This Living in Nyon editor first saw Johnny Clegg perform in 1988 in the Royal Albert Hall in London  supporting Stevie Winwood. Back then Johnny performed with abundant energy and superb stage presence. Last night under a Nyon sky (with the moon appearing from behind the stage to add dramatic effect to the concert), as he sang “Under African Skies” it was clear that 22 years later nothing had changed, the man still has what it takes to command and deserve the big stage – a superb concert. 

Below the barefoot writer-Jonas Parson gives his impression of the same concert and also of  Crosby, Stills and Nash and Hugues Aufray.

Paléo -Thursday

Now if Tuesday was the trash rock evening, and Wednesday the hyped musicians evening, Thursday was definately a day of legends. Starting off with Hugues Aufray, 80 years old and still going. He was the one who wrote the famous Santiano song, along with many other classics that are still sung round campfires in all French speaking parts of the world.  Even under the pouring rain, you could feel the emotion of all those different generations who all grew up singing the same songs. Part of Aufray’s show was dedicated to Dylan, with versions of Blowin’ in the Wind, Mr Tambourine Man and other songs, sung in French!

It was quite a disturbing impression at first, before you actually understood what’ was going on.  You started singing, only to realize that the lyrics aren’t the same… And then; “What? Is he actually singing Dylan in French?”

So that was a meeting with happy memories for the crowd, be they young or old. It isn’t because Aufray is old that nobody listens to him, quite the contrary. As many young people as older ones were there in front of the stage, showing once again the power of music to bring people (sometimes complete strangers) together.

After two days of wonderful weather, Thursday was well set on becoming a remake of Woodstock and co, with the rain and the mud everywhere. IT was the occasion for everyone to take out their special Paleo rain jacket, the staff wearing last year’s unfinished stock.

But the rain didn’t last, and by the end of the concert, the sky was dry again, so as to give the boat Santiano good sailing conditions for its trip to San Francisco. It must have been one mighty boat, because nearly the whole of Paleo jumped on board, rocking the boat away!

Traipsing through the mud after the concert, the comfortable squelch of mud under my feet, it was time for a morsel before another legend (or rather, legends) sent us sky-high at l’Asse. Not especially knowing Crosby Stills and Nash before the concert, all I knew was that they’d played at Woodstock, and that they were part of our musical history. I was amazed by everything they did. The guitar, the voice, the whole of the concert was just wonderful. I really had the impression of living part of history watching them, one of the bands that made it possible for so many small bands to play today. Had they not been playing in the 60’s, go knows what music would be like today. After the concert, I had the pleasure of meeting a real fan, a man in his fifties who told me that he’d been waiting for them for the last fifteen years. He was just more than happy. He could hardly speak anymore, rather overwhelming I gather.

Then it was time for the “White Zulu” to take the whole of l’Asse  to Africa. After 30 years of concerts, Johny Clegg didn’t seem to be tiring. Quite the opposite if you can judge by his dancing and the way he behaved on stage. Running from one end of the stage to the other, jumping about in every direction, he just looked happy. That was probably the night’s main discovery for me, the concert was just amazing. I’m pretty sure that Johny Clegg might appear onto my Ipod one of these days….

So what an evening! And with all these concerts, I haven’t had time to go and have a look at the Ruche, the area devoted to circus shows. There’s usually always a nice company playing, and it’s nearly always worth it!

Photo below.

Ed: Other concerts last night early in the evening included Hugh Masekela in the Dome. Even though a lot of fans were a tad bedraggled and wet due to the early rainstorm, Hugh urged the audience not to complain too much as he reminded us a bit of water didn’t really do any harm as there those in other countries who really are suffering for so many other serious reasons, a sobering moment for us all. 

Photo below the fires warming the fans up by night. This is the last year these fires will be here so go see them and sit by them to appreciate the atmosphere before it’s too late.

Over in the club tent and in the chapiteau the sound of very appreciative cheering crowds drew many people over to listen to Revolver and Archive. I caught only the end of each show but despite hearing only a few minutes of each I now want to hear more. That’s the beauty of Paléo – discovering new music.

“I’ve been coming to Paléo since I was a few months old, my dad works here, many of my friends too, so it’s part of my life, I also love discovering all the different kinds of music and bands that play here ”

Jonas Parson – writer and volunteer ar Paléo.

Living in Nyon is delighted that this year Jonas Parson will be writing for this site all about his experience of Paléo from the atmosphere, to the music. Jonas is 17 and has just finished his studies at the Gymnase of Nyon. Whilst there he was part of the editorial team of the school magazine called “La Herissé”.

