Baguettes, Bardot and Black Metal: Adventures in Paris

I first visited Paris in 2012, part of a ten day trip that also included five days in London. That was the first time I had ever set foot in Europe, so it was all about seeing the big highlights; you know, all the stuff that everyone pictures in their mind when they think of Paris. Like this thing:

I wanted a beret with a Maiden logo, but couldn’t find one. Surely Gene Simmons has thought of KISS berets?

…and this lady:

Photo’s a little blurry because she’s a lot smaller than you think, plus she’s behind six feet of velvet rope and bulletproof glass.

…and this other thing:

Yes, I do own some shirts without band logos on them.

…and this place:

Notre Dame (pre-fire, obviously). Shockingly, I did not burst into flames when I entered.

…and this guy’s grave:

Jim Morrison’s grave at Pere Lachaise Cemetery, because man cannot live (or die) on metal alone

So, having checked most of the essentials off the list on that first visit, this latest trip was all about relaxing and trying to live like a Parisian for a week.

We rented a spacious Airbnb on Rue Saint-Denis. We were looking for something large enough (there were three of us) and reasonably close to the Latin Quarter. The apartment did not disappoint. It was clean and modern with two bedrooms, three bathrooms, a spacious living room, a fully equipped kitchen, a small piano(!) and, for some reason, an oversized portrait of Brigitte Bardot. I was perfectly OK with this.

Place was full of candles, but I never could find any matches to light poor Brigitte’s cigarette. Quel dommage!

Our neighborhood was chock-full of bars, restaurants and cafes, including Les Turbines Cafe, just around the corner. Our first morning, we went there and sat outside, ate pain au chocolate, sipped cappuccinos and café au lait and enjoyed fantastic people watching for nearly two hours. In Paris, this is the way (or, if you prefer, ceci est le chemin).

Our waiter brought us the drinks right away, but said to wait 10 minutes for the pastries. Worth it. They were warm and fresh from the oven.

Also around the corner was a great rock ‘n’ roll clothing store called Boy Loove Girl (spelling intentional). If you’re ever in Paris, and you’re into metal, punk, goth, or any combination thereof, this is the shop for you. The guy who helped me was super-cool, very friendly, spoke excellent English and went out of his way to find the specific Motörhead shirt I wanted in a size Large. Bonus that the shirt is good quality and was reasonably priced (I would’ve bought a bullet belt too, but I didn’t think I could get it through airport security). Recommended!

Copyright ©2003 - Boyloovegirl

Oh, and I should probably mention the one thing that we were not aware of about Rue Saint-Denis until we got there: apparently, parts of it are (in)famous for the large number of sex shops. And hey, no judgements here; if that’s your thing, go for it! It is Paris, after all. And if you’re looking for a truly unique gift for that special someone to remember your trip by, might I suggest this little gadget that was in a majority of the shop windows?

“My grandma went to Paris, and all I got was this lousy…”

Anyway…

Half the fun of visiting Paris (or anywhere, really) is the eating and the drinking, and we certainly did plenty of both over the course of seven days. Seriously, just walk ten feet on just about any street in Paris, you’ll come across a place like this:

…or this:

Grab a table, and the next thing you know, you’re eating delicious food and killing a whole bottle of wine in the middle of the day, but it doesn’t matter, because Paris!

Wouldn’t be a French meal without wine, salad and baguettes.

Me, apparently having a religious experience because the omelette du fromage is so freakin’ delicious.

Crêpes so good they didn’t need a drop of syrup. Which is good, because they didn’t come with syrup.

One restaurant that really stood out was L'As du Fallafel, a tiny little Middle Eastern restaurant in the Jewish Quarter of Paris.

Doesn’t look like much on the outside but oh, man…the food!

A friend had recommended it to us and instructed us to show up before it opens and stand in line. She told us not to worry because it would all be worth it. She was right, of course. They opened at 11am, and we arrived around 10:40-ish to find a few people already in line. You could either order food to take away, or you could choose to sit inside. We wanted to sit, and it was a good thing we arrived when we did, because the place had maybe six tables, and they filled up fast. We all ordered the classic fallafel sandwich and a side of fries. The sandwiches came in homemade pita pockets that were so stuffed, they served them in a bowl. Just look at this deliciousness:

Had to use a fork. Seriously, how was I supposed to bite into it?

This place got a great write-up in the New York Times, and I can understand why. Best fallafel I’ve ever had anywhere, bar none, no hyperbole. Cannot recommend this enough. Go there! And it that doesn’t convince you, L'As du Fallafel is apparently also a personal favorite of Lenny Kravitz, and who are you to argue with the “Are You Gonna’ Go My Way” guy?

