Dan Bern & Lynn Miles, Paris' Hotel du Nord, 23/24-06-02

First night was great, short 45 minute set, no microphone, slightlty tensed, not a word between songs, until he played Rome, which I had requested before the show. Beautiful song. Also Jeusalem, Black Tornado, He closed the show and won the crowd with Peach in Paris, The Fifth Beatle, Famous Painter and Marylin Monroe.

Second night was yet something else. Dan started with a brand new song about his day in Paris, with some parts in French, reading from his notes! Hilarious and a great set-opener. He was much more relaxed and talked a lot between songs, explaining their meanings and origins. Also played Morning in Los Angeles (part in yiddish, spanish, etc.!), Oh Sister, Wasteland (changed capo setting in the middle of the song), Marylin ("a love song"), God said no, New american language, Black Tornado, Chelsea Hotel, Jerusalem (I had brought the olives, which he passed around), the fifth Beatle featuring Dylan, Neil Young, Costello, Nirvana's drummer, Brooooce, but not Elliott Murphy (who was in the audience and couldn't help laughing all the way through), and a humorous song about September 11th as well as They don't got baseball. I'm probably forgetting some...

After a very delicate show by Lynn Miles, Dan was a tornado which took the mostely english-speaking audience away. People laughed a lot, listened carefully when needed, perfect audience you know! Probably the best show so far this year. I don't think I ever saw a show there with such "interactivity" (pardon the word!) between the performer and the audience. We even forgave him his mention of the football world cup and the French team not even scoring a goal! Dan is a master at grasping anything floating around him and turning into a song. Well, that's probably what folksong is all about...

You can see pictures of those great nights at www.mysongwriters.com

Next show (and the last one at the Hotel du Nord) will be Guy Clark and Verlon Thompson on July 23rd and 24th. If anyone is in Paris around, don't miss Guy's gig. Texas songwriting at its best, alive in pAris in the heat of July before a country rendez-vous in Craponne!

Thanks for reading through.

Herve, pAris pAl