Today was a good marathon Saturday! It was quite mild out (I was down to my dress for most of the day), with a few standard 10-second downpours. I decided to sell out and set up at the other end of the Market. I got the impression that there was more money to be made there, since there was an eating area as well as generally more foot traffic. It was a nice day, nothing too crazy to report, just nice smiles and good tips. I am being very disciplined now; Blogger is my only open tab! Usually it takes me forever because I take frequent Facebook breaks, but I'm crying to grind out this post so I can go see my friends' band, Jen and the Gents, tonight without having a blog post looming over me! Aren't you proud? Anyway...
Saturday, 8 September 2012, Part 1:
1. A guy walked by wearing a purple "Start Wearing Purple" t-shirt; a reference to the Gogol Bordello song. I noticed it too late to try to play that song. Luckily, he came back and stood in line at the coffee box, so I tried it! But he totally didn't recognize it. Tried another Gogol Bordello song that I know better, When Universes Collide (accordion intro!) but he just walked away. Lame.
2. I played Tico Tico, and noticed a guy in line for coffee look up. Oh, did he recognize it? Then I saw that his friend was wearing a Brasil football jersey. Aha! This is the second time ever that Brazilians have conveniently been there for that song.
3. This is totally unrelated to busking. It is just a funny thing from yesterday that I remembered while busking, so I wrote it in my busking notes to email my brother later. However, since I'm banishing myself from Facebook and email while writing this post, I'll have to just write it here for now:
Yesterday, I hiked up to Arthur's Seat. There's a wonderful view from up there, which includes a glimpse into the backyard of Holyrood Palace, the Queen's Scottish residence. They were setting up for an event, about which a fellow hiker and I joked. Maybe there was a bouncy castle!! The hiker, Liam, pointed out that the Queen might puncture said attraction with her crown. He went so far as to hypothetically quote a guard: "Again, Elizabeth? [Sigh] Every year..." His Irish accented delivery was just perfect, and had me laughing heartily. So that's that.
4. A nice woman stopped by to talk. She said she had been sitting and listening for a half hour, and called her daughter who heard me through the phone. Her daughter plays violin and trombone, and also studied psychology. In fact, she was working on a book about the therapeutic properties of playing music, and hoped to have it stocked in pamphlet version in hospitals or the like. I told the mom that I'm working on a book as well, about busking, and she took my card to find my website and get her daughter in touch. Seems like a nice family!
5. Whenever it randomly rained, I played a round of "Singin' in the Rain." There were always older folks around for it, who I was sure would like it, but their enthusiasm level stayed unchanged. After the especially rainiest run-through, however, I heard applause. I turned around and saw two ladies down below, in the parking garage bit, who had heard it and understood. Nice.
6. A young man got a coffee, then sat at a table near me to read his book (my kind of man!) (But I also saw that he had a plastic shopping bag full of beer bottles. Funny combination.) He was really nice, and enthusiastic about my music, clapping after each song. Best of all, he recognized "Call Me, Maybe," sort of! "Was that that Katy Perry song?" Close enough. He claimed to have recognized the last line. Not sure which one that is. He also asked for an ID on Tetris, so I said "Tetris....music A." "Oh, it sounded like a Balkan song." Well, that's because it is. It's a Russian folk song called "Korobeiniki."
7. Speaking of which, I was thinking that I ought to learn the other Tetris musics as well and do a medley! The nerds would like that.
8. The only regular kid that stopped by today was Briana, the dancer. She looked for Flaca, who wasn't there because half her leg gruesomely fell off. Rather than telling her that, I told her that Flaca had merely broken her leg. I almost added "Too much dancing!" but didn't want to discourage her from busting a move. We have the routine down now, though, she picked up the shakers and handed her dad the tambourine while I played "Beer Barrel Polka," "Lady of Spain" and "Tico Tico." Briana ran around me, shaking away. Not sure where the others were! I only have two Saturdays left, I hope I see everyone else before I go.
9. Someone said, "You've got competition!" and explained that there was another accordion player in the middle. Another person suggested I do "dueling banjos" with him. I assumed it was Tom, my nemesis-turned-friend, but it turned out to be another guy I've never seen, as well as a guitar player. I didn't hear them, so I have no idea what kind of stuff they do. Grrr. A guitar player I see sometimes who wears tartan trousers walked by as well, I assumed he set up at my usual end.
10. There this one guy with dyed orange hair who always walks by with his dog. The thing is, he always walks by during The Final Countdown! Today he stopped to tip me, and I pointed out this phenomenon to him. He facetiously admitted thinking that I only play that song. I asked if he knew the Ultimate Dog Tease Youtube video, because his dog looks just like its star. He said he didn't, hopefully he'll look it up! The dogs do look just alike.
That was it for the market. I packed up in time to get a burger, but not hot chocolate. They had already taken down their stall. Then, off to the Mile!
There were surprisingly few people out. Just Yoda, Elaine, and Edgar. I guess the transient summer folks are gone and the kids are back in school. It was still busy though. Heather wasn't even there! My spot was empty, but there was a wedding at the City Chambers with a piper who was maybe going to play, so I set up at McGregor's.
