An Evening in the Life

I apologize.

I have been exceedingly lazy the past two weeks. (I might as well admit it. I have been called a "weekend warrior" by another street performer, so I figure that failing at my once-a-week blog post falls in the same general area).

Despite the silence, I haven't stopped performing. I did my first round of evenings shows in Harvard Square back on the first of August. I was ready to perform in the early afternoon, but it was too hot (I say as some of Chicago's hardest-working buskers glare at me through their screens).

I started at around 6/7pm (because, again, I was lazy - and the worst kind of the so-called "weekend warriors." One that pretends to do anthropology as an excuse for not performing). I was in Harvard Square much earlier (around 4), checking out the scene. 

Makoto (a street magician whom I shall write about in more detail in another post) was there, and he laughed (mocked? ridiculed?) me for not working. I was missing out, he told me as I biked past. He was "making bank."

Hi Makoto's back!

When I finally properly showed up with my rig ready to perform, all of the good spots were taken. I ended up sharing the pitch with Makoto (and in turn, I shared my amp and mic with him).

First show: Awesome audience. Great crowd, good opener, good middle, aaaaaaand for the second time ever - I failed on the delivery of my finale. (The first time in was in Chicago, when I couldn't get my arm out of the sleeve. After struggling for some time, I gave up). Instead of getting stuck IN the straight jacket, this time I had trouble getting strapped in. I can't quite explain it in text... but I ended up needing to ask the person to unbuckle me. I improvised and ended with a card effect.

Conclusion? Great audience, would have been a great hat if I had done my regular finale. But I failed and ended on a mediocre note. The core of my audience still tipped though, but not as well.

Second show: Audience wasn't that great. I did the show anyway (when another performer said I probably should have "fired them" at the beginning, since the core of my audience was a group of kids whose reactions were only aightz. I had a big crowd but, as Makoto said, I had "turned over three audiences" by the end of the show. I never really clicked with my audience.

Conclusion: Decent hat, but I wasn't that happy with the show. Good news: a friend stopped by, and I finally got some photos!

Third show: Great audience, great show. What did I do differently? I exhaled, was calmer, and was more confident this time around. I didn't force any jokes that I wasn't comfortable with (which was a good call, given the fact that most of the audience was composed of families, even though it was nearly 10pm on a Saturday night).

Conclusion: Biggest hat I ever had in one show. Not the best day, but definitely the best hat.

Lessons Learned: Slow down, take a deep breath, and consciously remind myself to relax with every show.