And so the European soccer tournament destroyed another open mic. Or did it? Not really sure. I know that the only open mic that I know the existence of in Graz, Austria, was closed for the summer when I arrived at its venue on Thursday, my first day of four in Graz. I’ve blamed it on the soccer. But when I think about it, dropping by to The Spot, where the open mic takes place, I found not a single client, and not a single television showing anything at all – or I’m so immune to the soccer that I didn’t notice. Whatever may be the case, my four days in Graz, Austria were devoted to playing my guitar in my hotel room – when not eating, dry, aged beef.
Do I like Graz? In a way I love Graz. But have I ever seen a second-biggest city in a country to be so devoid of live music? No, never.
I walked the streets from dried, aged beef restaurant to dried, aged beef restaurant in search of the slightest evidence of live music, from Thursday to Sunday night. And never did I ever find the least bit of evidence that live music exists in the second biggest city in Austria.
Aside from the complete lack of live music, though, I love the city of Graz, with its historic, museum-like old town, which is considered one of the most beautiful in Europe. And I love the surrounding mountains, the long flowing highways and the pretty good weather I had, compared to the Paris rain….
But when I arrived at The Spot to find that the news I had already on Facebook was true, that there was no more open mic for the rest of the summer, I was pretty disheartened. After all, the open mic of The Spot is an absolutely fabulous open mic…. Hopefully I’ll get another chance in some future year….
What can I say? The last night in Baku, Azerbaijan I had been invited to play again at Pancho’s Mexican joint by the house band, the previous night. I was feeling wickedly tired – sleeping in the fleabag hotel was a bit of a trial the whole trip – and I thought I would probably just have a quiet meal and go back to the fleabag. But on the way to a meal I passed by Finnegan’s pub, popped my head in to see if the band played on a Sunday night, and who should I see sitting at a table but the whole band…that then greeted me with open arms, a beer and an invitation to play again!
I could not refuse such a warm hearted invitation from a fabulous band. And the crowd was a little thinner on Sunday night than on Saturday night, so I thought, this seems like a great way to pass the evening. and an acoustic one at Finnegan’s in Baku
And boy, was it ever. I played maybe seven or more songs, including a couple entirely “acoustic” with the vintage copy Telecaster. But if you look at the videos, you can see that the band was playing more for itself on Monday night, too, and NOT just to please the crowd. something pink in Baku
A fabulous night at Finnegan’s, and I hope I get back again next year – or even sooner, why not??? cool lead breaks in Baku
Oh, I should mention that my return flight to Paris was at 6:30 AM on Tuesday morning, which entirely preluded sleep on Monday night, which meant that arriving back in Paris on Tuesday morning I had almost zero inclination to go and partake of the annual Fête de la Musique. I say “almost” because I did actually want to go out. But fatigue from deathly efforts to sleep on the flight and my afternoon nap and a few other things made me decide against it…. the lady gets fever in Baku
BAKU, Azerbaijan – Unfortunately the European soccer championships in France that are currently dominating television channels all over the continent interfered with what I heard was the best open mic in Baku. Yes, many bars place people kicking balls around a field as higher entertainment than live music! But that did not stop at least a couple of bars in Baku last night from putting on live entertainment as well as the images of the soccer on their television screens. And that meant that I could try to party crash the house bands in these places and see if I could scream my heart out in Baku again. Thanks to the open arms attitude of the Baku house bands at both Finnegan’s pub and the same place I went to last Wednesday, Pancho’s Mexican etc., I got to play with two mean house bands, and fabulous full-house crowds.
And to forget about the soccer tournaments. Finnegan’s is a typical Irish pub, and the house band was a very mean all-rounder with a keyboard player, sax player, two lead guitarists – one who reverted to rhythm while the other did lead – a drummer and bass player. And although it was not classified as an open mic, they did seem to let up others who were not actually part of the band, that included me and a woman singer. Cool house band at Pancho’s
They were a very, very hot band, so tight, with a vast repertoire of pop, from blues rock to Pink Floyd, and even some kind of 60s bubble gum stuff in between. I felt I got off to a bit of a slow start with “Mad World,” but after the Dylan and then “Wicked Game,” it was pretty much full swing. It was one of those situations I just love, with a full house of appreciative listeners packed right in up to the stage area. First with house band at Finnegan’s
Later, well after midnight, I decided to check out Pancho’s Mexican/Adam’s Curries, where I had played in an open mic on Wednesday. There was a very cool sort of “new wave,” laid back, slightly techno-sounding band that mixed their own songs with some original versions of covers, including an upbeat version of “Wicked Game”! I took them a bit by surprised when I asked at around 1 AM if I could do a song, but in the same spirit of openness as the band at Finnegan’s, they let me play, and they all played along. guitar and sax at Finnegan’s
I started with “I Won’t Back Down,” then did the same Dylan as at Finnegan’s (You Ain’t Goin Nowhere) and then I decided to push the limits by doing my “Borderline.” It was all a fabulous moment, and I will leave Baku in a couple of days feeling very warm about the music scene and musicians here, even if I have barely scratched the surface…. And even if they should not get rid of open mics in favor of soccer – but that happens everywhere in the world, or at least in Europe….
