I really enjoy living in a metropolitan area. Sure, I don’t really live ‘in’ the city, but I’m close enough to it that I can romp around and marvel at the sites and sounds.
[vimeo]http://www.vimeo.com/3010228[/vimeo]
These guys aren’t in DC. They’re a group formed by eight brothers + one friend and they’re called ‘Hypnotic Brass’ They’re originally from Chicago but have relocated to NY. There they play subways, parks, street corners and actual venues with doors. They’ve got a nice groove going to them and if there’s any possibility of catching them live I wouldn’t hesitate to catch them.
Now, I will say that larger metropolitan areas probably have a better street performer scene. So far, I’ve been able to catch acapella groups, bucket drummers, saxaphonists, a brass band, a trombonist, and a trompetist. I’ve even been lucky to see violinists, a guy playing guitar with his dog and his cat, and the old man playing the Erhu.
Hey, it sure beats getting hit up for change by homeless people.
3 Comments
Michelle February 20, 2009
In NYC you can add ‘musical saw players’ to the list of musicians in the subway 🙂 One of them, the ‘Saw Lady’ tells what happens when she plays in the subway in her blog http://www.sawlady.com/blog You get a perspective from the other side – we watch the musicians, but they watch us 🙂
Puzzlehead February 20, 2009
Musical saw players?! THAT WOULD FRIGGIN’ RULE! I sort of miss taking the metro and seeing some of the street performers. I would regularly give the old man playing the ehru a dollar and he would smile and bow at me and I would reciprocate. A few other times, in the same station, I would sit with the guy who had the dog and the cat. I’d buy him a sandwhich or a burger and we’d just gab for a while.
Now that you point out that they watch us I’ll be sure that my pants are zipped or nothing is hanging out of my nose!
Sidney February 20, 2009
I always get those people who stand around and pretend they’re statues 🙁 I did get to see Shibaten (http://www.myspace.com/shibaten)in Toronto. That was very entertaining! I’m sure you’d like it since it is a mix of two of your favorite instruments, the didgeridoo and drums!