festivals like this one. It has all the relevant p.a. kit on board and the side of the vehicle drops down to make the stage – and it has its own ‘green room’ in the middle of the van, etc...Very clever..
Everything was taking shape soundwise at the Salles des Fetes, courtesy of the labours of Christophe Goudot who had worked all day to get the p.a. set up just right. Christophe is a great sound engineer and he does things extremely professionally. Meanwhile, the stalls and marquees were going up all around the festival site around the village square. We were introduced to many more of the volunteers. Again, to a man and woman, everyone was welcoming and kind, and excited about the following day's event.
In the early evening we all repaired back to the gîte for supper. As the volunteers arrived, armed with yet more great food, Michelle was able to find time to give some of us a brief tour of her eco-farm, which I was very interested to join.
During my tour of the farm, the festival organisers had been gathering at the gîte and the table on the veranda was furnished with food and drink for around 25 people. Everyone had brought something and there was wine and beer aplenty. The atmosphere was fun and informal, with lots of laughing and joking.
As night drew on and the sun began to set, it was time to get some instruments out and play. Our friend and sound engineer Damien, from Angel Air Squad was played some smooth music with a friend accompanying him on 'space drum' - a kind of portable steel drum. Rob and I played some songs from our wider repertoire and Sylvie sang a couple of songs. Christophe played some amazing O'Carolan tunes on guitar – amongst many others, he had worked for a long time with Pierre Bensusan and it showed! Then I asked Gabriel if he would please play Le Garcon Jardinière, one of my all time favourite French traditional songs, which he does magnificently - and he was kind enough to oblige. To hear a favourite song played by a favourite musician, within touching distance was absolutely wonderful. It was a great rendition.
Some villagers then kindly asked for some more Irish tunes and songs, and Rob and I and Christophe – who play in French Irish band Foxy Devil, were happy to oblige. Later on, a poster for the festival was passed round and villagers kindly signed it for us. That poster will soon have pride of place in my study - as both a memory of that lovely evening but also a demonstration of how good things can happen if one has a bit of luck and works hard enough to make things happen.
The revels continued and slowly but surely as the night grew late, people drifted away home until there were just Rob, myself and Christophe left and we entertained each other, swapping tunes and songs until late into the evening. Over and above being a great guy and wonderful guitarist, Christophe is indefatiguable. He is a powerhouse of energy, and it was late late late by the time we got to bed – but I have no doubt Christophe could play forever.
By the time we arose on Saturday, helpful fairies had entered the gîte, finished off the tidying up we had done the night before and laid the veranda table for breakfast for the three of us. So, it was on with the coffee, out with the bread and confiture and on to more rehearsals.
As on the day before, Sylvie arrived as planned and we were able to run through our material together before the other musicians arrived. This time we could work more on phrasing and harmonies, with Sylvie as a great and kindly teacher.
We had an early lunch, this time with all of the volunteers, in the newly erected marquee at the Salle des Fetes in the village and it was there that we met the next former member of Malicorne, the immensely talented and very personable Laurent Vercambre, who was stepping in at late notice after an enforced pull out by one musician to complete our concert and dance band formats.
Over lunch, the festival organisers gave Rob and me both a lovely present of local ceramic work – which now has pride of place in both our homes.
We also had chance to have a look backstage at the Podium Car on which we would be performing later that evening. There were preparatory celebratory drinks on offer but Rob and I opted for the water rather than the champagne or whisky. This was a day to savour and neither of us fancied drinking too early.
Returning to the gîte after lunch to rehearse it became clear that all of the compliments Gabriel had given to Laurent prior to his arrival were entirely justified. Play a jig or reel through once and he has got it; play it twice and he has got a harmony worked out for it, and he is playing it as a round or doing something else unusual with it. Playing both fiddle and nyckelharpa, Laurent slotted into the songs and tunes quickly – some of which he was entirely familiar with from his Malicorne days. With Gabriel there too, we were able to rehearse a conjoint version of L'Auberge Sanglante or The Bloody Inn as we have translated it on our album ,The Bite. With everyone being so welcoming, it only really struck me at the end of that song, that I had just played a song with Gabriel Yacoub - dreams can come true, they just had!
Two of Laurent's friends (from French band Trad'airactif)also arrived at the gîte to rehearsing some tunes for the bal later that evening. These lads could also really play as well, and we had a great time running through some bourrées and branles from the old Malicorne repertoire, and some jigs, reels and polkas for the 'country dancing' which I and Sylvie were going to be organising later that evening. Great fun, with great musicians.