I can honestly say we never really had a bad meal in Paris, just one or two that were mediocre (whith the exception of one quick meal at a touristy spot near the Eiffel Tower that was just mediocre). And no, I didn’t have the stones to try escargot. Next time perhaps.

There’s no shortage of places to grab a drink in Paris either. Whether it’s a cocktail bar, tavern, wine bar or brewery, the City Of Light has you covered. And yes, they even have at least one metal bar called Hellfest Corner.

Note the sweet new Motörhead shirt I got at Boy Loove Girl.

The bar is affilliated with Hellfest, a three day French heavy metal festival held every year in Clisson (sadly, couldn’t fit it into our schedule this year). There’s even a shop in the basement of the bar that sells official festival merch as well as vinyl and and other paraphernalia from bands that have played their over the years.

The shop in the basement. It was closed while we were there, but I snapped a picture anyway because it was on the way to the bathrooms and I really had to pee.

Of course there was metal playing while we were there (and a smattering of punk too, definitely heard some Dropkick Murphys at one point), and the bartenders were super cool and friendly, all decked out in the usual tattoos and metal shirts.

Yes, the bar is made out of metal.

There were a few other very nice patrons there, all of whom seemed like locals that the the bartenders knew well. A very pleasant experience was had by all, with just one teeny tiny complaint: the bar was well stocked with everything you’d expect, but there didn’t seem to be any band-related alcohol. These days, just about every band worth its salt has some sort of alcohol with their name on it. AC/DC, Megadeth, and Iron Maiden all have their own beers, Metallica and Motörhead have whiskies, Judas Priest has rum, and KISS naturally has their own brand of Cold Gin. Hell, even Slayer had their own “Reign In Blood Red” wine for a while, so I was looking forward to trying at least one of those brands. No dice. Still, the drinks that we did have were good, so it’s a very minor complaint. For all I know, they could’ve been out of stock, or the bartenders just didn’t understand my terrible French. No biggie either way.

Me, looking incredulous about the Kraken Stormies I’m about to drink (they were good).

Oh, and lest you think we did nothing but eat and drink (which we did for like 85% of the trip, but still…), we did manage to fit in a little culture. Since we already visited the Louvre on our first trip, we decided to check out the Musée d'Orsay instead. They were having an exhibit about the Impressionists in Paris, so we got to spend some time with this guy and some of his pals:

Vinnie!

It was a thrill to see some famous impressionist paintings in person after having only seen them in books, but the museum was super crowded, which kind of limited the amount of time we could spend with each piece, and really, we should have known better than to go to a popular museum on a rainy Sunday.

We also took in some music at the Sunset/Sunside Jazz Club (sorry, there were no decent metal shows while we were there). Never caught the name of the trio, but they played a tight, quick set while we crushed a bottle of pinot noir.

Jazz + wine = a solid Saturday night in Paris.

Finally, it should come as no surprise that I’m always on the lookout for music, especially vinyl. Granted, we’re trying to be as nomadic as possible while we’re living in Europe, so I’m trying not to accumulate too many records. The cost of shipping them back to the States can be astronomical. Still, there’s something cool about buying an album by a band from a specific country while you’re actually in that country, right?

And there’s lots of great French metal to dig into, but I was primarily interested in trying to find something by at least one of these three bands:

1. TRUST

Formed in 1977 and heavily influenced by AC/DC, Trust were famous for two things: having their song “Antisocial” covered by Anthrax in 1988 on that band’s State Of Euphoria LP, and for having two different Iron Maiden drummers as band members at different points in their history. Current Maiden drummer Nicko McBrain was a member from ‘81-82 and played on two albums before leaving to join Maiden, and original Maiden drummer Clive Burr played with Trust from ‘83-84 when he was fired from Maiden (and replaced by Nicko). Like Nicko, Burr also played on two albums before leaving for another project.

Trust broke up in ‘85, but reformed in the 2000’s and remain active to this day. Their latest album Propaganda was released in 2022.

2. GOJIRA

“Gojira” is the original Japanese name for Godzilla, and Gojira (the band) actually recorded several demos and went on a few European tours in the late 90’s under the name Godzilla before changing it for obvious legal reasons. So why did a French band name themselves after a famous Japanese movie monster in the first place? Well, the band says they thought the idea of a giant radioactive lizard was “…a symbol of devastating power.” Having seen these guys live opening for Slayer in 2013 in Lowell, MA, and then again as a headliner in Portland, ME just last year, I can attest that “devastating power” is a good way to describe this band both live and on record.

