Travel | Brad Spurgeon's Blog

Three Open Mics in Barcelona in Four Days? I Must Be Dreaming!

May 17, 2016
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Big Bang Bar Barcelona

BARCELONA – PARIS – I just got back to Paris from five nights in Barcelona, and it was such an active five nights and days that I relegated reporting on it in this blog to the back shelf of my life. Arriving in Paris at dinner time, I decided to come directly from the Gare de Lyon – I took the train to Barcelona – to the Latin Quarter, a meal in a brasserie, and now directly to the Galway Pub, the upper floor of which is my office as I write, the wifi of which is my connection to the Internet. But whatever tonight may bring, the five nights in Barcelona were sublime. Something is happening in Barcelona now….

I remember in my first years in Barcelona I had a hard time finding a decent open mic of the kind where a musician goes up on stage and plays his or her songs with their instrument and has an audience listening with silent worship-like regards. In the last five nights, I did three of those classic open mics, and I could have done more. I did not attend a single jam session, which Barcelona specializes in, and which I used to do regularly here – at Jazz-si and elsewhere.

Nick at the Big Bang Bar Barcelona Open Mic

As it turns out, one of the best venues I used to attend for its back-room jam session now has a classic open mic, and I attended this on both Thursday and Sunday night. I’m talking about the Big Bang Bar, located in one of the coolest parts of the city, with all its old, winding, dirty streets, and the name of which I do not know. Laziness and the fact this blog is a blog means I will not look up the name of the area.
Last One at the big bang

But the open mic was much more to my taste than the former jam session. I’m of mixed feelings that the back room where the jam took place has been closed off. As I understood things, that jam session had to be closed because the neighbors were complaining too much about the noise. So now they have set up a stage at the back of the main bar area – opposite the photos of famous jazz musicians – and put a piano and small drum set there. And started an open mic of the classic kind we know, and which attracts more calm, quiet music than that of the typical jam session.
Another Amy at the Big Bang

The evening was hosted by Oscar, a Spanish singer songwriter, and I was pleased that there was a mixture of people singing in both Spanish and English. It was by no means just another anglo thing.
Oscar Closes at the Big bang

I could have attended another open mic on Friday night, late after a concert, but I decided to do one on Saturday night, at another very cool venue, called Belchica, near the Urgell metro. This had a fabulous high stage in a back room, with, guess who, Oscar again running the show. What makes the venue a great one for an open mic is the back room with the stage is intimate, but then there is the front room where people can go to talk. So you really have those who want to listen, listening, and those who want to talk, talking….

Another at the Big Bang

By the way, it is now Tuesday, and I ended up stopping writing this post in order to meet with a friend and then to perform at the Galway. It turned out to be a great night too, especially since there was a lead guitar player from the U.S. who joined me on stage and played the hell out of the place to my songs, “Mad World,” “Crazy Love” and “Borderline.” Huge fun!
Second at the big bang

But back to Barcelona, in fact, the last night, Sunday, I returned to the Big Bang Bar, since there is also an open mic on the Sunday night! And guess what? It was even more full of participants and spectators than the Thursday night open mic. Barcelona is just kicking big time with open mics. Even worth the trip down for a week to do them all, if you’re trying to figure out which European city to go to for an open mic experience….
Third at the Big Bang

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Another at Belchica in Barcelona

Last at Belchica

The Wandering, Guitar Carrying, Vagrant of Music-less Sochi

May 1, 2016
bradspurgeon

Sochi

SOCHI, Russia – My three visits to Russia have been the most fruitless three visits to any country in the world as far as my open mic journey goes. I’m on my last day in Sochi today, and I leave after midnight for an all night return to Paris. The only place I have played in Sochi on this trip is in my hotel room. I’m not totally depressed about that, though, because not only was it great to play, but I actually wrote a first draft of a new song! Still, Sochi has proved to be the least successful place for me on any of my world travels. But I think there is a good reason for this – part of it to do with me, part to do with Sochi.

First, let me make it clear: I have played once in a bar in Sochi, as I note in my post from 2014 about playing in the beer garden near my hotel in Sochi. That place is still there this year, and I have eaten all my meals there, but there was no music, no band, this time. Second, I would like to add that I have done many searches for open mics or open jams in or near Sochi online, even asking for a Russian speaker to help me, and I have found nothing. So it is NOT an easy thing to do, even if you are a Russian speaker.

