Au Ptit Bonheur La Chance | Brad Spurgeon's Blog

Original, Warm Moment at the Ptit Bonheur la Chance

February 23, 2011
bradspurgeon

Often when people try to be original they fall flat and sometimes even appear ridiculous. Last night at the Ptit Bonheur la Chance, Tristan tried to be original and WAS. It was a wonderful moment, a high moment, of a very high open mic. As I said last week, Ollie’s open mic at this bar near the Panthéon in Paris has grown into a massive event, one of the best open mics in the city.

In fact, I’m starting to think if things continue this way there will not be enough room for it to continue in the confines of the tiny cave basement of the bar. But last night that all worked well with Tristan’s show where he sang an African song and handed out printed pages with the lyrics on them for the chorus so that the crowd could sing along. Boy did it ever work. Check out the video!

Finally, a View Inside Au Ptit Bonheur la Chance

February 2, 2011
bradspurgeon

I am running out again to an open mic, and again will keep words to a minimum. Again, it is my new Q3HD that is causing me to lose a lot of time in uploading, as the high quality files are much, much bigger than with the old Q3. That’s not a complaint – the Internet should move faster!

But last night it was a real pleasure to attend Ollie Fury’s open mic at Au Ptit Bonheur la Chance with my new Q3HD because it meant that for the first time you will really have a glimpse of the open mic’s performers, which in the past due to the darkness of the bar were only disembodied voices.

And it turned out that we had a return of two of the stars of the previous night, Garrick Davis and Janet Labelle. Garrick, however, decided to sing without a mic and he advanced his chair to be closer to the listeners. His voice had no problem carrying, but by doing this he cast himself even more deeply into the dark. And the Q3HD has SOME limits.

Ollie too has some limits, so check out the video of him closing the night to see why and how….

A Moriarty-linked Open Mic Moment

January 26, 2011
bradspurgeon

One of the beauties of attending open mics is that it is really live music and that means it is really unpredictable as to what will happen, who will be in great playing shape, how you will react and play and how the audience will be in listening. It’s a real-life, live music situation – totally unpredictable. But another thing that sometimes happens at open mics that is even more unpredictable is the various synchronicities that can happen in meeting people.

It was by happenstance during a conversation a few months ago at Ollie’s open mic at the Ptit Bonheur La Chance bar that Ollie himself would be playing in Singapore when I was there last September. I learned this through a family member of his, and not through him. So we decided to link up and play at a bar while in Singapore, and it was very cool.

Last night at Ollie’s among the musicians was a friend whom I first met and discovered singing at the Galway last June. One of the main songs on her repertoire is “Jimmy,” by the band Moriarty. “Jimmy” was the band’s first single, and it was a hit.

“Jimmy” also happens to be the song that my friend sang in the first video I put up on this blog of her (deleted many years later, at her request), where I mention sung by “a Dutch woman.” Last night my friend decided at the last minute to go to Ollie’s open mic, and one of the songs she sang was “Jimmy.”

Let’s rewind a little. One of the regular musicians at Ollie’s open mic in recent months is an American who has lived in Paris most of his adult life – like me – named Wayne Standley. He sings a pretty classic American repertoire that runs from country to Bob Dylan, as well as some other 60s rock classics. I’ve put up videos of Wayne since as early as June (Wayne Standley is in the first video on the page under this link, for instance.)

In recent weeks I learned the Wayne was, in fact, the father of Rosemary Standley who is the singer at Moriarty who sings the song “Jimmy.” So last night, without her knowing it, my friend sang one of the main songs in her repertoire in front of the father of the woman whose song it is. Rosemary, like the other members of the band, grew up in Paris, but has a very strong American country, rock and folk background, and when you meet and hear Wayne, you know why.

After, up in the bar, Wayne presented himself to my friend. Needless to say, she was blown away by the news that he was Rosemary’s father. She also realized that she had heard the father of Rosemary singing too, without knowing who it was. (As it turns out, Rosemary and Wayne sometimes performer together too.)

And I thought, yes, this is the open mic. This is the rear nerve center of one of the great reasons we do these things – we meet people, connect with people, and we see and feel and hear our music different because of the context as well.

The Swedish Girl Invasion and a Fiddler

January 19, 2011
bradspurgeon

The two highlights of Ollie’s open mic at the Ptit Bonheur la Chance bar last night were for me the three Swedish women (actually there was a fourth in the audience) and the fiddle playing of the Englishwoman, Georgia.

But even Georgia’s participation was with one of the Swedes, Sister Fay (who should not be confused with Sister Ray). It turned out that the two groups of Swedish women were not even connected, it was just happenstance that they both showed up.

In any case, Georgia played a jig to start with. Then she played with Sister Fay, who sang and played guitar, on a song from the 1930s – Dream a Little Dream of Me – that was also famous in the 1960s when sung by the Mamas and the Papas, one of whom knew the co-writer of the original song…. They also performed a song that I immediately recognized the music to, which was Shady Grove. But I knew it as Matty Grove, primarily through the Fairport Convention version (and recently the version sung by Zara Sophia at my Mecano brunch. I spoke to Georgia about it, and she said the two were similar. She has classical training on the violin, but has had much experience in folk and bluegrass bands.

