The regulars on the 343 get to know each other, at least by sight, often through conversation. I had been on an excursion to Circular Quay and the Rocks. Coming home on the bus, I got chatting to a busker. He was lumping this huge suitcase. It was old but still relatively recent because it had wheels. Despite that, it was still cumbersome.
"What's in the case", I said. "My amps", was the reply. "I need to charge them."
We chatted on. I mentioned that I had been watching buskers around Circular Quay. This lady is a contortionist warming up. 
And this is her equipment. I thought of my youngest daughter when the performer said she was into extreme performances. Just what can you do with that, I wondered?
"Do they make much money there?", I asked my friendly busker. "Its a good beat", he replied, "but you must have $10 million public liability insurance, and that costs $320 per annum. That puts people off." I wondered about that. It certainly stops the casuals, and that may explain why there are fewer buskers now, why the place is less interesting.
By the way, do you know what circular breathing is? I didn't. It means that you breath in through the nose while breathing out through the mouth. It's absolutely critical to the playing of things like the Aboriginal didgerdoo. This player is explaining the technique to a member of his audience. 
We chatted on. "Where's the best beat?", I asked. "You can make $400 per night at the Cross", my informant explained. Kings Cross is red light and entertainment district about 2k to the east of the CBD. He went on: "But you have to be careful not to be rolled. What I do is to grab an on-looker, promise them some beers, and get them to watch while I play."
The bus had arrived at the Kingsford roundabout. We got off, still chatting. It had been an interesting trip.
2 comments:
Did the girl actually get into the small glass box? Circular Quay is magic, so photogenic!
AC
It is beautiful, AC. I didn't actually see the end of the performance. I had to leave!
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