And when you are passing through a city and need to find a place to play in an open mic, you don’t care how many listings there are, as long as you find a place the night you happen to be there, right? So here is my 25th city thumbnail open mic guide (Madrid), representing most – but not all – of the cities around the world where I have played in open mics and decided to share my findings. (Let’s see, I’ve also played in Nairobi – years ago – New York, Toronto, Ottawa and London, and maybe some others – without making guides for those cities. Maybe I should!)
Shirvan shakir’s Palace located in the Inner City of Baku, Azerbaijan, It was built in 14-15th century. The Inner City of Baku is in the list UNESCO World Heritage Site.
BAKU, Azerbaijan – What? Baku? And this is supposed to be about Montreal because I was last there and…? I left off on this blog in Wakefield, Quebec, I am now in Baku, Azerbaijan, and I spent the weekend – and more – in Montreal. So what happened to all those adventures?!? Before they fade from mind – which they will never do entirely – I want to take note here of the extraordinary three nights I spent doing open mics across the world. Starting with the fantastic Mariposa Café open mic in Montreal, where I had an incredible meeting with a guy I know from many, many open mics in Paris! Ventru…. another xprime at Brutopia
It was Thursday night, and I had just arrived in Montreal. I had written my story as a preview for the race, and I was pretty exhausted from the travel from Wakefield to Montreal, the story research and writing, and I thought, hey, take the night off the open mic scene. But one of the most interesting and fun open mics of Montreal drew me on, inexorably. Well, especially also because I had heard that a colleague from the paddock, Luis from Brazil, was going to attend. dylan hennessey at mariposa open mic
So I packed up my courage and my guitar, and headed off to the Mariposa Café open mic that I had discovered last year. Located in a really funky bar/café/restaurant, the open mic was in full swing when I arrived. And it was clear through seeing the crowd and performer through the front window that this was a vintage edition. But what awaited me at the top of the stairs as I entered was, at first, something I took to be an hallucination. third at mariposa
I see sitting there the performer from Paris who goes by the stage name of “Ventru.” We have done many open mics together for the last three or so years, in Paris, and the last thing I expected was to see him in Montreal. In fact, my brain was sent for a strange ride through its recollection files as it tried to compute how it could be that this Ventru guy was here in Montreal – was it really him? Or did I know him from Montreal, rather than Paris? All sorts of dementia tricks came into play before I realized that it was just simply Ventru on a visit to Montreal and attending an open mic where I was attending, and where, I should say, he half expected to see me! Brad Spurgeon at mariposa
Anyway, the place was just bursting with performers, audience and vibe. And although I arrived late, my name was on the list as I had warned of my coming in advance, and they have a big heart at the open mic in the Mariposa Café – Victor, the organizer, was awaiting me…. another at brutopia
Ventru destroyed the audience, which was mostly anglophile who spoke some French, but also many French speakers. At least I think there were quite a few! In any case, it was a quiet, respectful audience as usual, and some fabulous performers. Oh, and Ventru filmed my first song – where I was nervous as hell, scared shitless at that attention paid to me, and unpracticed thanks to all the work. another xprime
And from Mariposa Café to the fabulous night at the Brutopia open mic
Another of my favorite open mics in Montreal is the Sunday night Brutopia bar’s open mic on Crescent Street. I did not attend this one last year, as I chose to try another in another part of town. I ended up missing Brutopia, so there was no problem choosing to return this year. aussie at brutopia