The next highlight was when Sister Fay and her Swedish friend – whose name I do not remember – got up to sing a Swedish song. It was very beautiful, and another case of great music not really having to be understood literally to be appreciated.

I almost forgot, there really was another highlight to the evening, and that was Vincent Barriquand from the band Black Butterfly, who played solo with a guitar and no microphone. His strong voice carried with no problem through the small room, and without the mic we got to appreciate all its qualities. He too sang at my brunch, just a week and a half ago.

Being Destroyed by David Broad’s Guitar Playing

January 12, 2011
bradspurgeon

Music, and the arts in general are not about competition. Well, not really. But what musician is entirely without a sense of wanting to be the best, wanting to play, sing or make music better than anyone else? I mean in any small sense of that concept? Even if true music and emotion in any performance or composition communicates as well no matter what the level of technical proficiency of the musician, last night at the Ptit Bonheur la Chance open mic there were a few guitar players who thought they might as well quit guitar playing all together.

There were a few who thought that they had no chance against a virtuoso like fingerpicking David Broad. I’ve mentioned David a few times on this blog, but last night his guitar playing again whacked over the head all of the musicians and non-musician spectators alike who sat there bewitched by his hard hitting fingerpicking and rhythm as he played his three songs. The guitar playing that struck me the most was on the song “John Henry.” But the other two were also adept.

David has an understated personal style, but sitting there last night you could see him firing on all 12 cylinders – or rather it was like a steam engine – and his foot was tapping rhythm and it sounded like we had old John Henry himself in the room with his hammer….

I asked him how long he had been playing the guitar and he said since his early teens (and he is in his mid-to-late 20s). I asked if he had always done the fingerpicking like that, and he said that had begun when he was 19 and he bought a DVD of Stefan Grossman teaching how to play guitar like that. I told him I have a wonderful CD of Grossman and John Renbourn playing together, but what I did not tell him was that I think I might run out and get one of those Grossman DVDs – either that or quit playing guitar….

Sorry, it was too dark to capture an image, but here was David Broad last night, and the sound is much as we heard it:

From the International to Ollie’s open mic

January 5, 2011
bradspurgeon

Sick of the dark glasses and knowing I was in the company of many friends, I decided last night to go out without the dark glasses. First I went to the International to hear Lou Rebecca and her band, which includes Etienne Shades of The Shades. She was cool as ever, the music was strong, the sound good at this interesting venue with a downstairs stage and speakers all over the place. I mentioned Lou Rebecca on an earlier post when she played at the Rex Club a few months ago. Oddly, I found the sound to be clearer at the International than at the Rex club – unless it was just my memory that had fogged over since the previous venue….

I then took a cab to the Ptit Bonheur la Chance at 18 rue Laplace to take part in Ollie’s open mic, the first of the year. It was “happy new year’s” and all that, and, of course, “What happened to your eye Brad????” (I was briefly worried that Ollie’s dog might take me for a dalmatien and try something on me, but it’s a decent dog and nothing happened.)

The cave room used in Ollie’s open mic seemed much brighter than usual, however, so I found myself on the little wooden crate used as a stage, and explaining to the audience why I had a black eye. I used as few words as possible, ie, “I got attacked on new year’s….” Then I said something about imagining that maybe I was defending a woman who was not worth it, and the following songs would work along that same theme. So I sang, “Andalucia,” “Borderline,” “It’s Easy” (which is my love song about the impossibility of falling out of love with someone), and then I finished with “I Won’t Back Down,” by Tom Petty, which also seemed on theme in the fight mode…. It all went really well, I felt at ease, happy, and again, exorcised – at least briefly.

Ollie and his girlfriend, Matilda Kime, surprised us all with a fabulous duet – we’d never heard them sing together – and they played a Richard Thompson song. I pointed out just before they played – as you can hear on the video – that Thompson (formerly of Fairport Convention, but long a renowned solo artist) had just been named on the Queen’s Honors List.

Jim Beam Celebrations at the Ptit Bonheur

December 22, 2010
bradspurgeon

It was the last open mic of the year at the Ptit Bonheur la Chance yesterday, and Ollie Fury made available a bottle of Jim Beam whisky for the occasion. He served everyone who wanted it a shot glass of the hot liquid, and with the cold outside and many colds in people’s lungs, it was worthwhile.

The evening was pretty lively, with some interesting stuff from some regular guests and some new guests too. Personally, I enjoyed discovering Blaise and Christian on guitars and vocals together, two guys of Cameroon origin who did a great rendition of a Charles Aznavour song. At the end of the open mic they could not get enough of playing, so they continued a jam session upstairs in the bar area, where you will hear another aspect to their vocal talents….

