Back to The Highlander at the Tail End of Summer

PARIS – There was something different about the open mic at the Highlander last night, and I was unable to put my finger on it. Maybe it was just because Thomas Brun, the usual MC and founder of the open mic, was away somewhere and the evening was put together by Brislee Adams. Maybe it was because it was the first time I have attended in months, and the first time I have played there in months. Maybe it was because the audience was coming down from summer vacations.

Whatever it was, the audience and musicians felt somehow like they were all at the tail end of the summer and all the festivities they had been through, and were gearing up for another year of open mic-ing it at the Highlander. The Highlander is, remember, one of the oldest and most well-attended open mics of Paris. It managed to survive its move from the ground floor of this Scottish pub in Paris to the basement cave with no problem – and it has survived the complaints of neighbors, and even Thomas Brun’s very human need to go on holiday occasionally.

In any case, whatever the difference was I could not put my finger on it, but it all came down to a lot of fun anyway, and an audience that seemed to listen a little more than usual – the Highlander is also notorious for having one of the most indulgent audiences I have ever found, having no problem talking all night long no matter how good or scared to death a musician might be.

Were there fewer people last night since many are still on holiday? I don’t know. It was still well attended, and before it even started there were more than 20 musicians on the list, and no room for everyone. Especially under the 3-song-per-performer that the Highlander never veers from.

But by the end, judging from what I saw, most audience members and musicians had a good night, and I am sure the place will be fully booked throughout another new open mic season in Paris. Gee, wait, the Highlander was one of the rare Paris venues to NOT close down its amazing open mic in the summer…. so there are no seasons at this mainstay of the Paris open mic scene…..