In fact, adding to the above point, I must say that on this trip, I actually have a Russian acquaintance from Paris, who ran an open mic in Paris – and so is quite attuned to the music scene – who had a month or two warning in which he said he would help me find a place to play in Sochi, and he came up with nothing! And I forgot to mention that the reason he said this, is because he himself is here in Sochi right now! So even my Russian acquaintance from Paris who is currently in Sochi, knows music scenes, and works in the travel business, even HE could not find a place to play here!

The Bruderschaft is in the background.

Still, having said all of that, I must add that I myself did NOT do what I have done in just about every other country I have visited: I did not just walk the streets all over town and try to find a live music joint, other musicians, and see if I could act like a magnet and draw the music scene to me. But that, unfortunately, is partly because of the nature of Sochi itself: The immediate surroundings of where I am staying is in the former Olympic Village. It is nothing but hotels, beach, amusement park, race circuit, restaurants set up for the Olympics and then the conversion to the F1 race and tourism.

Don’t get me wrong, there IS a place called Sochi outside of the Olympic Village. In fact, the place I’m in strictly speaking is called Adler. But the Sochi we all talk about happens also to cover 145 kilometers of oceanfront, in a long, long strip of vacation industry kinds of places. Sochi is the leading holiday resort for Russians, and so this is not an easy place to walk around in like some of the major cities where I have managed to find music despite language barriers and a dispersed musical culture. I can walk the streets of Nagoya or Tokyo or Istanbul or Sao Paulo or Kuala Lumpur and many many other major cities where the F1 takes me, and I can find the music. Here in “Sochi” I cannot so easily do this. In fact, I can’t really do it at all.

SOCHI, RUSSIA – FEBRUARY 03: A stray dog walks through Olympic Park ahead of the Sochi 2014 Winter Olympics on February 3, 2014 in Sochi, Russia. (Photo by Bruce Bennett/Getty Images) ORG XMIT: 466979991

Or rather, maybe I should be hiking down 145 kilometers of coastline trying to find an open mic or bar that has an open mic or open jam. But this is not so easy when I have a job to do also. And as I learned last year as I jogged down a portion of the boardwalk, there’s the added problem of wild dogs in Sochi, and in my experience, wild dogs dislike guitar carrying vagrants as much as they dislike joggers.

Excuses, excuses. Anyway, that, so far, is the extent of my adventures in Russia this year, and so far, on all of my three visits to the country since 2014. I must try to book a stopover in Moscow sometime, as I’m about 98 percent sure that must be a different story all together.

Oh, and I really must add that the part about playing in my hotel room here is really far more positive than what my state of mind was in last year’s visit to Sochi: Readers may recall that last year I discovered at the last minute that Turkish Airlines would not allow me to take my guitar on the flight to Sochi without me paying extra – about a third the cost of the guitar – and so for the first time in 7 years I did not take my guitar with me on a trip. This year, I was horrified a couple weeks before going to Sochi to learn that my Turkish Airlines flight had been cancelled, and I had to find a last minute replacement with Aeroflot. It was only after I booked that that I recalled my fiasco with Turkish Airlines, and felt lucky I could bring my guitar again this time on the much more friendly Aeroflot!

Update of Thumbnail Guide to Shanghai Open Mics, Jam Sessions and other Live Music

April 19, 2016
bradspurgeon

Shanghai, China

I have updated my Thumbnail Guide to Shanghai Open Mics, Jam Sessions and other Live Music, after having returned yesterday – pretty good timing this time.

But the problem is, and this is slightly depressing, most of the updating I did on the list was to remove open mics and venues that no longer exist. I was unable to update with any new venue, although I was able to improve my section about the House of Blues & Jazz, as I had not actually played there until this trip….

So take a visit to my Thumbnail Guide to Shanghai Open Mics, Jam Sessions and other Live Music.

So check it out!

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Update of Thumbnail Guide to Bahrain Open Mics, Jam Sessions and other Live Music

April 15, 2016
bradspurgeon

SHANGHAI – I may be in Shanghai at the moment, and so I may be on to other open mics in a different part of the world, but it was time to catch up with the unfinished business of updated my Thumbnail Guide to Bahrain Open Mics, Jam Sessions and other Live Music, the city I played in two weeks ago.

I have added a couple of new open mics – The Envy Lounge and the Big Texas BBQ & Waffle House – to the list, so take a visit to my Thumbnail Guide to Bahrain Open Mics, Jam Sessions and other Live Music.

So check it out!

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Swept Up by the Big Texas BBQ & Waffle House Open Mic in Bahrain!

