As a jazz vocalist, I like to visit places where local people perform. So, when I went to Paris, I asked around my performer friends and a Parisian in the industry told me of this venue. It's a piano bar that has shows each night and open mic with a piano accompanist on Thursday night, which I opted to attend in order to get a good variety of local cabaret culture.
They told me this place is secluded. You have to ring them and be judged "no arrogant" to get in. Well, I walked straight in because the door was open and lined with people. Inside, you have an upright piano with exposed hammers, two microphones. They used a small Boss L1 for amplification, which sounds adequate for the room. A man named Menuer hosts the open mic as he called up singers to perform.
Unlike other places in the neighborhood, these people spoke English. Every single song I heard was in English and the great majority of the songs sung were... um. American pop music in the 80s. Yup. They love their Michael Jackson. Madonna. Stevie Wonders, etc. and random contemporary pop sung in R&B style.
"Like a virgin, hey! Touched for the very first dime..."
The singers are good - for an open mic. Then I realized why. It wasn't really an open mic. After I asked Menuer if I could sing a song, he agreed to ask the piano player but never got back to me. I thought Parisians are not as rude as people believed, but these people snubbed in the most subtle way possible.
But then again, I was going to sing jazz, not 80s pop songs. I never considered myself an arrogant American, but I must say that this experience taught me how cool San Francisco's is. And the mixed feelings about American pop culture invasion in France.
If you like cabaret, do yourself a favor and skip Paris altogether. I should have believed my London friend when he told me Paris doesn't have much of a cabaret scene. No wonder Paris is the major importer or American jazz singers and musicians. So, go see the gargoyles outside of cathedrals - they are much easier to stomach than these singers wannabes. . read more