Then, it was time for the sound check. We had already met the guys from rock band Sir Kuss at lunch. They were going on after us on the main podium that evening. The sound check was done swiftly and professionally with the sound engineer. After this, we spent a bit of time chatting with various villagers and had the good fortune to be introduced by Sylvie to a young family with Spanish origins and hear about the harrowing experiences of their forebears, refugees of the Spanish Civil War, who ended up in France.
We then went to the food stall and got a little something to eat to sustain us through the evening - again, the volunteers worked incredibly hard to get great food served quickly to a lot of festival goers.
Now it was time to get ready for the show.
The weather was unpredictable. There were showers around although, at the time, there was plenty of blue sky. A quick change of shirt, a few deep breaths and then it was back to the village for the show. Local jugglers and acrobats were already there giving a performance, as we started to set up the instruments on the stage for the show. However, first of all there was to be a parade through the village by the musicians - a traditional way to start the festival. Laurent and his friends, Romain, Gabriel, ourselves and others strolled the length of the village high street playing a couple of tunes, and we returned to the festival site by the church.
The show began with our version of Three Bonny Ships. We then switched into playing the French traditional song l’amant de Nantes, which Sylvie sings so beautifully and then, with Gabriel there, we were able to perform L'Auberge Sanglante together, partly in English and partly in French, using the tune that he set the song to. Rob had his new electro-acoustic classical guitar on show for the first time – and very nice it was too! Laurent did a solo on violin first, and Rob then followed on classical guitar. The sound was pretty seamless for a new band put together in the previous 24 hours.
Then it was time for the performance with the local schoolchildren. We stood aside to ensure they could all get on the stage and together, we all performed, Mon Bateau à voile and Petite Souris. The children did really well, stepping up like real professionals to the microphone to do their bit.
After this we moved into the bulk of the performance with the harrowing song La fille qui parmi ces bois followed by the equally harrowing Child Mother from our The Bite album. Then we performed Tri Martolod, Le Chanson du Spectre, When I took my Horse to Water, The Verdant Braes of Screen, and Dedans la Ville de Plaisantement.
At one point as we performed, Sylvie attracted my attention by pointing out something off stage right. When I looked to see what she was pointing at, I saw a most magnificent double rainbow picked out in the low sunshine of the late evening - it seemed very fitting for the occasion. We brought the performance to a conclusion with a rousing rendition of Les Larmes Aux Yeux.
The crowd of around 150-200 seemed very much to have enjoyed the performance and we left the stage to much applause. We had performed together with past members of Malicorne, Sylvie Berger and others. It just couldn't get better than that!
Now it was time for the dance.
Christophe had done his work well and everything was set up wonderfully in the Salle des Fêtes. Some volunteers pointed out that well known traditional dance enthusiasts were there and had come specifically for the dance.
The plan was for a mix of local traditional dances and for me, with a lot of help from Sylvie, to make some attempt at explaining some Scots and English dances. It was suggested by different parties that it would be (a) funny; and (b) ‘sexy’ for me to do this in French – I think, as with much in my life these days, it was more funny than sexy! Sylvie and I had practiced the Gay Gordons earlier in the day and we were raring to go with that once the dancers had settled into a few of their known tunes and dances. Naturally, given their interest, there was a lot of dancing talent on the floor and the bourrées and mazurkas were done beautifully and without instruction. Then it was time for the Gay Gordons.
In my stilted French and with Sylvie’s help, we were able to show off the dance and after a few rounds and the obligatory crashes and related hilarity that occur with that dance when it is just being learned, we got there.
And so the night progressed with a mix of French and British dances. Strip the Willow was just mayhem but the dancers enjoyed the confusion rather than getting upset at it – which was a relief.
Looking up from the floor at one point I spotted Laurent, who clearly hadn’t had his supper yet, playing his fiddle furiously with his bow between thumb and third and fourth fingers, with a piece of pizza in his first and second fingers, which he was taking an occasional munch from. Amazing. Rob was leading on the British tunes and, with the benefit of his hard work, one or two of the French tunes too. Everyone was having great fun. At one point Romain and Sylvie sang some dancing songs, call and repeat songs to which the dancers danced enthusiastically. Quite an education for us.
As midnight approached, some of the dancers began to drift away –and another treat was in store – an impromptu concert by the Malicorne members, with Romain and Sylvie as well. For years I had pondered how I would ever get to see Malicorne, and here they were before my very eyes, their wonderful close harmonies intact on songs like Le Prince d’Orange sending a thrill down our spines. Just wonderful.