It started as a quiet night, and by the time the open mic began, there were only two names on the list, including my own. So I feared I had made a bad choice. But as the night progressed, so progressed the number and quality of performers. I could not believe what a fabulous evening it turned in to, and it had one of the those events that I so enjoy at open mics: A fairly well established young band of musicians – or two of the band – decided to go up and expose themselves in the open mic environment, i.e., using instruments not their own, in a makeshift arrangement of mic and sound system, and just going for it. cool one at brutopia
That was the young band, Xprime, from Niagara Falls. They have a very, very cool sound, but at the same time they were capable of doing one of the neatest, most exact Beatles covers I have ever heard live. This night at Brutopia, in which I got to play twice, or like six songs, was just way beyond my imaginings. A must-attend open mic in Montreal. duet at brutopia
And from Montreal it was on to Baku and a first – or rather, second – night of open mic
The travel onwards from there was pretty dire. I had an Air France flight from Montreal to Paris for Monday night to Tuesday, and then an Azerbaijani Airlines flight from Paris to Azerbaijan, 3 hours after arriving in Paris. At least, that was the plan. But there was a pilot’s strike in Air France, and the Paris airport and city were embroiled in all sorts of labor actions…. xprime cover
Also, I had a final one of 6 articles to write for my preview to the Le Mans race this weekend, and by consequence did not sleep on the flight from Montreal to Paris. Or only about an hour and a half absolute max. Once in Paris I spent three hours trying to get my boarding pass for Azerbaijan, and then the flight was delayed two hours. Mc Quentin at Brutopia
So by the time I got to Baku, I was washed out (as the French say). On my first day, though, just before leaving the Formula One circuit, I decided to check out the open mic scene and…FOUND an open mic that was about to begin less than an hour later!!! It looked like it might be the last of the open mics available to me this week, so I jumped on that opportunity immediately. rapping at brutopia
It is not often that I arrive in a completely new city for me, and find an open mic the first night. This was the last open mic before their summer break at the Pancho’s Mexican/Adam’s Curries bar restaurant. I could not believe my good fortune to find a real, bona fide open mic in the middle of Baku on my first night. (Barring the late night arrival on the first day when my brain was in a state of molasses and it was too late anyway.) very cool one at brutopia
So I go to this bar, which felt like a cross-section of a little of everything – part Mexican, part curry, part Baku, Turkic Azerbaijani whatever – and found that the MC was from Colombia, the musicians from the U.S., England, Azerbaijan and … Colombia (the MC). yodelling at brutopia
And so I got to go up and play, and had I not had plans to go out and eat at a real restaurant afterwards instead of the bar, I would have had a chance to play a second set. Oh, and it was so remarkable: The Azerbaijani band actually started off by singing a song in French!!!! You don’t even find that in Paris, let alone Baku. second at Mariposa
I’m hoping to play at least one more time here, and if I can find more places, even more. For the moment, I can only recommend this amazing city very, very highly. I’m staying in the old town, finding it picturesque and warm and the people are fabulous. I have not been this close to an Iranian type of situation since the Revolution. But it also reminds me of Turkey; another of my favorite places in the world….
WAKEFIELD, Quebec – If it is Wednesday, this must be Wakefield, Quebec. Where? Yes, Wakefield. Wake up! And if you cannot wake up, go to Wakefield on a Wednesday night and attend the open mic of the Kaffé 1870. I attended on Wednesday, and while I was told it was a good one that night, what I saw was an AMAZING open mic. Of course, it helped that it was run by one of my best and oldest friends in life, Jamie Munro. And it helped that despite him being one of my best and oldest friends we had never ever played music together before, and did so that night. But I can assure anyone reading this blog, that if Wednesday night at the Kaffé 1870 as anything to go by, this is really a very cool open mic.
