Oasis 244 (bar Paris) | Brad Spurgeon's Blog

Three Sort of New Open Mics in Paris….

August 7, 2015
bradspurgeon

Spitting Image of the Noctambules Crowd

PARIS – I’m in the middle of attending three nights in a row of open mics in Paris. And that’s pretty amazing for the month of August. It’s also pretty amazing that they are all recent additions to the city’s open mic scene – more or less….

On Wednesday, it was a trip back to the Oasis 244, where our friend Trelys had been holding a weekly open mic on Wednesdays for a while – until she wasn’t. Now, that slot has been taken over by Julien, whom I had met before at Belushi’s bar. The location and style of room of any bar will have an effect on its open mic. The rest will come from the bar owner or manager and from the open mic MC.

Looping at the Oasis 244.
Because the first two bits at the Oasis have not changed, I was keen to see what Julien could do with the bar in his version of the open mic. From my single visit on Wednesday, it looks like pretty much a winner. The sound was OK, the organization was perfect, the crowd was great, and Julien’s MCing was smooth. He has attracted a different crowd to the bar as well, and the whole looks very neat and cool. Definitely worth checking out on a Wednesday evening – a difficult day, what with the Highlander’s hold on the city’s Wednesday nights in most other senses….

Cool-voiced woman singing at the Oasis 244 open mic in Paris.
Last night, it was a new venue, tucked away in the cellar of the Baryton bar in an off-the-beaten path of the fifth arrondissement on the Rue des Bernardins, between place Maubert Mutalité and Notre Dame. I thought I was entering a high-class nightclub at first, with a bouncer expected to appear to frisk my guitar. But it turned out to be totally laid back, and the room in the basement is very comfortable.

Julien opens the open mic at Oasis 244.
Most of the evening is designed to be like a live karaoke, with Vincent Lafleur playing the keyboards, and participants singing into the mic. But it’s open, and Vincent let me play my guitar and sing. I classify this as a “sort of” new open mic, too, because readers of this blog will know that I ran into basically the same open mic as this in at least two prior bars, both hosted by Vincent. One was the Orphée, in Pigalle….

Third act at the Oasis 244 open mic in Paris.
Oh, Pigalle! And that brings me the next step of the three-step Paris open mic journey: Tonight’s Noctambules bar open mic on the Place Pigalle, hosted by Raphaëlle! This addition to the Paris scene enters its third month of action, and as regular readers on this blog will know, it has been a wild, fabulous three months so far. Hoping that the month of August does not subdue attendance at what has otherwise been a fabulously well attended open mic so far, both from spectators and musicians….

Unusual second act at the Oasis 244 open mic.
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The earlier part of the looping at the Oasis 244 open mic.

First singer at the Baryton open mic.

Second singer at the Baryton open mic in Paris.

Open Mics, Past, Present and Future – Well, Within This Week

May 28, 2015
bradspurgeon

Aux Noctambules

PARIS – So my last night in Nice was not all that nice, really. But things got better going back to Paris, and look even better soon….

On my last night in Nice, on Sunday, I went to the De Klomp bar, the open mic of which was supposed to be happening. I entered the bar and asked the waitress about the open mic, and she confirmed it was happening. But the stage was not setup and I had to wait for it to be set up. I ordered a beer, therefore, and waited. No open mic. No stage setup. So I then asked the guy who looked like the manager, and he confirmed there would be an open mic, and he went on to explain that they were changing the style of it, and that it was going from a bit of a jam thing amongst friends to a real open mic format and jam.

He told me to wait until the band came to set up the state. But not long before midnight, I told him that it looked like the band was not coming to set up the stage, and he agreed. So I just finished my beer and left. Better luck next time!

Monday was the trip back to Paris, reunions, fun, settling back into the winter weather of Paris (from the Cote d’Azur, that’s what it felt like.) And on Tuesday, it was a visit to the Baroc. The great Baroc. Unfortunately, I found that I had no juice in my iPhone and no battery power in my recording device, my Zoom, so I ended up with just one video. But it was a full, wild and crazy night at the Baroc.

Wednesday, that’s last night, well, I went to check out a new venue, the recently re-opened “Aux Noctambules” bar on the Place Pigalle, and there I saw a band playing, and spoke to the owner about an invitation he had put out to Raphaëlle and I about playing there. So that’s why we went and took a look, and indeed, it all looked really fabulous, so the result is that Raphaëlle Pessoa (along with Insu), will host the first open mic on Sunday aux Noctambules, on the place Pigalle!

