What’s new to write about another night at the Highlander open mic in Paris after attending so many of them? You can wonder how I can keep it up, a blog on visiting so many of the same open mics in Paris. Actually, I will soon return to my round-the-world adventure, so this Paris sojourn will thin out for a part of the year. But there was something new last night at the Highlander, as there almost invariably always is.
At least, it was new for me. I had heard and seen on the Internet about a guy named John McNulty, an expat living in Paris, who had run the open mic at the Tennessee Bar before James Iansiti took over. And John had also run one at the Beaver bar, a Canadian bar that no longer exists – although it was replaced by another bar….
Well, I had never in the last three years seen this John McNulty perform, and I did not even know he was still in Paris. Last night the mystery was solved as John did a slot at the Highlander. And this guy is really good. He has a large range in his voice, and does one of the best Johnny Cash covers I’ve heard, coming out with this Johnny Cash voice, but then throwing in some wonderful high-pitched voice parts for good measure, taking the song elsewhere.
There was a new young woman who was very vibrant, and one or two other interesting acts. Unfortunately, I got there too late to be anything more than about No. 27 on the list, and while I probably would have made it up, I quit at around midnight. I went over to the Cavern, but just got there while the band finished its last song of the first set. I thought about going to the Caveau des Oubliettes, but my cold had advanced so much that fatigue made me think better of continuing the night. So I returned home and slept like a rock (‘n roll star).