Wakefield is a small town about half an hour’s drive outside of Ottawa, in Quebec. It has little more than an out of use train station and track with weeds growing out of it, a scenic lake on which it is all set, a depanneur, a few arts shops and restaurants and minor lodging places, a covered bridge, a whole lot of surrounding ski resorts and … actually, it’s adding up to something now, isn’t it? And the population of Wakefield, I came to learn, is quite arty, intelligent and hip. And the Kaffé 1870 feels like a bit of Texas in Wakefield. Or something like that. Third at the Kaffé 1870 in Wakefield
It is a warm bar that feels a little like a ranch, with a neat overhanging front porch for when it is warm – one day per year – and it has a couple of rooms within and a nice, cosy, but sizeable stage with a really decent sound system. Second at the Kaffé 1870 in Wakefield
The open stage of the Kaffé 1870 has been running maybe 10 years or more, and Jamie is one of several rotating hosts. I mean, he doesn’t host it that often, but if he really wants to, it seems, he can. So it was that when he heard I was coming to town, he decided to host the open mic. And for him, that meant bringing his drum set and playing along with all of those participants who decided they wanted drums. Fourth at the Kaffé 1870
So here was I playing my songs with Jamie on drums, another guy on bass, and during my Bob Dylan finale – “You Ain’t Goin Nowhere,” another musician leapt to the stage and did a wicked harmonica accompaniment. It was really surreal playing on that stage with our band with an old friend with whom I have never played music, and we didn’t even think to rehearse! And I think we nailed it! First at the Kaffé 1870 in Wakefield
But if the night was only about me, then forget it. This was a hell of a night in terms of the quality of musicians and the atmosphere, and I am very happy that I was the second man to play. That role was bad enough after the brilliant fingerpicker. But had I seen the talent that would go up the entire nightlong, I’d have been much more reticent about getting up on stage.
There was a great energetic French singer, a kind of mini brass band, a super lead guitar player accompanying several other singer songwriter types, and just generally a very savvy bunch of performers and above all, above all an audience that was kind hearted and ready to dance, move, listen and jive. In fact, the whole evening was so much fun – and while the accent was on the English, there were a number of French people – that I just couldn’t draw myself away from watching, or talking to other old friends, long enough to make more than a handful of videos.
So don’t just try to figure things out with this blog account. Get over to the Kaffé 1870 the next time you happen to be in Wakefield, Quebec. Oh, yes, did I forget to mention that it felt really strange also playing there and knowing that in the 1970s my father had lived a three minute drive down the road?!
If it is Thursday, I must be in … Madrid? No, well, yes, well, was there. Now in Wakefield, Quebec. But that’s another story. I want to leap back by one week to the Thursday night I spent at the Triskel Tavern open mic in Madrid, Spain. This is one of the biggest, coolest open mics in Madrid. It can also have its drawbacks.
Let me backstep for a moment more: I left off with the very cool, laid back, quiet and hip open mic at the Collage in Madrid for its Tuesday night open mic (now on Wednesdays). Fast-forward two days and you find me at the Triskel Tavern open mic. The Triskel is in a fabulous neighborhood at the Tribunal metro station where there is one hip bar after another, one hip little concert venue after another, rock ‘n’ roll, people playing guitars in the park, Mexican restaurants and tiled facade joints in the dirty, tiny streets of an old part of Madrid known for its nightlife.
Enter the Triskel Tavern, an Irish pub of the most traditional kind, and you find, an Irish pub of the most traditional kind. It has been there more than 20 years and it has a great long bar, snug sitting areas, sports television, darkness… everything you expect in an Irish pub, including a large number of Irish people drinking pints. A good sign.
Then, you descend the stairs to a basement room that is quite large, multifaceted, brick and stalactites – or it is the other ones – hanging from the ceiling. A large stage kitty cornered, another little bar, and a vastly full couple of rooms with spectators listening to the open mic.
No, let me step back a bit for the one little difficulty of this mainstay open mic of Madrid: It’s fabulous to have massive numbers of spectators, but the environment here at the height of the evening – two songs per performer – is mostly one of chatter, talk, yelling, carousing. Listening to music? Well, if the performer is friends with a large number of spectators, then they will quiet down and listen. I took to the stage, a complete unknown, and after doing my Mad World, which was a little raucous – to match the talk and chatter – I decided to see if I could quiet the spectators with my Bob Dylan, “You’re Gonna Make Me Lonesome When You Go.” No chance. No amount of waiting for quiet, no amount of playing the guitar softly with some nice quiet fingerpicking would calm the ardour of the chatterers.
Who cares? I just had fun playing to a full house, on a fabulous stage, with great host – Richard Harris, of England – and to hell with all the rest. As the room cleared out through the evening, the chatter died out, and soon there was a devoted group of spectators there to listen.
In any case, I cannot recommend this open mic enough, if you happen to be in Madrid – but be prepared for the chatter!
Oh yes, and keep posted for the reason I’m in Wakefield, Quebec. A report from an open mic here in the coming days….
MADRID – I cannot imagine that I could have done much better than the Collage “Drink & Arts” bar in Madrid as a location for my first ever open mic in Madrid – or what they call here, “Micro Abierto.” I had been in Madrid a couple of weeks ago, and just failed to attend any open mics. Last night, I found a couple that were happening – Tuesday being a great day for open mics in almost any major city around the world – and I chose the Collage because it was within 15 minutes walking distance from where I am staying. But the world I found, and the musicians I heard, really made me feel it was the right decision.
