I did go out Thursday night, though, in case the world did indeed end the next day. Here's what happened:
Thursday, December 20, 2012:
I had no trouble getting my spot, even though I stopped at Sam's for pizza before setting up. I like that a bunch of the Sam's employees recognize me now, including the guy who rang me up. "It's you!" he said, before asking, "Anything for the little one?" meaning Flaca, of course. I said she's vegetarian. And so we sat up.
1. A guy dropped me a tip and said, "I'm still paying you for 'Paint it Black!'" I knew that song would be a hit!
2. I also got a tip specifically for Tico Tico. The guy was surprised I knew it, and said someone used to play that song on the accordion. (It's been a week, I forget the details). He also hung around and sang along to PIB and La Vie en Rose.
3. Another woman commented on "Parlez-moi d'Amour," saying that it is her favourite song. Funny, Europeans comment on Twin Peaks but not a French classic, Americans are the other way around.
4. Speaking of which, I play the Twin Peaks theme here just so people will recognize it, and no one has in the US. But it's huge in Europe! Weird.
5. A middle-aged man and his daughter about my age stopped by, and the man said that he plays accordion. Nice! But then he suggested he play and bring in lots of tips, and his daughter got really embarrassed and tried to rush him along. It's a nice idea, but I get tipped for my costume anyway!
6. A man stopped and said, "I like this design, but as a business man, I see one problem: if someone tries to steal your tips, you're tethered to the box and can't run after them!" Aha. I hope more people don't notice that. It's true, however, I have a bunch of top-secret security measures in place. I told him that, and he added, "How far can you throw your accordion?" The tethered feet are sometimes annoying, like when a plastic bag blew away and I couldn't easily chase it.
7. Someone who had presumably seen me a few times said, "You're the hardest working busker I've seen!" Later, someone gave me a similar compliment and said, "How do you do it? It's nice that people consider the endurance of buskers!
8. A fellow named Scott stopped by to talk. He's pretty cute and took a business card. I hope he gets in touch.
9. A lady stopped by and says she's opening a café and wants to book entertainment. I'd love to!
10. A nice family stopped by, and the dad held a platter of grapes and cheese and cracker. Ooh, going to an art opening! I talked to him a bit, and he dug around for cash but didn't have any. I asked for a grape which would have been nice after pizza, and he told me to help myself. Turns out his daughter was performing at the Academy of Music and it was for the food table. Mmm.
11. I talked a bunch to a nice man named Bill who I've seen around. I remembered what we talked about, but I no longer do. He offered to bring me a hot drink, but a family friend recently had. He did bring me a delicious cookie, though.
12. Since it was the eve of the Apocalypse, I played "The Final Countdown" a lot. A couple people noticed! I'll play it a lot on New Year's Eve too.
It was cooooold! Thursday night was a little quiet, but I still did okay. I'll be glad to take a break from my elf shoes, which aren't so good. I talked to Jesse, the Harp player with whom I first competed for a spot in Ptown. Good to talk to the old pros.
Now, the elf costumes are going away. Mine needs lots of repairs, which I'm not going to do. It will be an unpleasant surprise next December when I see how tattered everything is, but I can't be bothered. I'll head out New Year's Eve, so I'll see you then! Also I'll be playing at the Amherst Winter Farmers' Market, and I might keep doing Saturdays in Northampton. We'll see.
Thanks for a great Elf season, Northampton.
Love,
Sophie and Flaca
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