Trying to choose between the things I might be able to do last night, I decided I would head over to see a gig in a bar in the 18th Arrondissement of Paris of a friend, Thomas Arlo, and his new musical partner, Pierre Catton. I didn’t expect all that much, although I have always thought that Thomas is a fine and talented singer, both in his native English and French. From California, Thomas has been living in France for the last year or more, and he often plays at the Ptit Bonheur la Chance open mic. When I suddenly noticed that I could attend his gig at Clin’s Bar and then take the same metro across Paris to the Swan Bar and do the “Round Midnight” open mic there, I said, “That’s a plan.”
But once I got to Clin’s and listened to Thomas’s repertoire, both alone and with Pierre, and then Pierre’s solo stuff too, and once I found that I was in great company with a number of regulars from the Ptit Bonheur la Chance, in this very tiny but cool bar, I decided to stay there and not go to the open mic at the Swan Bar. Nothing against the latter, but I was just happy to spend some time amongst friends and good and fun music, and meeting new people too. So that’s what I did.
In fact, it even got really hot and exciting later on when a momentary riot broke out while Pierre was singing a song about three songs from the end of the night. Kind of a mini Altamont, but with no one injured and all ending happily….