Brad Spurgeon's Blog

Weird to come to this conclusion after four years of attending open mics in my most recent experience doing that exercise, but what makes a great open mic evening great? The quality of the music! Yes, yes, sometimes it can be great also if you meet someone interesting, or if the general vibe and group of people there is interesting. But last night, the music, the discoveries, the variety, was so fantastic, that I had this kind of feeling of a buzz about the whole night at the Ptit Bonheur la Chance.

There were, frankly, some absolute revelations – to use a word more akin to its French meaning than its English – and some very cool stuff. But among the amazing stuff, the revelations, were Jim Bauer, who has a band called Jaim, and who sounds, at 21, like a kind of Van Morrison-level vocal talent. (OK, OK, don’t think about Jeff Buckley when you hear him in the videos below, think more about the uniqueness of his own voice and his obvious expressive talents.) And then there was Raphaelle, whom, if I closed my eyes, I could imagine I was listening to a classic French record or that I was sitting at the Olympia with some amazing French songstress on the stage.

And then the cool group the name of which I did not catch, but consisting of three guys, two on guitar and two on vocals also. And another woman, on the keyboards this time, whom I had seen before but only while I prepared to play, who has another amazing and distinctive voice…. Or the Amy Winehouse clone whom I gave my guitar and who brought back some bittersweet memories….

Just CHECK IT OUT! I’ll be returning.