The moment was dreaded, but over time it became more comfortable to believe in some form of eternity. In the immortality of Paulette Marchal, founder of the Chez Paulette concert hall. Last year, the celebration of her hundredth birthday elevated her to the rank of muse of pop-rock culture, a rural but trendy version. His disappearance on Christmas Day already plunges music lovers into a form of nostalgia. Because a whole era disappears with it. That of the post-war dance halls, when the American soldiers garrisoned in Toulois first shared jazz then rock’n’roll, elevating the small village of Pagney-derrière-Barine to the rank of an unmissable scene. The small establishment founded by Paulette’s parents was transformed in the sixties into a concert hall, specializing in rock, taking on the difference with the surrounding calm of a countryside that was sometimes too sleepy and whose weekends were to become famous. The biggest rock groups and artists will play on the pub stage. Canned Heat, Calvin Russell or Sepultura on the international side, Jean-Louis Aubert, Pigalle, or Sinclair on the French side, more than 1,000 concerts under the belt and as many anecdotes.
A family’s compass
Who knows why, over time Paulette will become as famous as the parties she organizes. When an artist goes on stage at Chez Paulette, he must make a small space for the hostess so that the audience can applaud him. His personality and enthusiasm contribute to the pub’s reputation and convince artists to perform there. What are they looking for? Authenticity as much as fervor. The atmosphere and decor remain the same, the groups pass by. Some artists return like the Texan bluesman Calvin Russell, who even went so far as to have Paulette’s first name tattooed on his arm. Since the age of 75, Paulette had withdrawn from the daily management of the room to pass it on to her son Luc. But she still lived in the house next to the bar.
Mother of four children, grandmother of six grandchildren, and several times great-grandmother, Paulette was the compass of a family which always devotes itself to managing the institution. His granddaughter Letizia, for example, takes care of the pub’s administration and communications.
After a final tribute paid Monday, December 30 for her funeral, Paulette Marchal now rests in her village cemetery. Not too far from the stage, its vibrations and the hundreds of fans who will continue to flock every weekend to this UFO of the entertainment world. Like Delpech who sang Laurette, we will continue in Lorraine to hum that “it was good, it was nice…at Paulette’s”the sound of our voice quickly covered by that of guitars and drums.
