Working the Street

When I was fifteen years old I sat on a bench and sang to the street. The song: “Be My Lover” by La Bouche; my profit: thirty-five cents. From then on I have always respected street performers and will often go out of my way to give them a tip, whether that be actual money or just a piece of advice from my very wise mind. Throughout my stay in London and travels through Europe I have been pleasantly surprised by the quality of performers on the street. While in Dublin I stopped and admired each performance and even splurged on a CD. I was surprised to find that they utilized quite different instruments, like a box drum and flute, that I had not seen on the streets before. I think Dublin proved to have the highest quality of street performers I have ever seen. However, there was a particular performance that I caught the end of at Borough Market that I was quite taken with. A group of three individuals performing collectively a cello, an acoustic guitar, and an accordion. I must admit that the use of accordion may have been why I appreciated this performance so much (I love everything about accordions); but these three gentlemen displayed the merriest of attitudes and it was obvious that they weren’t just performing for money but they were performing for the music. It is that aspect of the performance that I loved so much. There is a family in Santa Cruz whom I may or may not be obsessed with (I am) who participate in street performance in the same way and is one of the reason why I admire them so much. I wont get into it now, for your sake because I could go on forever, but if at all interested here is the The Abbott Family Blog. What is great about all street performers is their passion for music and performing it. They want to broadcast their music in public spaces and I always enjoy listening to it. Hooray! 

Alice Medland, UCSC