That’s the future taken care of! But what happened after that was that we went over to Trelys’s open mic at the Oasis 244 bar near the Jaures metro, and played some songs and had a really great laid-back time. Two of the high points for me of that open mic last night were definitely when Pascal segued into playing Bach on his harmonica (see the video until its end) and when another guy played AC/DC, “Highway to Hell” on his ukulele! I was out of battery power again for that on both sources, so only got a small bit. It was very funny – and later in the evening, he would play “Smoke on the Water” on the ukulele, which was also fun….

http://www.pariswebtvquartier.fr/fr/tv-pigalle/mon-quartier/bars-et-pubs-16/noctambules-aux-604/

A New Alternative Open Mic at the Oasis 244 in Paris on Wednesday Nights

April 30, 2015
bradspurgeon

Oasis 244

PARIS – I finally got to the new open mic at the Oasis 244 bar last night, a venue I have written about frequently in recent months as the place where John Redford and Stephen Saxo hold their Friday night semi-open mic. (IE, it’s actually their own musical gig, but they open the stage to friends, acquaintances, and sometime people who drop in off the street.) I have never had much bad to say about that place, or that show, I think. But last night, it was a really interesting experience to see the same venue on a different night and during a true open mic – i.e., an evening where the stage’s sole purpose is to invite musicians up to play two or three or four songs. Not to mention poets or any other manner of spoken-word aficionados who may want to take part.

It felt completely different – or almost – to the Friday night thing, and it had many more musicians, more styles, more people in general, than a lot of the Friday night affairs. I have no idea if it is always like this, but I do know one very good reason that it is like this at least at the moment: The host of the open mic (aside from Bobb the barman owner opening the stage) is the fabulous Trélys DuPré, a Canadian expat who is better known on this blog for being the soulful singer and ukulele player of many another open mic in the city in recent years.

Trélys runs the show with a friend, even hand and a warm presentation behind her own mic, moving around the room and encouraging people to play, and spectators and musicians to come in off the street. Her own personal sound system that she brings each Wednesday to the Oasis 244 is also somewhat more complete than the one on offer on Friday night, at least that’s how it seemed to me – as she has two mics available, and another mic that wraps around a third person’s head should it be necessary. (Not in violence, mind you.)

In some ways it felt a lot like the long-since-gone Petit Bonheur la Chance open mic, that used to take place in the basement of the bar of the same name, as this one attracts some of the same mainstay regulars, such as the legendary Wayne Standley, and of course, Trélys herself.

Definitely, definitely worth attending. It’s an alternative feel to the ever popular Highlander open mic on Wednesday nights, that can be a lot more crowded and less intimate, even though I love the Highlander challenge too. I’ll be back.

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Moments of Musical Peace in Midst of Whatever in Paris

April 27, 2015
bradspurgeon

Oasis 244

PARIS – Maybe I should call this a gibberish post. The fact is, since returning from my last two-week trip to China and Bahrain I have been spending my vacation in Paris doing catch-up work to do with the office, family life and other things uninteresting to this blog. Still, I did managed to find an island of peace at John Redford and Stephen Saxo’s musical night at the Oasis 244, which is their weekly, Friday night gig where they kind of open the stage to musician friends and others who happen to drop by, if they feel like it.

The Oasis was its usual oasis of peace in not exactly one of the best neighborhoods of Paris, near the Stalingrad and Jaures metro stations. A truly laid-back evening, and unfortunately with all I have been doing, I didn’t have the time to charge my Zoom Q3 recording device’s batteries. So I got only limited video footage of a fun night.

And then a nice laid-back concert at the Connetable

From there, I got another nice interlude from the work at a show put on by a couple of friends, Nick Buxton and his wife Stephanie LB, both of whom have their own soft-touch acoustic-vocal thing going at the Connetable, a neat venue in the Marais with a bar and restaurant on the ground and first floors, and a cave music room underground, in a classic vaulted ceiling room of Paris.

I’m writing this thing so quickly that my syntax is taking a walk. But I desperately wanted to get a few words and videos in here before it got too late to do so. Nick Buxton, by the way, is the owner of the famous Basement studios in Paris, and when he and Stephanie are not playing the kind of touching and sensitive acoustic music they did at the Connetable, they are rocking hard and strong in their various rock combos.

Anyway, that’s about all I can get in here before I’m off to my next bit of work for the office, family and whatever! Back soon, hoping to do a ton of open mics in the coming week….

Pizza Box Drum Jam at the Oasis – a Little Borderline

March 7, 2015
bradspurgeon

Oasis 244

PARIS – It was nearly midnight at the Oasis 244 in Paris again last night when I arrived, so much too late to profit by a full night of listening to John Redford and Stephen Saxo playing their stuff for the customers at this very cool and laid back little bar near the Stalingrad metro. It was too late to have much of any kind of amplification, so vocals and certain guitar bits suffered. But I sure did not suffer while listening to and playing with several old and new acquaintances.

Especially meeting up and hearing Wayne Standley playing again. I wrote about Wayne extensively during the Ptit Bonheur la Chance and Tireuse days. But since that venue has ceased to run its open mic, I’ve not seen Wayne playing anywhere. Wayne is a longtime American expat in Paris who has played music all his life here, but maintained a bona fide American country and rock sound. So true and real. And last night Andy Bone joined him on lead guitar and it sounded like we were in the middle of the American midwest somewhere….