Saturday, Part 2:
1. A girl about my age and her [mother] walked by. But then I started playing The Final Countdown and the girl turned around and tipped me, "Just for that song!" It was strange, though, I was totally spacing out and had no idea what song I was playing. Had to listen and figure it out. Usually I stay focused for that one.
2. A toddler was full-on crying. But then ze heard accordion and stopped. Works like a charm!
3. I heard a round of applause after "Funiculi Funicula" and tracked it to a group sitting outside Subway. It was surprising, they didn't seem very old or Italian! Guess they just think the world is made for fun and frolic (heh).
4. A group of celebrating women walked by. Hen party? Nope, one woman wore a thing that said "40 today!" So I played Happy Birthday and they didn't notice. But then the woman sang along for a minute, "Happy birthday dear...oh, that's me!!" I noticed two other birthdays too late!
5. A family walked by exhibiting some parenting choices I don't agree with. The oldest son roamed free, but the two younger children were on leashes, and the mother was smoking. Eek! When they came by a second time, the older boy (maybe six or seven years old) stopped and asked, "Excuse me, what does that say?" I read the signs aloud, and he seemed satisfied.
6. A bride was approaching my pitch. She was undoubtedly a bride, but I doubted it. I asked a random lady next to me, who confirmed that there was no question that that was a bride. And so I started up a chorus of you-know-what. She was walking up with the man I took to be the groom, another woman, and a photographer. They posed for a photo with me. The nice thing about this couple was that they were older, probably in their fifties. Much more rewarding to play for than drunk twenty-year-old hen parties! I like the idea of being included in their wedding photo album.
7. A guy walked over and asked if I can play "Two Limited." I said no. He said "I'll sing it for you," and did. Quite simple chorus, so I tried playing it back. "That's not even remotely correct." Ha. He asked if I can play any club music, so I advertised "We Are Young" and "Dynamite." And Lady Gaga for old times' sake. I also handed him my set list, and his inclination was to turn it over. It's written on scrap paper, and the back has a melange of random things, including a list of songs to potentially learn. He decidedly requested "Light My Fire." I let him down and told him I can't actually play it. He chose Call Me, Maybe in the end, and said he was going to go into Subway to get food, then I could play it for him. He seemed to have forgotten though, since he came out of Subway and began to cross the street. I got his attention, since it's nice to have an excuse to play Call Me Maybe, and he said he'd listen from across the street where his friends were. I noticed one of the guys was wearing a crown, so I asked if it was his birthday. Nope, stag party. Aha. So I played "Here Comes the Bride" again. Good enough.
8. It was a lucky day in general. Things were good, people were nice, but something very good happened. Not mandatory to include it, but I will. Tom was at a favorite coffee shop, so I texted him to bring me back something. It turned out that since they were about to close, they gave Tom some pastries for free! And he gave them to me! This was great, since I hadn't packed food and I'm trying not to spend too much money. Mmmm. But I probably had powdered sugar all over me for the rest of the day.
9. This was a chatting-heavy day! I probably lost at least an hour of play time chatting, but that's okay. First it was this friendly old man named Jim who is a fellow traveler. He's off to Bulgaria for two weeks just because I wanted to do something. I told him about my plans, about which he was enthusiastic. He also told me about this Chinese shop (?) on Leith Walk that advertises getting people visas. Hmm. Also chatted with Paul, my latest photographer friend. And Cameron, and Elaine, and Tom, and Edgar. Waved to several others I know who walked by. Anyone watching this long would think I'm incredibly popular! Maybe I am!
10. Oh, this is a bad one. A young [Asian] man walked by in a Lebron t-shirt. I playfully booed him, citing "Go Cavs!" as my reasoning, expecting him to know what he was representing and playfully respond. As it was, he didn't seem to speak English, and acted confused and a little freaked out. Felt bad about that.
11. Is there anyone in Maine right now? Probably not. I met two separate families from Maine! One of them, a woman, told the typical story of her grandfather playing the accordion, and her continuing to see it "under the stairs" for years after. She wonders what happened to it. So do I.
12. A young man paid me the compliment of "Good song choice!" for "What is Love?" Glad kids these days still know it!
13. Some guys kept passing by, doing a scavenger hunt. Since I always seem to qualify to cross something off the list, I tried to get their attention to ask. Twice. But they didn't hear either time, which was embarrassing. Since the people on the patio of McGregor's certainly did.
14. Lastly, a man tipped me, explaining that he had been listening from a local flat. He said that they were all sitting up there playing "Guess that tune." Oh, nice! By the sounds of it, they succeeded.
I think that's it! In only a little over an hour! Funny how quickly things can get done without [non-Nutella] distractions. Oh, and I got at least two new Olympics coins: basketball and sailing. But I haven't counted up yet, so there may be more! Tim, the Canadian circle show act, informed me that there's a parade tomorrow that will mess up the circle shows. Could mean good business for me, though! I'll have to see what the occasion before deciding if it's FINALLY the right time to wear my tacky Union Jack antennae headband. Till next time!
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