Jay from the band Red Rooster, which I mentioned in yesterday’s post, also turned up and sang some cool stuff. I did four songs and felt less inspired than the night before and somewhat shaky, but I put the shakiness down to the Jim Beam…and then I was delighted when I received some compliments I had not expected, and once again realized that sometimes when you feel you’re not on top of it, you are in fact communicating more than you think….

Classics Continue at Ptit Bonheur: Le Plat Pays de Brel

December 15, 2010
bradspurgeon

Did Ollie Fury, the host of the open mic at the Ptit Bonheur la Chance, get an idea from Thomas Stock? Last week I posted a recording of Stock singing Serge Gainsbourg’s “La Javanaise” and I commented on how I wished more of the young generation of French singers would sing some of the French classics, instead of just the English rock songs. Yesterday, Ollie did a fabulous rendition of Jacques Brel’s “Le Plat Pays.” But remember, Ollie is one of those people who is as French as he is American in his upbringing and language abilities – when he speaks French, you think he’s French, and when he speaks English, you think he is American – so he can honestly lay claim to any English or French (or Belgian) music that he wants….

I am frequently asked by French people if I sing in French, and my usual response is: No. The thing that has always stopped me from singing in French is that the only French songs I ever wanted to sing were those of Jacques Brel, and I felt I could not get close to his sound, nor could I add any of my own interpretation with authority or interest. So I always found myself doing NO French songs. (The only exception is last year I suddenly got the idea to do the French rock group Telephone song “Un Autre Monde.” I still have not memorized the lyrics, though, and the rhythm ain’t right – but I put a recording on my myspace of it, done in my living room the night I learned it.)

But I also feel that singing Brel is not only a stumbling block for me. It is difficult for anyone to do convincingly and well and to bring something new to. Brel was such a monster of a performer, and his voice so distinct, that, good luck. But last night Ollie, after two or three false starts, got really into the song and did a fabulous job, as you will hear on the video below that unfortunately I recorded only with my iPhone 4, having again left my Zoom Q3 at home….

La Javanaise at the Ptit Bonheur – oh La Chance!

December 8, 2010
bradspurgeon

Last night was Ollie’s open mic at the Ptit Bonheur la Chance bar near the Pantheon, and I had good evening. But it was really punctuated by the song sung by Thomas Stock, an up-and-coming Paris musician with a killer voice at age only something like 22 (not sure exactly).

I mention the age because what was so cool last night was Thomas’s choice of opening song in his moment behind the mic in the cave of this nice little bar on the rue Laplace: It was one of the rare times I have heard anyone in the open mic scene in Paris do a song by Serge Gainsbourg. Why don’t they do it more often? Instead of yet another Anglo-Saxon pop hit from the same period. In any case, Thomas chose “La Javanaise,” and did a great job.

At the end of the evening a Spanish woman asked if she could play, and it turned out to be her first ever appearance in front of an open mic audience playing guitar and singing. But when she got behind the mic she realized that she had to read her lyrics and chords and that she could not see in the dark. This is a very cosy open mic, but the darkness means that with my Zoom Q3 we never see anything. I wanted to hear the woman, so I proposed that I stand over her shoulder and beam down my iPhone in its flashlight mode, an application which turns the iPhone into a flashlight, and which I had downloaded in Sao Paulo so I could read Mojo in the darkness in the traffic jams.

I did not realize until today when I went to upload the Thomas Stock video that Ollie Fury, the organizer and MC of the open mic, had grabbed my Zoom recorder and videoed a bit of me holding the light, and the woman singing. I have included it here primarily because for the first time – why did I not think of it – you can catch a larger glimpse of the room in which this open mic takes place. By the way, it was quite full earlier on, but by the end there were just a few of us left, as you will see in the video.

Mini Post: Au P’tit Bonheur la Chance and Bus Palladium

December 1, 2010
bradspurgeon

I have to run out within the next five minutes to visit three or four venues tonight, Wednesday being a big night for open mics and other musical adventures. So just a quick word and two lousy videos about last night.

Lousy videos, but great nights in two venues. I first went to Au P’tit Bonheur la Chance for Ollie’s open mic, then I went to the Bus Palladium to sing a few songs as a guest during Yann Destal’s set. I’ve written about both of these places here more than once, and so I’m keeping this wordage down! I regretted deeply having to leave Ollie’s open mic, since it was shaping up to be really cool, and had several of my favorite performers and friends: David Broad, Ollie, Texas in Paris, and more. But I managed to play three songs and take a cab to the great Bus Palladium and to play three more songs in the restaurant on the first floor, at the After Work evening that happens every Tuesday. Yann Destal, who headlines the show most Tuesdays, played piano along with me when I did my songs, “Father and Son,” “I Won’t Back Down,” and “Borderline.” It felt good. I enjoyed it, and there was an excellent crowd. So I could not ask for more – except to ask for more another time….

Sorry no links, gotta run… may link later…. By the way, what I meant about bad videos was the bad lighting, and not great sound recording on one. But I did my best, and the musicians were great….