Today I arrived at a very extra busy Charing Cross Network Rail station. Swarms of people filled the concourse this evening!
I arrived at 5:50pm ready to sign in and quickly set up at the pitch.
However, it did take longer than expected to arrive, as I couldn’t get off at my stop, due to the train carriage doors not opening!
I also had a woman giving me lots of abuse and swear words when I was carrying my amp and trolley, (which is heavy down the stairs to the station). I put the amp down at the bottom of the stairs, as I struggled with the weight and she wasn’t looking where she was going behind me, and went into my back/guitar. I said she should watch where she’s going and yeah let’s say she was very nasty to me! Another day in the life of busking. Getting from A to B is all part of it, not just the performance!
When I finally signed in at Charing Cross, I waited for the previous busker to pack away. She was singing a lovely set consisting of operatic songs. We had a chat and I said I really liked her voice. It is always lovely to meet other buskers and ask how they are getting on with their busking journey.
After she packed away and left, I quickly set up. I started my set in the end at 6:20pm and finished at 8:20pm.
For the first half of the set money was slow to enter my box. I think this was because right in front of me was a charity asking the public for money. This hindered people seeing what I was doing.
When they finished and packed away, I started having an audience. Money started coming in for the second half of my set, and a few taps were made on my IZettle.
On a side note: through out my set, the Cornish pasties were so tempting. My tummy rumbled whilst I played tonight for sure! 😂
At the end of the set, I asked the Caffè Nero right opposite me if the sound was better for them, as I moved the amp away from them (as everyone is instructed to do by the busking scheme). The woman was off with me and said: “it’s still loud but it’s going to be, as you are there,” which came across rather rude and always there’s some issue with the volume of the amp at this station. Let’s say my amp was less than a quarter of the volume on the knobs! The staff didn’t tell me to turn it down, so I just took it with a pinch of salt.
Overall, lots of smiley faces were in the crowd this evening, and only one woman had her fingers in her ears! 😂