Keren Ann @ the Olympia
When I arrived back in Paris from Morocco, I caught a glimpse of a poster for Keren Ann. I wasn't sure where she was playing, and I scanned the metro stations for information before I remembered Pariscope. She was playing the night before I was to leave at the Olympia. Ever since I heard of Edith Piaf playing that theater, I'd wanted to see the insides. I bought tickets.

At the theater, an usher directed me to my seat; they weren't numbered. She pointed to where I was to go and spoke to me in French. I wasn't paying attention and had to ask her to repeat it. "Oh, you don't speak French!" she said. She told me in English. I asked her a question, and she said her English was not so good. She then asked me for a tip. I thought she had a question about English and waited for her to formulate her query. She stood in place; I waited. Then I realized she meant a monetary tip.

Exactly at eight, the lights went down and the curtains parted. A woman emerged with a guitar and sang folk songs. She said she was from Sweden, and I thought her name was Kloot. It wasn't. I am Kloot turned out to be a band from England. The lead singer appeared and played a set without his band. He joked with the crowd between songs. Then it was intermission.

In the lobby, a clown performed an act with a large rubber ball. I watched for a few minutes, and then went back inside. Most of the audience ignored him until he ran into them.

Keren Ann took the stage at 9. A recorded intro told a story about a girl in Chelsea, then she appeared with her band and began to play. For the next two hours, I sat and listened and looked around the room.