April 7, 2016
bradspurgeon

Big Texas BBQ Bahrain

PARIS – For the last four days, my life suddenly took control of me, led me where it wanted, swept me up and down off of my feet and … well, it has just been four days where I have not been able to get down and grounded. So many great things have happened that I did not plan for. But the focus of this post will be what I should have written about upon my return to Paris on Monday night: The fabulous and unexpected open mic of the Big Texas Barbecue & Waffle House in Bahrain. Sunday night was the first of a series of nights where I was inexorably called forth by the open mic and gig Gods to appear onstage, whether I wanted to or not. (Although I invariably want to.)

I had filed my Formula One race report in record time – 40 minutes – and took the shuttle back to downtown Manama. I had missed one of my favorite open stages the night before – the Dublin Club’s jam – because I’d spent an hour trying to extract a contact lens from behind my right eye. (Which I discovered later had actually ended up under the sole of my right foot.) So on Sunday, I was really keen to play again somewhere, and I had seen earlier in the weekend that there was an open stage, open jam, open mic, at some bar I did not know about.

But after leaving the circuit and getting back to my hotel fairly late, close to 10 PM, I decided that because I had not yet once again found the location of the open mic on the Internet, that I might as well say, “OK, another missed occasion. It’s too late.” But as I walked into the lobby of my hotel – the Best Western Olive – I heard the distinct sound of live music coming from a door on the left, which used to be the breakfast room.
Clarissa killing it at Big Texas BBQ

I decided to investigate, with the idea that where there was live music there was also a stage, and who knew? Maybe a chance to play? So I go through the doors and I find myself in another world: The Big Texas Barbecue & Waffle House. And you could not get much more American than this! In downtown Manama. All done up in your typical kind of wood-panelled ranch style Texas Barbecue decor, and a beautiful kitty-cornered stage with a great sound system, and a couple of performers, one of whom had a distinctly American accent.

I immediately inquired of the waitress if she thought I might have a chance to play on the stage if I brought my guitar down from my room in the hotel, and she answered in the affirmative, but said I should speak to the musicians. Well, guess what? It turned out that this was the open mic night at the Barbecue, and I was not just warmly welcomed, I was encouraged to get on stage and then warmly celebrated and accepted by the fabulous house band consisting of the man on the keyboards, and the woman singer, Clarissa Malpass, not from Texas, but from what I would dare call the Texas of the UK…. up north Manchester way….
Duet at Big Texas BBQ

But let me tell you the surprise I had when I learned that this American country-sounding musician on the keyboards was none other than Rusty Golden, part of one of U.S. country music’s most illustrious musical families. Rusty has had a long and interesting musical career, and I managed to get a copy of his latest album, called, “SOBER,” and I gave him mine. Rusty, in explanation, is the son of none other than William Lee Golden, one of the members of The Oak Ridge Boys, who were inducted into the Country Music Hall of Fame last year.

So how the hell could this happen in Bahrain? No, even better, how could it happen that I walk into my hotel where I’ve been staying for several years on my annual visit to this desert kingdom, and there I am in the middle of Texas. AND I realized later, this was the very open mic, open jam, open stage, that I had been intending to attend, but had not found the time to look up its address! Can there be any better sign that it was all meant to happen?

Big Texas BBQ ad on wall in Bahrain

And it led to the fabulous discovery, also, of Clarissa, with her fiery presence and flamboyant, smokey soul, bluesy, pop voice. I’m finding words difficult to find to describe it. So just give a listen to the badly filmed – but good sound – snippet I have of her. She also did some back up vocals for another singer who took to the stage in the open mic, as you’ll see in the second video.

All in all, it was a night to remember. And I will eventually write about Rusty’s album on my roundup in my next “Morning Exercise” music post….

Oh, and back to the beginning: It was also the first of a couple more nights of inexorable movement through unexpected situations in Paris open mics, and a last-minute gig offer. Having got all that out of my system, I’m starting to feel grounded again….

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From Envy to Cloud 9 – Musical Adventures in Downtown Manama, Bahrain

April 2, 2016
bradspurgeon

Envy Lounge Jam Bahrain

MANAMA, Bahrain – The beauty of my musical adventures around the world is I never know what’s going to happen when I head off to a venue, and last night was a perfect case in point. I was delighted to discover a new open mic/open jam in Bahrain through the Bahrain Jammers Facebook page. I was even more excited that it turned out to be a five minute walk from my hotel. Once I arrived, that’s when the confusion and weird stuff started. But it all ended up on Cloud 9…just up the road in the same neighbourhood….