As Malicorne finished and the evening looked about ended, a number of the volunteers and some of the villagers asked for more music from Rob and me. This gave me the chance to play the song Dedans La Ville de Plaisantement one last time with Sylvie, and then Rob and I did some of the faster Irish material we had and some of our Asturian and Galician tunes – all fantastically mixed and sound engineered by Christophe. As the rain came on strongly outside, people danced along to our music and the night ended on yet another high for us.
At the end of the evening, we said our goodbyes to those we would not see on Sunday, including the very lovely and wonderful Marie Sauvet, Marie de Malicorne as she is known to many, who had been so kind and supportive to us throughout the weekend. Gabriel very kindly gave us signed copies of his latest (excellent) CD and of an (excellent) DVD of the reformed Malicorne playing a reunion concert in La Rochelle. We were also able to give him a copy of our new EP which he was kind emough to ask us to sign for him. We also sought out a number of the volunteers to give them copies of The Bite to say thank you to them.
We helped the local volunteers as best we could tidy up the Salle des Fêtes and we made our way back to the gîte, elated and exhausted. All of our wishes for the event had come to pass and everyone seemed happy that the evening had gone well. Some were going on to carry the party on elsewhere, but Rob and I were keen for bed. We had two long days travelling to come.
On Sunday morning we arose and went back to the Salles des Fêtes for some breakfast and to say our goodbyes. The place was already a hive of activity with the volunteers hard at work tidying up, beginning to take the marquees down, etc..
After a half hour chatting we said our goodbyes to everyone. Gabriel very kindly came down to see us and others off. We had our final hugs and kisses with musicians and volunteers alike and we made our way across the car park to get in the car. What a lovely feeling it was to know that we had been to Marçais, met and played with some of France’s very top traditional players, and had done a fine job, leaving everyone happy.
Once in the car, we headed for St Eloi, near Nevers, where we were going to have lunch with Dominique and Annie Forges and their family who make up a large part of the BandaBèro group who we had supported in Redbourne back in November 2011 and through whose fiddler, Freddie Baudimant, the contact with Gabriel Yacoub had been made.
After about 90 minutes drive on clear French roads we parked up, gave Dominique a call and he was able to come and pick us up and direct us to his lovely home. There, over a lovely lunch, we were able to catch up on all our respective news and plans, including a possible return to the UK by the excellent BandaBèro in the coming October/ November period.
After spending a very nice afternoon with our friends, we needed now to set off north, towards home. Our destination for the evening was a cheap and cheerful hotel on the edge of Chartres. Again, apart from some of the motorways closer to Paris where weekenders were returning home, the roads were pretty clear, and we made good time. Exhausted, especially after emptying the kit out of the car, we resisted the temptation to go straight into Chartres that evening. Rather we opted for a boozy celebratory meal at a nearby restaurant which, although in the middle of what looked like an industrial estate, seemed very busy for a Sunday night. The toll of the past few days, and the effects of an excellent bottle of red wine plus a cognac with the meal, meant we hit our respective pillows hard when we got back to the hotel.
The following morning we eschewed breakfast in the hotel and headed into Chartres. Of course, much of France is closed on a Monday, so we had to look pretty hard for a cafe – which we eventually found and had coffee and some bread and jam. After a quick walk around the magnificent cathedral and the lower old town, we set off back for Calais. It wasn’t too long before we met up with the various Speedy Gonzales-es returning from Le Mans. The roads around Rouen had a few more tricky little surprises in store for us – but we were soon through and on our way through Normandy.
We were making good time but had concluded that given the return from Le Mans there was little chance of getting an earlier train across the Channel. So, we decided that we would find a little town and have some lunch and then, if time permitted, we would call in somewhere and get some good beers, wines, meats and cheeses. We lunched in Abbeville, which was also effectively closed, and we called in at the humungous Cite de l’Europe near the EuroShuttle Terminal for some tasty souvenirs to bring home.
After that, the focus was just to get ourselves home. The M20 and M25 were better than we expected them to be and a little ahead of schedule, we arrived home. In fact all of the administration for the trip had worked out as originally planned, with no hiccups at all.
The adventure had ended. We were tired but still elated and proud of what we had achieved. We had shared our music and time with some very talented and lovely people, we have made lots of new friends and, with the help of Gabriel, Sylvie and the others, we had seen a dream come true.