Brad Spurgeon's Blog

The open mic on Thursdays at The Mazet on the Rue St. André des Arts in Paris is really turning into something. This bar, remember, is the last bar where Jim Morrison of The Doors had a drink before he went off to die down the street a little way in his hotel. After an evening in the open mic of the Mazet, you might feel the same way – but in a state of bliss.

Starting the night in the open mic the feeling is that this bar is more for the regulars and they are not really there for the music, they are there to drink and talk. But as the night goes on and the musicians change and the feeling develops, you realize that there is the basis here for a wonderful festive time, and the crowd loves music, wants music, requests music, sings along to the music and generally promotes it and having a great time.

As in weeks past, the open mic developed from a classic singer-songwriter thing into something of a free-for-all jam, even with members of the bar crowd just getting up on the stage and singing. I found it a great pleasure to meet a group of people who had come for a week-long course in learning how to use music as therapy for patients in healthcare situations. Some got up to sing. See if you can guess who they were….

PS, James Iansiti, the MC of the Monday night open mic at the Tennessee Bar also popped in for a while and whipped up an emotional storm, and also accompanied me on two or three songs. That was fun. He also did a couple of Rolling Stones songs on his own….

PS, I almost forgot that since my last post reporting on my gig at the 9b bar in Paris a couple of days ago, one of the spectators – in fact, it was Paloma Gil, the previous act – recorded me on her iPhone playing my last song, which was a request by the audience to do Bob Dylan’s “I Shall Be Released,” in which I was joined by two other members of the audience on the singing – one of whom was Mr. Kidd, the first act of the evening…. Check it out, complete with my confusion on rhythm and lyrics: