Yesterday was the coldest day of July busking I've endured! Brrr! It looked sort of raw out, but there's rain forecasted all weekend so I wanted to put in a big day. Got to the Royal Mile in the early afternoon. A female concertina player wearing red sat on an earplug. Jason the pirate was down by the police box on another earplug. And a bluegrass duo was set up next to the circle pitch, in a spot that isn't actually a pitch. This threw off everyone, since they were too close to my normal arch spot. I had to move down a bit but that was the hair wrap lady's spot.
So I played there for a while, but it was weird being on street level after being spoiled by my step. Everything was quite loud, there were loud trucks, I could hear the band, and there were two pipers playing together farther down the Mile (Todd kept calling the RM "The Mile," so I'm going to start doing that). Todd began a show so he cleared off the bluegrass band and I moved back to my spot, realigning the stars.
It was a weird day. It was definitely cold and raw, and the wind was blowing. The sky was a nice shade of white. I had to cut some songs from my set list because my fingers couldn't move fast enough due to the low temperature! There was much less foot traffic than usual, and the people who were out weren't tipping much. My explanation is that everyone was perplexed by this frigid day; they came to Scotland in the summer and packed their shorts, and then couldn't be bothered to take their hands out of the warmth of their pockets to tip.
And so I didn't put in a long day. But later I came back to the Mile and realized that I could set up again. The wind was at bay and folks were out for dinner. I hadn't done an evening in a while! And so I played from about 7:30-8:30. The tips were definitely better then, but still not great. I quit pretty much exclusively because I'm so sick of my songs and couldn't bear to hear one again. I'm devoting today, this rainy Saturday, to arranging music! Got a few tidbits, but not much:
Friday, 6 July 2012
1. The hen parties were out in full force last night! Several walked by, but of course none tipped when I played "Here Comes the Bride." What, spent all your money on drinks? A woman in one, however, asked me to play something Scottish, so I dusted off "Flower of Scotland." But she didn't even stick around to listen. Yep, short sleeves.
2. This is something I've noticed in the past, which happened last night as well. Often, heterosexual couples around my age will walk by and the guy will drop me a tip. Then, when they walk away, the girl will take her boyfriend's hand, that she wasn't previously holding. This happens all the time, it's interesting. I guess it's just as simple as another girl gaining her boyfriend's approval, so she has to hold him close. Don't worry, I'm not going to steal him! (Well, maybe if he's really cute.)
3. Some good people watching: a girl came by wearing obviously "hippie" style clothing. But she was holding an iPhone and a Sprite. Can't have it both ways! Secondly, two Middle Eastern women in traditional clothing walked by, but both were wearing brightly-colored Crocs.
4. I often comment on people's American clothing, specifically Red Sox (and Giants) hats. I commented to a girl wearing a "Love Boston" sweatshirt, and she stopped to talk. She's from NJ (but loves Boston) and is here on tour with her choir! Yeah!
I believe that's all! Time to get arranging. Goals for the day are "Take On Me," a John Williams medley, and something popular. Adele?
Stay warm!
No comments:
Post a Comment