Jonas also works at Paléo as one of the thousands of volunteers, this year he is there in the capacity of “Aspirator” (Vacuum Cleaner). The Aspirators keep the place tidy and the loos clean for the festival goers.  There will be more about these Aspirators on this site later on in the week.
Jonas himself says he has an eclectic taste in music; ” I like lots of stuff, Leonard Cohen, Neil Young etc.     Ialso like the Artic Monkeys and the Fratellis. Last year at Paléo there were three particularly good French bands; La Rue Ketanou, Les Ogres de Barback and Debout sur le Zinc, it was a good year.

However there are some years when I go not really knowing much about the performers but end up liking them and then maybe making the effort to see them elsewhere. For example last year the group Caravan Palace came to Paléo and it was such a good night I went to see them again at the “Docks”

(Ed note: See review of Caravan Palace on last year’s Living in Nyon).

As for going to other local music venues, Jonas likes to go to the Parenthese in Nyon or the
Usine a Gaz or L’ecurie (a venue in a building behind Geneva railway station).

Why the barefoot writer? Jonas says from the month of March onwards he ditches his shoes, he even did this while studying at Gymnase. Most of the time he alternates between barefeet or Doc Martins, just like his choice in music, an eclectic taste.

Here is Jonas’s impression of last night

“After a beer and sweat laden Tuesday evening with the bearded villains of Mötörhead, on Wednesday it was way time for some gentler – but none the less “full of punch” type bands.   The evening started off to the tune of Olivia Ruiz’s mushroom pancakes. (Oh, please come back ! If you do, I’ll make you some crêpes aux champignons…). Dancing and whirling about on stage, this girl really knows how to make a show ! With her magic rotating mirror, about three metres high,  her musicians just made you want to dance, Ruiz had the crowd singing away at some moments, and swinging away all the time. Even under the burning sun of the Paléo festival, the « femme chocolat » did not melt away in front of the crowd !

The concert ended just as it started pouring down, the timing perfect to the second. It rained just enough to moisten the grounds and keep the dust where it should be (not in our eyes and throats, but on the ground…)

Finding something to eat – The national sport of Paléo

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Before the next show of the evening, Charlie Winston the handsome “hobo”, it was time for one of Paleo’s national sports : finding something to eat. Over the years, you tend to stick to one or two favourite stalls where you know you won’t be disappointed, but discovering new food is also part of the fun. My personal favourite is the Paprika, (one of) the Indian stalls in the oriental district of the Paleo, where you can get gorgeous plates of Daal- lentil stew- for ten francs, and chicken for about fifteen. It’s worth a try !

Then off to Charlie Winston barely digesting the meal, but who cares, this is Paleo! What a show that was ! The Cornish dandy, was here to spend a quality moment with us on the grounds of l’Asse. Corresponding with the crowd in quite  good French-(he lives in Paris)- he delivered a pop folk performance of top class. Everybody at l’Asse became a hobo for a few minutes, singing away with him with gusto. And after a concert filled with class and energy, we were granted the surprise visit of M on stage. Barely recognizable without his sunglasses and his super-hype haircut, he was invited to riff away on his guitar with the band for their final song. Now that was something worth seeing ! Allthough big bands, loads of excellent artists play one after the other at Paléo, it’s not often that you see one invited on stage for another concert than his. We could see they were having fun on stage, and their pleasure just leaked out onto us, for another wonderful show.

After that, it was time to wonder about in the Village du Monde, the place devoted to World Music, this year’s host being South Africa. The decorators had done quite a good job, with three big brown structures, in a mix between a hut and an anthill, giving you room to sit down and have a chat or a morsel with some friends in a relatively calm atmosphere.

Then off to the Dome, to see a bit of the Mahotella Queens. We’d been told it was worth it, and it was ! Even at nearly seventy, the three majesties dance about on stage as though they were twenty, in their nice yellow ‘bafana bafana’ t-shirts, the south african football team. Joking about on stage, you could see they had loads of energy left, I was particularly impressed by some of their moves, which showed an agility most people of that age have lost, if they ever had it…

It was then time to chill out a bit, watching a bit of M from afar, in the place to be when it starts getting dark,  and even more so when it starts getting chilly : by the fire installations in the Quartier des Alpes, to the right of the main stage and just beneath the Village du Monde. The atmosphere there is magic, and it’s perfect to spend some time just chatting with some friends.

The more adventurous of the festival goers will then head towards the campsite, where a lively atmosphere is guaranteed, between the fire light music jams, the rockets going off over head, and the nice people everywhere. You can simply come up to a fire, sit down and start talking to anybody, everyone is really nice and friendy it’s the perfect place to make new friends.

Banner photo at top – The lively and engaging Swiss group Carousel performing for the press early in the evening.

Photo below – two members of British band the Foals (they performed at the chapiteau last night) spotted around the Paléo grounds

The Mahotella Queens shimmied and danced their way across the stage last night in the Dome tent, proving you are never too old to dance. In their beaded skirts, red hats, and “bafana bafana” (South African football team) T- shirts they got the crowd whooping and clapping and gave a great start to the festival.

