I made a kind of snap decision to go down to Laguna. Apparently, the weather was about to turn a lot colder, and I've got so many other gigs that I didn't know if I'd get another chance to try out my Christmas songs on The Corner.
I got there about 6:45. It was already dark, and the streets were pretty much deserted. I set up anyway, since I was already down there and it was nice and quiet traffic-wise, but I wasn't expecting much. Figured I would get some practice in, if nothing else.
But, just as I was finishing setting up, a couple came by and plopped down on the bench to cuddle and listen to a half-dozen songs. The guy dropped a handful of change in my jar as they left.
After that, couples and small groups came by once in a while. I don't think I sang a whole song to nobody at all, but most of them were only to a few people. But the great part was that lots of the people who came by, though they mostly didn't stop, seemed to appreciate the music, and lots of them dropped something in the jar as they went by.
Probably they just felt sorry for me, out in the cold all alone, but it was clearly the highest ratio of people-going-by to people-tipping that I've ever had. Usually it seems like one in 50 or so people actually put something in the jar, but this time it seemed like every other couple. I made $18 in an hour and a half, the same as I'd made in three hours on the last Art Walk, playing to 3 or 5 times as many people. I actually broke Minimum Wage for once. Woo hoo!
But mostly it was just nice to be out there playing for people who appreciated the moment -- sentimental Christmas music played pretty well in a somewhat magical setting. Or felt sorry for me -- whichever.
1 comment:
Do you mean to say that your demands
for figgy pudding went unanswered?
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