Friday, October 16, 2009

Beat Street


Among the millions of things I love about New York City, one of my favorite things is randomly finding talented musicians or performers doing their thing.

On this day, after spending the first part of our day in Brooklyn, our long journey on foot brought us back to Manhattan, and to this corner on Broadway and E Houston St.

We stopped and watched this guy use all of these odd, everyday items as percussion instruments. He used everything in the picture that you see within his reach (including the sidewalk), and literally played for at least 30 minutes before we had to move on. With so much to do, we usually wouldn't have stayed for so long, but this guy was totally JAMMING!

At one point, the crowd must've reached about 20 people. We all had to work together to form an opening for passersby on the sidewalk to get through. My friend and I, not to mention just about everyone else, couldn't help but nod our heads up and down to rhythm of the beats. This fella was playing some really funky stuff. I really enjoyed it.

All I got was this photo on my iPhone, but my buddy recorded most of it on his camera. I hope he posts it to youtube.com or something, so someone can find this guy to see if he's already got things lined up.

If he doesn't, someone needs to get this guy some gigs or a job in their band!

2 comments:

  1. Awesome! Love the pic, too. Especially the yellow cabs racing by in the background....really depicts New York's frenetic energy!

    ReplyDelete
  2. It was a fun thing to watch. The lamp post to his left, the white basket and red meter thingie to his right...they all had a distinct sound, which he used masterfully!

    Too bad I didn't run into you and the people you play with, would've been pretty cool to meet someone from the 'blogosphere,' so to speak. =o)

    ReplyDelete