And Gojira have progressed significantly since their early days. They started off as a thrashy death metal band, but their sound has evolved over the course of seven studio albums to incorporate elements of prog, groove metal (not unlike later Sepultura), avant-garde, math rock (crazy stop-start time signatures), and psychedelia, all without losing one drop of intensity. Lyrically, the band often touches upon themes of nature, spirituality and environmentalism, sometimes all within one song, as is the case with the track “Flying Whales”.

Gojira have been nominated for three Grammys, had albums make it onto the Billboard charts in the U.S. and are now considered one of France’s most successful heavy metal bands. Their latest album Fortitude was released in 2021.

3. ALCEST

One of the most unique French metal bands, Alcest are widely recognized as the originators of the subgenre known as “blackgaze,” which combines black metal (raw, primitive and lo-fi, with fast picking, trebly guitars and shrieked vocals) with shoegaze (a type of loud alternative rock featuring layered, distorted guitars with lots of swirling effects and feedback). The project is the brainchild of singer, producer and multi-instrumentalist Stéphane Paut, who uses the stage name Neige (the French word for “snow”).

The sound of Alcest has evolved since their formation in 2000. Early material was solidly raw and minimal black metal, but they soon developed a more atmospheric and mood driven style, often incorporating acoustic guitars, strings and clean singing while still retaining some of the intensity and harsh characteristics of traditional black metal.

The band’s lyrics are drawn from experiences that Neige claims to have had as a child, where he would receive “flashes” which “seemed to come from other dimensions or perhaps from past lives,” as he told an interviewer in 2011. These flashes happened most intensely when he was “in direct contact with nature” as if “nature was a bridge between this world and another.” Alcest is essentially Neige’s way of interpreting these experiences musically, and he has said that his 2007 album Souvenirs d'un autre monde (“Memories From Another World”) perfectly encapsulates what Alcest is all about.

Alcest has now released six full-length albums, several EP’s and numerous singles. Their latest single is “L’envol,” and their newest album (coming in June) will be called Les Chants de l'aurore.

Now that my music quest had some focus, it was time to hit the pavement. Paris has dozens of record stores, and with limited time, we certainly couldn’t hit them all. But we did visit two that were noteworthy, the first being Balades Sonores.

Balades Sonores

The store didn’t look like much from the outside, but the inside was very cool and eclectic, crammed with records of course, but also with original art and unique store merch.

Me, trying to find the metal section but too timid to ask “Ou est le metal?”

The shop was a little chaotic in that charming way that certain funky little record stores often are, and I don’t think I ever did find a specific “Metal” section (unless it was filed under “Rock” and I just missed it). But, to be perfectly honest, we only went to this shop for one reason: there’s a cat that lives there and his name is Pepito.

Pepito, the cool cat, looking spiffy in his red scarf and probably guarding all the Cat Stevens albums.

Pepito sat on top of the records near the window the whole time watching people come go, and barely tolerated our presence. Still, he was kind enough to pose for some pictures and we were soon on our way.

Au revoir, Pepito!

The second record store we just had to visit based on the name alone: MUSICFEARSATAN

You think I’m NOT going to visit a store with a name like that? Please…

This particular shop is small, but they specialize in metal, punk, indie and French rock. They have a mix of new and vintage records with separate bins for multiple sub-genres, including a pretty sizable black metal section.

Sure, but do you have any blackened Peruvian psychedelic stoner symphonic power thrash-folk? No idea if that’s a thing that actually exists, but it should.

The guy at the counter wasn’t the friendliest record clerk I’d ever spoken to, but he was happy to take my money once I’d finally made my selection. I never did find any Trust albums, and though I did see some records by Gojira, they’re not all that hard to come by in the US, so I passed. In the end, I went with the French band who’s records can be a little scarce across the pond. Welcome to the collection, Spiritual Instinct by Alcest!

25 Euros well spent!

On our final night in Paris, we were tired, mildly hungover (well, at least I was), and had an early flight to catch, so we put together a simple little dinner at home – I say “we,” but really, all I did was sip wine and play tunes while others did the assembling.

Baked camembert cheese with nuts, honey and fresh tomatoes.

Can’t forget the macaroons and baguettes.

All in all, our second trip to Paris was every bit as good as the first. We ate well, drank well, took in some sights, hung out with old and new friends, and I bought a new record. What more could you ask for?

And, for the record, we received excellent service everywhere we went, and the French people we talked to were warm, friendly and very funny. That whole thing about the French being rude is a stupid myth.

Au revoir, Paris. We’ll be back soon!

Photo courtesy of our good friend and traveling companion Colleen Craig.