Good Vibes

One of my favourite things about busking is all the random things you get instead of money.

I went to the park after busking at circular quay to find a free concert put on by Channel V. They were giving away free tickets to Good Vibes to the most enthusiastic dancers. Not having any particular desire to go the music festival, I decided I’d rather lie in the sun.

I went back to busking. Some channel V people approached me.

“Hey are you going to Good Vibes this weekend?”

“No”

“Awww why not?”

“It’s not really my scene” I told them.

I noticed they had a stack of free tickets in their hands. I wanted one, but then again telling them I didn’t really want to go probably wasn’t the best way to get one, so I changed my story.

“I can’t afford it” I said hoping they wouldn’t notice the bag full of cash in front of me.

They handed me a pamphlet for the festival.

“Well we’re giving away free tickets”

“Oh really? What do I have to do?”

“Nothing! Just tell us what band you’re most excited to see!”

That was going to be tough. When it comes to the music world I am completely clueless. I haven’t updated my ipod in about five years, and I’ve never been to one of these festivals in my life. Could I possibly string together some random numbers and letters in the hope that I said some rapper's name?

The Channel V people were looking at me expectantly, they really wanted to give me the tickets.

“Come on, who are you excited to see?”

I looked down at the pamphlet they’d given me. The Channel V girl grabbed it.

“No cheating” she said

“Ummmmm, ahhhhhh”

Could I perhaps string together some random numbers and letters in the hope of saying some rap artist?

“You really have no idea do you?” she said sadly

I looked up and noticed a huge billboard advertising Good Vibes behind them, complete with a list of the artists. I scanned them trying to find one I recognized; nothing on line one, line two, line three- aha! The Ting Tings, they did that lovely song about peoples names.

I feigned excitement.

“Oh wait The Ting Tings are playing right? I looooove The Ting Tings!” (meaning I know one song they do)

“Yeah!” said the guy as he handed over the ticket “And guess what?! They’re playing RIGHT NOW! For free. Just over there! ”

“Oh cool!!!”

“So come on, lets go” he said

“Nah.”

They walked away surprised that I didn’t care enough about my ‘favourite band’ to walk 50 metres to see them.

I didn't end up going to Good Vibes, the lethal combo of rain and laziness proving all too much for me. I chose to spend the day eating a kebab and watching Grey's Anatomy while the free ticket sat in my trombone case.

Everyone Can Busk!

Apparently this guy is a 'bubbleologist'. Yeah that's a thing.

If I had a dollar every time someone said “I wish I could busk but I have no talent” I’d have, like, so many dollars. Granted, I have been blessed with numerous busking gifts; being female, playing a loud and obnoxious instrument, looking 14 etc etc. However I truly believe that skill is not a requirement for busking. Here are a few ideas for the talentless busker.

Balloon Sculptures: It’s easy to learn and you can make pretty good money. Buy yourself a balloon pump and some balloons, youtube will do the rest.

Drumming: Now I mean no offence to actual drummers here, playing percussion well is extremely difficult, but playing badly is really easy. Here’s the great news: most people on the streets can’t tell the difference. My friend and I once went busking playing buckets. And we made money. So here’s the trick, you need to look like a musician and not a homeless person, and that my friends is a very fine line. Don’t be one of those dirty unshaven guys tapping on a bongo. I suggest making a drum kit of sorts; a lamppost, a bottle, a box, a bin- get creative, then you can make a ‘Saving up for a drum kit’ signs.

Statue: Ummmm hello? You just paint yourself silver and stand there.

Bubbles: I don’t give money to buskers all that often that often, they not only have to be good, but also unique. There’s a guy in Hyde Park who makes giant bubbles with detergent, 2 sticks and a piece of string. He gets my money. Bubbles are awesome.

Halifax man: This busker I saw in Halifax is one of my favourites. He was an older guy with a sax around his neck and a boom box playing backing music. When I first saw him, he was sidestepping to the music, a small crowd had gathered. The crowd began to disperse but more people came and put money in his case and waited. After a few minutes they would grow impatient and walk away. He never played the sax.

Day One

I arrived at my hostel in Auckland quite late, but thought a beer before bed might be nice . I started chatting with a guy at the bar, nothing too exciting.

“So what do you do?” I asked him

“Truthfully?”

“Umm yeah?”

“I’m a drug dealer”

Aaaah this was one of those ‘what do I say next’ moments.

“So what kind of drugs do you deal?” I asked as politely as I could

“I used to deal mostly smack but now I do more crack and pills and stuff”

“Oh cool”

That was the first person I met in New Zealand. Great start.

After a moderately successful busking session the next morning, I went to read my book in a park. It wasn’t long before I was approached by a pimply adolescent.

“You look kind of lonely” he said “do you want to have a drink with me and my friends?” He pointed up the hill to where four other boys were sitting. I wasn’t in the mood, I kind of just wanted to read my book. Unfortunately saying ‘no’ isn’t my strong point, so I half heartedly got up and followed the 14 year old up the hill.

We were drinking Codys, a dirty bourbon and coke mix in a can native to New Zealand. Speaking of New Zealand, man did these guys say ‘bro’ a lot. I’m not going to go into what else they said. Some things shouldn’t be on the internet.

I was catching a night bus to Wellington at 8pm. At about 5pm I went to get myself some sleeping pills (I know that’s soft, I’m usually such a hardcore bus traveller). The woman at the chemist told me not to drink alcohol before taking them. 4 minutes later I was in a bar sipping on a Heinekin.

If you’ve never been to a bar by yourself, I’d highly recommend it. It can be quite terrifying at first; I usually take a book or pretend I’m watching whatever obscure sport is on TV at the time, but I’ve met some wonderful and strange people this way.

I didn’t have to pretend to watch the tennis for long before an older gentleman leaned back to say hello.

“Hi I’m Ellen” he said

“Ellen?”

“Ellen” he repeated.

Hmmmm he didn’t look like an Ellen

“Ellen?” I asked again

“Ellen”

“Oohhhhhh Allen!!” I said “Sorry got confused by your accent”

“Oh no, you’re not Australian are you?”

Kiwis aren’t exactly the biggest fans of us Aussies, so the conversation that followed was essentially us making fun of each others countries.

“You like shagging sheep”

“No you like shagging sheep”

“No you” etc etc

After about 20 minutes of this someone sat down next to me. This guy was younger, maybe 30 or so.

“This is the 3rd time I’ve seen you today and I have to ask, what’s in the bag?” he said pointing at my trombone case

“A trombone” I replied

“Aaaaaaah. I knew it was an instrument! See, I saw you walking down Queen street earlier and then by the Britomart and now here. I think we were meant to meet, you know?”

“Mmmmmm”

“Not like that or anything, I’m married, but I felt your energy. It’s like intuition you know? I just felt that we should meet, like I know there is a reason our paths are crossing right now”

So our paths crossed, we had beers, perhaps a few too many, before I stumbled to catch my bus at the end of my first 24 hours in New Zealand. I was going to like it here.