I have written extensively about my open mic experiences in Barcelona, but this is the first time I’ve done one in Madrid – the biggest city in Spain. When I arrived at Collage, there was an almost entirely empty ground floor – just five or six people waiting to be served a meal at a table – and I thought I was in the wrong place. But then I noticed the staircase to the basement, went down, and was immediately greeted by the MC, Lui Sinese, in a warm manner, and saw that someone was already up on the fabulous stage playing music and singing. Third at Collage open mic in Madrid
This is a unique basement room. It’s in the style of so many in Paris, a vaulted cellar ceiling, bar at the back, stage at the other end. But the room is so big, the ceiling so high, the room so long, that it feels almost like a cathedral. And a cathedral of open mic music it is indeed. The stage is actually reminiscent of some New York comedy or music open mic place – the Improv, the Bitter End – with its brick wall backdrop. The sound system was great for the spectators, but a little more difficult for the performers, in terms of the monitor. Sixth at Collage open mic in Madrid
I was most delighted, though, by hearing so many Spanish performers! In Barcelona it has been rare for me to hear as may Spanish musicians singing in Spanish as here in Madrid last night. And they were all quite unique. There were two or three expat who sang in English, of course, and a fourth counting me. In fact, I got so excited and nervous that when I decided to start with Bob Dylan’s “Just Like a Woman,” I completely began screwing up the chords, and then forgetting the lyrics as a result of that. I stopped after just two verses, it was so painful. Lui at Collage open mic in Madrid
The only drawback is that each performer has only two songs to do, so once I’d thrown away those two verses, I was very worried that I might find myself having only one song left. And that’s what happened, as the MC came towards the stage. But when I asked if I could please do another, since I’d only done two verses of the first, he took a vote with the public, and I was allowed to do another song. Fourth at Collage
Another reason I was so nervous was the quality was so consistently high – that fingerpicking guitar player singing the American old time stuff with a Spanish accent, was great – that I felt I fell far below the required level. In the end, I was told it went well. First at Collage
Anyway, I highly recommend this Collage open mic … sorry, Micro Abierto…. Fifth at Collage
I have updated my Thumbnail Guide to Barcelona Open Mics, Jam Sessions and other Live Music. I was most delighted to find that the Big Bang Bar has reinstated an open mic – of a different kind to the one it used to host, and which I had taken off the list after it was done away with. There are two or three other updates, including great Facebook page for finding open mics.
NICE, France – The night before last it was my arrival in Nice, in the south of France, for my only night in the town this year as I attend the Monaco Grand Prix. I’ve been lucky enough to luck out on an apartment stay in Monaco itself this year, so the rest of the week will be devoted to trying to crash the impossible town and find a place to play in Monaco. I have one or two ideas. But this post is about King’s Pub in Nice, in the old town. It’s a mainstay of live music in a town that is bursting at the seams with live music. But after a few years where it seemed to have lost its way with the open mic, the open mic is now back with a vengeance on Tuesday nights. MC opens open mic at King’s Pub
As soon as I saw somewhere that King’s Pub was holding an open mic on Tuesday, I shelved all other plans and went directly there after a wonderful dinner at one of my favourite restaurants in Nice (had gambas pasta). I arrived after 10 PM and the open mic was just starting. I was delighted, because the crowd looked like your bona fide open mic crowd, and not just a jam crowd. And the MC, Chris, was announcing that the stage was open to anyone, and he’d just play a few songs first. final one at King’s pub
The stage is very sweat, a nice comfortable size for a single musician, but they also manage to get whole bands up there; and the sound system was so good that you had perfect vocals and great guitar sounds coming out of every performer’s set. And there is also an excellent monitor, so you feel as comfortable as anything. Duet at King’s pub
I love this fabulously huge pub with giant high ceilings, and when you stand on the stage, you can look right down through the whole pub and out through the front entrance into the street. And you can project, and hope that you will attract more spectators or musicians. Another duet at King’s Pub
In any case, there were a number of musicians, but it was also free enough that I managed to do a long first set, and then later on, finished off with a second set. Another long one. It was pure delight from beginning to end. One of the nicest open mics I’ve done in Nice, now. A different duet at King’s Pub in Nice