The Dome tent is in the Village du Monde area of Paléo and here you can find lots of interesting food from the “Afrique Australe” area such a fish barbecued on the spot and beer from Madagascar. In one of the round giant necklaces(huts) you can sit by one of the fires or outside amongst the long grass and listen to performers on a small stage  in an intimate setting. The long grass is a clever idea and was obviously well though out in the planning stage on what is usually a farmers field. If you would rather sit at a table to eat with waiter service you can find the Espace Gourmand just outside the Village du Monde.

Over on the main scene Iggy Pop and the stooges proved that you are never too old to rock either..  An eclectic mix for the first night of Paléo and as ever a great example of what’s to come.

Below- Mr Daniel Rossellat and a student demonstrate their agility on the stepping stones

Hes-SO are involved in many other projects at Paléo including the designing of the Paléo poster, the video clips on the giants screens, the play park in the Mielmelo area for children (see last year’s post about this area), a project called Have Fun in a responsible way this is an awareness campaign in the car park for festival goers to appoint a designated driver, an ice machine where you can order an ice lolly from the chemistry students prepared by a robot!

As the spotlight on the music this year in the Village du Monde is on South Africa,the area is made up of “giant necklaces” in the form of huts and African stalls selling wares reflecting the sounds, flavours and colours of the region. Each year the festival has a social partner and this year it is the Neuchatel based IMBEWU Suisse. This charity works for the integration of youth through sport.

Below – Finishing touches to the Village du Monde

The theatre company, the Plasticiens Volants that produced these fantastic creatures wove their way through the streets of Nyon to the crowd’s delight and the evening finished in spectacular style with fireworks above Place Perdtemps.

Paléo begins on Tuesday and as in the previous two years Living in Nyon will be there to report on all the action, music and news of this great festival.

NEWS! From the beginning of this week there will be a new Living in Nyon! The overall look has remained the same, but the design is cleaner and archived articles will easier to search.  Living in Nyon is also on Twitter too, have a look at the tweets at the bottom of the page coming from Julius Caesar.

You will be automatically rerouted to the new site once it is launched.

This new design has been produced by Yann Graf,  a local designer from Crassier. Yann is one of the founders of the site Café Vert TV, an environmental site which showcases videos on all that is green and environmental. Some of the videos are fun, some are serious and all are worth checking out. Take a look at the the “expresso” section  which gives you a short burst of latest environmental news. You can also read about and see Yann’s own portfolio here.

The party begins at 18:00 in Place Perdtemps. Later in the evening, at 22:00 there will be a show from the Plasticiens Volants called “Perle”, at the Place du Chateau.

Courtesy Paléo festival: The Plasticiens Volants (giant inflatable puppets which will float above the town)

The company will then wind its way through the streets of Nyon for a grand finale at the Place Perdtemps, followed by a night of DJ’s, bars and restaurants.

Note the car park at Place Perdtemps will be exclusively reserved for pedestrians so will be closed from Friday at 18:00. All remaining car parks (Duche, Gare, Combe, Martinet, Clémenty, Rive) will be operating normally.

World Cup Over

After four weeks of football, the World Cup is over and for those interested in the beautiful game you might lie to know that Howard Webb, the English referee of the final match was featured in a documentary called “Les Arbitres” which was shown here in Nyon at the Visions du Réel film festival. It was reviewed by a Living in Nyon contributor and you can read it here.

Courtesy Visions du Réel : Howard Webb in "Les Arbitres"

Please note, there will be no posts on this site now until Sat 17 July

Coming up soon on Living in Nyon, the programme for next season’s music concerts at the Usine a Gaz, an article on working for yourself as an independent consultant, an article on the Internet technology club of Nyon, the latest news on local politics and much more!

If you are one of those you might like to know that that there is a small publication called “Carte des Plages du Léman” produced by CIPEL (International Commission for the protection of Leman Waters) which has a map of all the beaches and places you can swim around the entire lake. It also lists the water quality around all of these beaches and you will be pleased to know that many of these fall into “good quality water” category, a few fall into the “average quality” mark and only one beach (on the French side) out of a total of 116 around the entire lake falls into “bad quality” and where you cannot swim.

The Château de Lavigny
This summer novelists, essayists poets, playwrights and translators will come from 18 countries on four continents. The château hosts Sunday evening of readings for each session. They are open to the public and are followed by an aperitif on the terrace with the opportunity to meet the writers.

