Brad Spurgeon's Blog

PARIS – It was worth the wait on Tuesday night. The open mic at the Café Oz Blanche decided to hand over the bar to the soccer lovers to watch the Barcelona-Bayern Munich match until the game’s end, and then start the open mic really late. IE, at the end of the match, at 10:30. I started getting pretty worried when the score was 2-2 not far from the end of the match and thinking maybe the open mic would be pushed even later; but fortunately Bayern won the match, and Barcelona won the … I’m getting too deeply into soccer here….

So the great thing was that here was a bar that holds an open mic but also shows the matches, and for once it was not just a case of closing down the open mic this week, in favour of the “foot” and they just pushed the time back. And it was all so much worth the wait. There were some amazing musicians, including some Paris regulars from elsewhere, like Aaron Bowen and Isaac Cheong, both from San Diego, but regular visitors to Paris and its open mics.

Brislee Adams, the host, even managed to get the bar to let the open mic go on until 1:30 AM, so despite the delay for the match, it was a fabulous open mic, and a lesson to bar owners to not forget about the open mic when there are sports. But would I expect anything different from the Café Oz Blanche? No. This, after all, is an open mic where the bar offers each performer one free drink – and although that happens here and there, it is not common.

A wonderful evening, wonderful bar, wonderful open mic. But the best thing about Tuesday was the talent. Check it out in the videos….

Follow @BradSpurgeon