Buskers R' Us or Got Change?

The buskers are out in full force in the central business district. Buskers, for those who do not overdose on BBC costume dramas, are people who perform in public for donations. Street performers. I suppose it should surprise no one. After all, this is the time of year when we are feeling more generous while at the same time having more money in our pockets. Knowing this, performers are out in maximum density--a new act starts just as soon as the previous one is out of eye and earshot. Some serious wallet lightening activity going on.

Now I usually listen or watch these people on the sly for a couple of reasons: 1) I'm slinking into the oblivious-to-anything-not-profiting-me resident mode and 2) I am a reluctant [read: uncomfortable] tipper. Have never been the most generous of tippers. Which means the Australian custom of not tipping in restaurants is not as huge a sacrifice as you might imagine. The irony of the extreme likelihood that I -glory hound that I am- would be out there, if I had such a saleable talent, is not lost on me. But now, curiosity is getting the better of me. In non holiday times, a fair percentage of the performers are there as a grassroots marketing effort for their latest self-produced recording. Hey, thanks for throwing money in my hat but how about buying my CD? Musicians on the ships I worked on would occasionally busk for the pleasure of playing music of their choosing--and for lunch money. But what are all these newcomers here for? That first year flutist or granny singing unaccompanied have little in common with the others save the color of their coin catching ice cream tubs.

'On duty' on a recent day were several new people. These two girls, well prepared and set-up, had a sign announcing that they were raising dough to help a school sponsored charity fund. One played the violin and the other sang, both doing a very credible job. This was not a half-baked scheme by a pair of giggly girls. The donations in the violin case were not miserly.

Our man here did a different kind of juggling. He rolled those crystal balls in his hands and all around his body with the greatest of ease. His hat, which seems entirely too far away for my sense of financial security, gets regular drops of coin. But he is in a very good position, smack dab in the middle of the shopping district replacing the recently departed........... Andean pan flute musicians. These folks are pros, from their set-up to the aide selling their CDs for 20 bucks. They've got coin collecting instrument cases facing all directions. I'm rather surprised they didn't accept direct debit or credit cards also.
Some folks were more into three dimensional art. This balloon artist made shapes for kiddies. He was my least favorite side show out there. This deluded mercenary seemed to think that I should pay him a $2 coin to take his picture. Get real, bozo.

This last young lady let me ask a few questions while setting up after a lunch break. A group at her high school, Penrhos College, is planning a trip to Canada. She has spent a year busking during school holidays as her sole way of earning her way on the trip. Unlike most others, her busking license was prominently displayed in her flute case. I'm thinking that her dad, sitting nearby, told her that if she wanted to go overseas she would have to earn it herself. I have no doubt she will make it.

I am looking forward to spotting tomorrow's new cast of characters.