This Sunday 4th July the writers who will be reading are Joan Lennon (Canada), Natalia Bilotserkivets (Ukraine), Sandrine Fabbri (Suisse), Togara Muzanenhamo (Zimbabwe), Margherita Russotto (Italie), Mykola Ryabchuk,(Ukraine).  The event is from 18:00 to 20:00. If you wish to attend please notify chlavigny@hotmail.com or call 021 807 1931 See  Château de Lavigny

View from the terrace of the Château

Writers from previous readings at the Château

Other dates for readings this summer are 25 July, 15 August and 5th September.

Theatre over in Divonne on Saturday
“Miss Jane Austen Invites”  – Miss Jane Austen and Miss Martha Lloyd will be at home and request the pleasure of your company: Sat. July 10th Salle Ausone, Esplanade du Lac, Divonne les Bains at 17:00 and 20:00

An original play devised and written by Susan Leather, Lesley Sherwood & Sue Humphreys. An amusing and  accurate insight into the life, times and works of Jane Austen.

Tickets: 12 Euros or 20 CHF. Reservations or enquiries: Sue Humphreys tel: +33 450 20 12 32
Email: theatresomeone@hotmail.com

The Jura Foothills
Looking in a northerly direction from Nyon (400m) lies the Jura. At around 1000m, slightly to the left lies St. Cergue and a touch to the right is St. George. The Jura foothills (Pied de Jura) start at about 600m altitude,  just above the last of the vines. This region includes communes such as Arzier, Bassins, Burtigny, Le Vaud, Longirod, Marchissy, etc, an area of natural beauty and the subject of this brief article.

These villages sit comfortably between the soft rolling hills and meadows that dominate the landscape. Beyond Begnins and Burtigny, you are captivated by the mass of colour, with the Jura looming over a patchwork of fertile farmlands and trickling streams. The hills are well-walked and the rich diversity of the nature trails, flora and fauna attracts the rambler, artist and photographer.

From up here on a clear day, to the south you can see Mont Blanc which looks even more majestic than from the “plain”, especially when it turns pink in the setting sun. To the north, the beginning of the Jura range with its ever-changing colours, to the west, the blue-black dash of the lake and in the distance, the plume of the Geneva Fountain, the Jet D’eau.

The population of this area is well over 10’000 and growing, many villages having doubled their size in a short time. As land becomes more scarce and expensive on the “plain”, many families are turning to these charming hills to build their houses and settle, where they get more for their Swiss Franc!

All the communes above come under the Jurisdiction of Nyon – (District de Nyon) – which now comprises 47 communes.

Life is less stressful up here and people are more relaxed and friendly, happy to give you the time of day, Farms dot the landscape, but will they become like those on the “plain”, which have swapped cowsheds for concrete? Hopefully not, as they provide us with fresh and reasonably priced produce, chickens, eggs, beef, vegetables and fruits. The water is natural and in most cases comes from the Source.

Several communes have village shops; the mini-supermarket in St-George is open 7/7, closing a few hours on Tuesdays. People come from far and wide to buy their fresh cream and home-made meringues. Marchissy has a good shop too, also open Sundays. Bassin has a nice Boulangerie. La Cézille, not technically a hill village, has an excellent butcher with customers coming from as far as Geneva to buy their highland beef. You can see the familiar long-horned, shaggy creatures, grazing on the hill behind the shop. Quite different from the standard Swiss cow!

There are many good Auberges; the Auberge Communale de Lion d’Or in Burtigny with its friendly, English-speaking Patron (Robert Bubloz) being a favourite. Good food, non-stop cooking on Sundays, “Filets de Perches” on Mondays (as much as you can eat!) Look out for his Sing-Along evenings, Country and Western, Jazz etc.

St. Cergue and Arzier have their cheerful little red-train whilst St.George and Longirod enjoy a good bus service to Nyon station. Marchissy has a peak-hour service to Gland station. Don’t forget the Postal Publicar Service – it picks you up from your door for only 3 CHF more than the normal bus fare. There is also an excellent network of schoolbuses serving the colleges in Nyon, Begnins and Genolier.

As for the weather,  it’s about 3° cooler up here than on the plain but we benefit from a lot more sunny days and less pollution. Lac Léman is so often shrouded by cloud in the winter months. Snow-clearing lorries and salters are out by 5:15 am. Local farmers clear your drive for you with their tractors. It’s worth noting that the high passes, on the St.Cergue side (La Cure) and on the St. George side (Marchairuz) bring in hoardes of workers from France. So, the roads must be kept in good shape.

Useful websites: Switzerland Rando in English and Publicar French German and Italian

Janet was born in London of Scottish and Welsh parents and has duel Nationality – British Swiss (naturalised). She studied in London, Lausanne and Cardiff University and speaks English, French, German and Spanish.  She worked in various private Swiss companies in Geneva for 20 years as a translator English to French and on occasion as an in-house English teacher.  She is currently semi-retired – but still teach English privately and is a councillor in the Conseil d’Administration de Longirod. She is a keen golfer.