Brad Spurgeon's Blog

PARIS – I have written frequently about the open mic at the Baroc bar in Belleville in Paris, and how neat and unexpected and unpredictable it may be. Well, last night, interestingly, suddenly, there was another open mic at the Baroc, not the Tuesday night open mic, but a Sunday night open mic. And it was just as cool, interesting and warm and laid back as the one on Tuesday, despite being run by someone else….

It may or may not continue, it may or may not have been a one-off. But what the evening proved to me was what I always thought: That a big part of the success of an open mic lies not ONLY in the person who is MCing it, but in the location and layout of the bar, and also very importantly, in the perception of the open mic by the manager/owner of the bar.

Clearly, the Baroc has all the necessary ingredients. Sunday’s open mic was run by a French musician who calls himself She/Me and I have written about him before on this blog, as I have attended open mics for five or six years in which he has appeared as a musician. I was delighted to see him open the stage at the Baroc for a new open mic, and I hope it returns – it seemed not to be decided yet….

A great, wonderful alternative to the Pop’In, in any case….

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