So I went first to The Envy Lounge on the 12th floor of the Premier Hotel in Juffair, and found myself in a Thailand food restaurant/bar/music venue. A big stage, a fair sized crowd of people, but few looked like they were there for the music. The band announced on Facebook was The Blur. But when I spoke to the band members as they set up, I found that while they were indeed The Blur, they had no idea that it was open jam/open mic night.

One of them went off to speak to one of the bar managers, and that man came back to greet me and he agreed that it was indeed the jam night! “Welcome to jam night!” he said. We then established that although I was the only one showing up to play in the jam, and although the idea was to play along with the band, well, I could set up the guitar and mic and just play some songs myself.
More band at Cloud 9

None of this looked very promising, right? Well, the moment I hit the stage, found a great sound system and caring soundman, and an interested audience, I felt pumped up. In fact, it was a gigantic room, there were pools of people eating or drinking in various spots to try to pull into the music, and as I saw interest pop up, I got more into it myself. Soon, the drummer from the band came onstage. Then the bass player. Then a man behind the sound console started playing keyboards, and pretty soon we were bopping, rockin’ the house down.

I did something like four or five songs and felt like a rock star with my fellow band mates. It was sublime! In fact, in the meantime, there was this photographer guy there who had invited me over to another bar to take the stage as well, right after my time on stage at The Envy Lounge. Never one to turn down a musical adventure, I agreed immediately. And it helped that the second bar, called “Cloud 9,” was no more than a 10-minute walk from my hotel as well.
Band at Cloud 9

Off we went in a cab paid for by the photographer to the Cloud 9 bar on the first floor of another hotel, in a very funky room celebrating the Formula One race with checkered flags all over the place, including on the costumes of the Filipino band that hosted the evening. The stage ran the length of the room, and the band consisted of three women singers, a man singer, a keyboard player, lead guitarist, bassist, drummer and someone else whose role I could not quite figure out.

This was not a formal jam session, but once introduced to the band by my photographer friend – Ahmed – I was invited up to play with them with open arms. The room was quite large and filled more with expats than the first place was, but also with lots of Filipinos. The only downside to the whole thing was that my repertoire was not quite as high-octane as that of the house band, so it may have been ever so slightly off the scales. But we ended up doing the fastest songs I had – at Ahmed’s request – with me doing my singing and guitar playing, along with the drummer, keyboard player and bassist.

In Cloud 9, I must say, the clients can be very much of the Cloud 9 kind, providing warmth and singing along like I would never have been able to imagine when I went out with Envy and ended up on Cloud 9. And I ate the most amazing Filipino noodle meal as the band played, and just before and just after I went up.

Oh, and my Seagull S6 served me perfectly in both venues. It has survived the trip and seems set to fly another time around the world….

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Plan B for Music Playing at the Plan B Bar in MelBourne

March 21, 2016
bradspurgeon

Plan B

MELBOURNE – Last night was my last night in Melbourne and I’m sitting in the lounge at the airport ready to fly back to Paris in a very short while – for a very long trip – and I just wanted to note that my last night in Melbourne, bizarrely, was one of my best. Why bizarrely? Well, it had to do with what turned into a Plan B for music at the Plan B bar, after I found the open mic no longer existed.

I had chosen to go to the open mic of the Plan B bar, which I had found in a list of open mics in Melbourne, because it was within about 7 minutes walking distance of my hotel. But when I got there, I found the place pretty quiet, and I was told the open mic no longer existed, and had ceased about six weeks ago.

So I asked where I could find a restaurant in the area, and was directed to a Greek souvlaki place up the Bridge Rd. There was wine there, so between the lamb and the chips and the wine, I was fine. I then decided to go back to the Plan B to have a glass of cognac to finish off the night and digest the souvlaki.

When I got back to the Plan B and found that it is actually owned by a fellow Canadian, who has been in Melbourne for many years, I suddenly decided that since the place was fairly empty and it had a very, very comfortable back room with couches, brick walls and a fireplace, well, I asked if I could take out my guitar and just play quietly for myself. The man agreed.

I went into the back room – which was empty of clients – and I played my guitar and sang quietly, and drank my brandy – some kind of Australian brandy – and quite basically and simply found my personal batteries recharging with well needed energy. I sang a few songs, fingerpicked and pick-picked, and then after I finished the brandy, I packed up the guitar and returned to my hotel. I had just had one of the nicest moments alone that I spent in Melbourne. (Which excludes entirely the incredibly fabulous moments I had had with friends in the previous days!)

All in all, I realized it could only be called a Plan B for music at the Plan B bar….

