I’ve just spent a month in Paris, going just to have fun, sight-see and so on. I also took my guitar with me to find some open-mic nights to play at. It was my first experience of playing live in front of people I don’t know.
Monday 24th November was the first time, and it was a very nerve-wracking experience. It was hard to choose the right songs, and I didn’t want to repeat them too often. The Tennessee Bar (near Odéon) had a great atmosphere and was rather busy, but unfortunately I didn’t get to play till late – this suited me though as there wasn’t quite so much pressure. I played Curiously Strong Peppermints and Ode to Sebastian followed by covers of I Kissed a Girl.
That Wednesday I went to The Highlander (near Pont Neuf) and I was already slightly overcoming my fears. I did embarrass myself by arriving over an hour early, but it turned into a great opportunity to write down lots of ideas I’ve had for years. It also meant I got to play first, which meant I didn’t have time to worry and could get it over and done with. I chose to play Cosmodog, The Night That Minnie Timperley Died (a cover of The Dave Scale covering Pulp) and The Age of Reason. People were receptive but I worried they may only applaud because they are polite. I got talking to Marc and Elise who were both friendly and performed as a duo. I stayed until nearly 01:30 in the morning because I didn’t want to just play and leave, but this meant I had the take the Noctilien bus home, which is not a good experience.
The following Monday, back at the Tennessee, I played To Die By Your Side, 2 Hearts, Strasbourg, All Your Adorers and Close to Me as an encore, which I sung far too low as I had a dry mouth. None of the new songs I’ve been writing are very complete so the covers:originals ratio isn’t very high. I also got speaking to a band called The Gobz, from les Gobelins quartier. They were a bad influence and I ended up very drunk and taking the wrong train home. When playing Strasbourg I reached for a plectrum halfway through, and everyone clapped as if I’d finished. In this situation I wasn’t sure what to do, but I apologised and carried on regardless.
Back to The Highlander, and I had practiced a bit more than previous times. Marc was there from a previous week, bringing a different girl with him this time. Firstly I played Subliminally Advertising Your Wife, which doesn’t really translate to a purely acoustic performance but wasn’t terrible. I also did a cover called Perfect World, a combination of Wild World by Cat Stevens and Perfect Day by Lou Reed. It was also the second time I played Ode to Sebastian. Outside a fellow named Howard said he liked my music, and it turns out he used to live not far from me before he moved to Paris, which was a coincidence.
On Monday 8th December it was my last open-mic (at The Tennessee Bar again). Marc and Elise were both there from a fortnight ago, and I gave him a CD – he said he’d write a critique, but I’ve not heard from him since: if you read this, I’d love to hear from you! The setlist this evening was Made For Each Other and A Bath, both songs I wasn’t too sure about, the former as I wasn’t great at remembering the lyrics and the latter because of the sheer simplicity when played live. However, even if it’s not true, I felt like I had the audience’s complete attention when playing A Bath – I’m not sure why, maybe it was because it’s a quiet song so you have to put an effort into listening. After that I got a huge applause from the people who remained (it was late again) and did an encore of A Day in the Life – hugely ambitious I know, but a universal song. People sang along, and despite a hiccup with my ‘orchestral’ build-up I think I may have been able to do it justice.
I saw lots of people at both of the open-mic nights and got talking to a few. Most of the people live in Paris, whether French or otherwise, but there is also a large number of people passing though for a couple of weeks or months. The music is often acoustic, but I’m not sure if this is because of logistics or not. Some people played electric guitar, and there was a group I saw a couple of times with a double bass. I do think Paris is lacking a proper scene for this, but this could be due to me not having a complete grasp of the language and not staying there for long enough. I do get the feeling that London has far more opportunity, but also far more competition.
If you are interested in attending either of the open-mics I went to, details can be found on MySpace for both The Tennessee Bar and The Highlander (guitar available at both). I think there is also an evening at the Culture Rapide (where Rue Julien Lacroix and Rue de Belleville meet) on Sundays.
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