Fruit Bats European Tour Diary Pt.16 Metz
By: Eric D. Johnson
Metz
This was a long drive day across the bulk of France, from the palm-lined and dry avenues of the Mediterranean to the cold continental Lorraine province, still quite French but with a German vibe as well. I’m not sure if it was the uber-European hotel we’d stayed in the night before, or the fact that we’re chest-deep into this tour, or some sort of built in Yankee BBQ honing device, but we ended up eating lunch at an American-themed restaurant called Buffalo Grill. Have you guys seen this place? Its all over France. There is a mannequin cowboy to greet you out front (although his face has the delicate features of a Gallic nobleman, short of the painted on mole), and they serve burgers and beers and BBQ and all manner of deep fried jalepeno type stuff. Pretty rad, and one of the more interesting alchemical cultural experiences I’ve had. France was the last place I’d expected to have a chain like this, let alone one that (at least when we were there) was crowded and downright bumpin’ on a Sunday afternoon. Good burgers, too. But by the time I left I was ready for some stinky cheese, baguette, good bottle of white and quail eggs. I guess I like both antithetical cuisines in the same weird way. As if to give us a strong reminder that we were still very much in the Olde Worlde, we played this gig staring out the window at an ancient castle. Fun show for the most part, minus the part of me being consistently electrocuted in the face by the microphone. Au revoir to France for this tour. You are my kind of country - je t’aime!
Artists in this article: Fruit Bats