Then I got to go up behind the mic – that did not work – and sing a few songs. And when it was time to do my song Borderline, David Hummel leapt into action and provided a fabulous jamming rendition as he took to one of his favorite instruments: A cardboard pizza box that had contained last night’s dinner. David used that for percussion, using his drum brushes to batter the box in the rhythms of Borderline. A fabulous little jam that left me feeling great about the 20 minutes I spent on the wonderful little warm stage of the Oasis 244. Andy Bone filmed it, so catch the video – be aware the mic barely worked, thanks to complaining neighbors.

The pizza box, it turns out, is a fabulous percussion instrument in acoustic jam sessions in bars where you can’t make much noise!

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A Brief Stop-In at the Oasis

February 14, 2015
bradspurgeon

Oasis 244

PARIS – I guess and oasis is really a drinking spot where you’re meant to stop for a brief moment on a long walk through the desert. That’s how I could describe my visit last night at the Oasis 244 in Paris, where I had such a great Friday night last week at the weekly gig of John Redford, Stephen Saxo and friends.

I arrived very late last night, so did not get to hear that much of the music, not get to see that much of the vibe. But from all I could see and hear, it seemed like it was as great as usual. And I got to play twice – once solo and with cajon, and another time with an electric guitar accompaniment – even at that relatively late arrival hour. So the brief visit was all I could hope for at the Oasis 244. Only one short video to show for it, though:

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The Oasis 244 Comes Alive, in Paris

February 7, 2015
bradspurgeon

Oasis 244

PARIS – A few months ago, John Redford and Stephen Saxo, two expatriate musicians in Paris started playing a regular Friday night gig at a small bar in Paris, which is located in equal distance between the Stalingrad and Jaures metro stations. As far as I remember, they had immediately from the start opened the stage, advertising the evening as John Redford & Stephen Saxo and Special Guests, or “Friends” maybe sometimes. The evening started fairly slowly, but now it has turned into a fabulous, wild, wonderful atmosphere of an evening, much more of an open mic than a gig alone, if last night was anything to go by.

Actually, I had played as a special guest at this bar – called the Oasis 244 – with Stephen and John a few weeks ago, and it was already a lot of fun. Then I got involved in other things reported on this blog and did not return to the Oasis 244 for weeks, maybe even more than a month.

I returned last night to find the Oasis 244 full of guests, both regular clients, people there for the music, and musicians. Many of the musicians were people I see around town at the other open mics, at gigs, etc., all of whom have gravitated towards this great Friday night musical moment.

Like all great venues, one of the main things that makes the Oasis 244 work – aside from John and Stephen’s great music, openness and kindness – is that the guy who owns the place loves music, and has more than enough tolerance for letting the musicians play as much as possible before he calls it quits for the benefit of the neighbors.

Last night I got to play six or seven songs, had Stephen on the sax and then David on the cajon. Amazing night.

Check it out!

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Bombarding the Bombardier and Midnight at the Oasis

December 13, 2014
bradspurgeon

Open Mic at Bombardier Paris

PARIS – I finally got a real chance to attend and play at the new Bombardier open mic in Paris on the Place du Pantheon on Thursday. I mentioned it in a previous post, but that night was not the right one to go into a loud, raucous pub environment where there is often little interest by the clients in listening, and lots of interest in talking. In the end, on Thursday night, I didn’t care who listened, I just wanted to sing.

So it was that I went to the Bombardier, a cozy student pub in the middle of the Latin Quarter, and I sang a few songs, and several other people sang a few songs, and the crowd died out sufficiently at one point that there were even a majority of people listening. In fact, I am certain I will return to this open mic – run on Thursday by Brislee Adams, who also MCs the Tennessee on Mondays and the Café Oz Blanche on Tuesdays. It’s a good fun, relaxed environment, and the sound system was really fine to play on, even if the sound may not make it to the other side of the pub during the height of chatter. But that’s hardly unique to the Bombardier as far as the world’s open mics go.

And then to the Oasis 244 in Stalingrad for a Concert and a Bit More Playing

Last night, Friday, I had the idea to go and hear my music friend John Redford perform in a new weekly gig he has at a small bar in the Stalingrad neighborhood, called the Oasis 244, just around the corner from the Point Ephemere and near the Quais de Seine, Metros Stalingrad and Jaures. John was playing his electric guitar and singing, and accompanying him on sax was Stephen Saxo, from Pittsburgh.

It was a really small bar, this small Oasis, and apparently it has an open jam session every second Thursday. The stage is small and cute, and John’s small sound system actually was not that bad. After John played his crooning melodies of cover songs and personal compositions, he opened the stage to anyone who wanted to play. He was careful to point out that it was not an open mic, but he wants to open the stage from time to time when it feels right.

I was thankful for that last night, since that meant I could do some songs with Stephen Saxo, and also try John’s Stratocaster. I later played on a classical guitar. But when midnight arrived, the bar owner said that was the end of the music, for fear of bothering the neighbors. So get there early if you plan to go. (John has no further gigs there until 2015.)

All in all, two fun and rewarding musical evenings in Paris now that I finally feel that I’m coming down to the ground and landing two or three weeks after the sixth worldwide open mic adventure….

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Bonus video!!::