Quiet Moments at the Station 59 Open Mic in Melbourne

March 18, 2016
bradspurgeon

Station 59

MELBOURNE – Is “quiet” the kind of word you want in a headline about a visit to an open mic? Perhaps. Last night, I was really tempted to go to the fabulous Balaclava Hotel open mic that I attended for the first time last year and where I found an amazing, dynamic, lively and hip atmosphere. But I said to myself, this worldwide open mic adventure – like life itself? – should not be about always going to the same places and doing the same things, but about discovering new things. So I looked up on the various sources what other open mics exist in Melbourne on a Thursday night. I found yet another within a short walking distance of my hotel on Church St. in Richmond, the Station 59 open mic. And I went.

And that’s when I found what initially let me down, since the bar was virtually empty when I arrived. I cut out to find a place to eat, and ended up just down the street on Victoria and in the midst of a vast selection of Vietnamese and other Asian restaurants, a street in which, in fact, it seemed “Australian” food had been outlawed. So I settle for a nice big Pho. But I’d spent so much time looking for a non-Asian food restaurant – only because I thought I really ought to try Kangaroo – that I had to gulp down the Pho really phast… and get back to the open mic.

Upon returning, I found a colleague/friend from the F1 paddock who had come to meet me at the open mic, his second open mic of one extreme or another (as the previous one had been in a riotous, raucous open mic in Montreal), and a crowd of five spectators.

Again I did not despair because, in fact, the audience was fabulous, the reception in the Station 59 was mighty good, and after I spoke to the bartender/manager, I learned that the open mic was far from always being so quiet, that they sometimes had too many people to give a slot to everyone before the open mic finishes at 11 PM.

And on top of everything, Cam (for Campbell), the MC, was a fabulous host who made sure the sound system was perfect. So all in all, it was a nice laid back fun night with no stage pressure at Station 59. And ultimately, I was pleased to discover yet another Melbourne open mic, and to see that open mics are so much a part of the culture here that even if the open mic has a few down nights, no one pays any mind – it’s part of the deal….

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Changes at the Great Britain Hotel Open Mic in Melbourne

March 17, 2016
bradspurgeon

great britain open mic joint in Melbourne

MELBOURNE – The Great Britain Hotel open mic in Melbourne is one of my favorites, and always has been. I’m not quite sure why, except to say that I have always felt comfortable there. Otherwise, it is hardly the best attended open mic, either in the numbers of musicians or in the numbers of spectators. I had not been there for a year or two, but it was the first place I decided to go on this trip to Australia, after arriving yesterday, jet-lagged out of my brain. And it turned out to be a fabulous evening, despite one of the best features of the venue having been done away with….

I’m talking about the absolutely fabulous stage in the back room that this place used to have, and which was one of the main features of performing at this open mic. They got rid of it. Imagine getting rid of a large stage with a kind of proscenium arch effect and everything, and putting in its place … a kitchen! The slightly open kitchen. How could they? And they replaced the stage with a kitty-cornered stage in the front part of the pub. A very small, kitty-cornered stage.

Having said that, this also fixed one of the main problems with the Great Britain Hotel open mic as I had noticed it in previous years: It was the kind of place where the audience would assemble in the back room when friends of the spectators were there, and then they would clear out of the room entirely when an unknown musician went up. You could not play to the whole hotels space and might often find yourself playing to no one!

The new setup means that you can reach not only people in that back room – and kitchen – but also in the middle room, on which the stage also plays out to, and the front room (where the bar is, in front of the stage), AND to the people outside on the street. This is highly, highly preferable. In fact, it gives unknowns a chance they never had to attract listeners.

On top of that, they also changed the format of the open mic, and now it is broken down into half-hour sets for each performer. That’s fabulous! And if you happen to be a spectator and don’t like the performer, you can still seek refuge in the pool room off the other side of the bar, or in the back terrace outside, far from the stage.

So all in all, I kind of like the Great Britain Hotel open mic even more than I did before, despite the death of its fabulous stage. Oh, and I think I know why I like it; I’ve always just felt comfortable in this place. And that’s important – especially when you’re performing.

I’ll be back! (If I still keep coming to Melbourne.)

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An Update to My Abu Dhabi Open Mic Guide

December 26, 2015
bradspurgeon

Abu Dhabi

Just a note to say that I have updated my Abu Dhabi open mic city guide, The Thumbnail Guide to Abu Dhabi Open Mics, Jam Sessions and other Live Music.

I have added a new open mic/jam session at the Mood Indigo bar of the Mercure City Centre hotel.

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