Brad Spurgeon's Blog

I’ve been back from Abu Dhabi for more than two days now, although only two full nights. And I have to admit that for once, after such a trip, I’m whacked out of it. I did find the strength to go to two open mics, one on Monday night and one last night. But for once, I don’t quite have the strength to write detailed reports. So I’ll just put down a few main points, and a few videos, to tell the story.

First, it was a pleasure to be bag in Paris and go to the Galway on Monday night, and especially and above all, the Ptit Bonheur la Chance last night. That was the first time I had been there for many weeks, due to all the travel and the illness after India. So I was amazed to see that there had been a massive renewal of people at the Ptit Bonheur la Chance in just a few weeks. It was as crowded and full of musicians as it ever has been – Yaco is keeping the ball rolling – but the majority were new people I had not seen before. There were some wonderful regular faces, though, including a visit by the extraordinary group, Natas Loves You, and I had to record their King Crimson again.

But the most fun thing for me was doing something I had never done before quite like this, which was to accompany my friend Marianne Bp who did her piece “Bombe Lacrymoj’aime“. She’s Jane Birkin and Serge Gainsbourg all in one, since she sings/recites and writes…. I had a real, real fun time doing that one, and hope to do more with her.

I was dissatisfied with my Gibson at the Galway, and felt pretty much bummed out of the whole performance, but I suspect it had to do with the difficulty recovering from the night flight from Abu Dhabi. Just one more trip till the end of the year, Sao Paulo next week. Looking forward to it, and to the post-trip period of life in Paris for a couple of months, grounded in one sport.

End of item for today…. just veg on the vids.