And Music Of The Past

So I think ahead. What should I say today? And I decide. It's about this "and food", "and music" malarkey. And having decided this, there is then the coincidence, or sort of, so it makes something complementary. Even in a short blog entry, I like completion, synergy, a touch of serendipity; all these things I like.

And so it started with wondering what was with the sprouting of restaurants and bars that carry the "and something" tag. Like Chili in Puerto Alcúdia - "pizzas and food"; like Diablito in Puerto Pollensa (and Puerto Soller and Santa Ponsa) - "food and music"; like Café Paris in Can Picafort - also "food and music", or is it the other way round? Not important. Where does this all come from? These are all Spanish-run places after all, but they take the English and make it sound, well make it sound I'm not entirely sure. Trendy perhaps. But within the vogue of the motif, there is a degree of tautology, at least with Chili at any rate. Are pizzas not food? And the music is, well, music, as in music from some speakers, though Diablito are talking about live music, maybe. And this is music that is to be heard in many places. Not the same music perhaps, but music all the same. Of course, it probably plays with a youthful market, but that raises the question of market positioning. "And music" sounds as though it excludes different market segments, though that is not the intention, and nor should it influence you if you are not part of this possible target market. This said, in the case of Café Paris, I do wonder if there is not too much of a shift in focus. Here is a place that, historically, has been a German meeting-place, a bar-café for coffee and cake, for German buffet, for dancing to cabaret of a more mature style. Café Paris, in many respects, has been Can Picafort. Yet now it has changed, and adopted a style (or at least an "image") that is more "club". I'm not sure. Whereas even a year ago, Café Paris was full of Germans having lunchtime brunch buffets and dancing in the evenings, when I was there recently, there was nary a German to be seen. You change your image and you change your market at some risk. I hope it works for them.

Then there is the coincidence. Of a musical nature. I was in JKs in Puerto Pollensa, and there were people talking. I overheard and butted in. The chap was a musician, name of John Lynam. I thought it meant something but was not sure. He was with Thin Lizzy for a bit, his own band - back in the '70s - was Sundance and was a stable mate of Dire Straits who got the gig, as it were, whereas Sundance didn't. Anyway, John is now playing around these parts, at places such The Hideaway in Gotmar (Puerto Pollensa), Trencadora (Pollensa) and Shamrock (Puerto Alcúdia). He hasn't lost his rock roots entirely, but his act is basically singing and acoustic guitar with different styles, such as flamenco and blues, thrown in. What's interesting is that here's someone who is a genuine musician doing a live act, something that is often difficult to find outside of Palma. If anyone would like to know how to get in touch with John, just mail me, and I'll get the message to him.

Oh and finally, the Pollensa Festival this year will feature a rock act for the first time. Arctic Monkeys? Kaiser Chiefs? No. Roger Hodgson. Who? Roger Hodgson. Supertramp. Not even Supergrass. Supertramp. I don't know, but it doesn't really grab me, but maybe he'll be very good and he replaces the previously announced "rock" act, Paul Carrack. Paul Carrack? Ace, Mike and the Mechanics. Wasn't he?


QUIZ: Yesterday - The Editors. Today's title - this is a line from?

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