Disturbed and $450 Richer

My name is Mita Love and I’m from Palmerston North New Zealand

First of all I want to say you have an  “awesome” website. It is just great to have resources like this site, to be able to share experiences and ideas with others. It helped me greatly with my first busking experience which I am about to share…

In September of this year (2008), I purchased tickets for my wife and I to see ‘Disturbed’ (sold out) who were playing in Wellington. I had been seriously thinking about doing some busking earlier on in the year but had been waiting for the right opportunity. After doing some research on You-Tube and BuskerWorld, I decided it was now or never.

I planned for a couple of weeks prior, making sure I could get a permit, what songs I would play, how long for, where, etc…

Now although I have been playing guitar for over 10 years and done a handful of gigs, I had never played solo in public, and was quite nervous. Plus I don’t sing…could I busk without singing? I had told some friends about it also which added to the pressure, in the end I just took the plunge.

I arrived in Wellington nice and early, went to the city council to get a permit and headed down to the venue.  It was raining and there were a handful of diehard fans waiting outside the doors, about 3 hours before the doors opened. I scanned the area for the right spot and went to the car park for a warm up. So many emotions were running through me, excitement, fear, doubt and adrenaline to name a few. After about 5 minutes of trying to talk myself out of it, I took a deep breath and charged it!!

I started setting up alongside the venue, under the veranda out of the rain, my heart was absolutely POUNDING!! The spot I chose was roughly 10 metres from the back of the queue (but in the actual queue), about an hour before the doors opened. I started playing some songs while my wife watched from a distance.  It seemed to be going fine. For the first 30 minutes I managed to get quite a few odd looks and a guy tipped me 20 cents which didn’t even land in my case. oh well. I let him play a song on my guitar and he was stoked.

Within the next 30 minutes, the line had reached where I was situated and beyond, to the point where I couldn’t see the end. People were right in my face and seemed to be enjoying my playing. So far, so good! It was a bit odd for a while with the same crowd being stuck with me until the doors opened. I started chatting with them and played a few requests, the coins were starting to roll in and I was feeling very relaxed.

Now the next hour was where all the magic happened….The doors finally opened and the line started moving. Every few minutes or so the line would move and then stop, I would have a fresh set of faces in front of me, enjoying the music (most of them anyway). I was playing and giving very generously. I was just buzzing, playing requests, thanking people for their tips, having a chat here and there, then the line moved again and bang! a fresh crowd ready to rock. Before long my wife couldn’t see me and had to fight her way to get close (and let the girlies know I was taken haha). A couple of security guards approached, but were politely told to leave by my audience! Guys were looking at my loaded case with amazement, I was invited to parties, given a joint, 2 Australian 50 cent coins, a guitar pick, a can of beer and a library card… PRICELESS!!

It was a win/win situation. I provided people with entertainment while waiting in a boring line and they showed their appreciation by throwing money (and other goodies) in my case. I stayed there until the end of the line had past me, packed up and went in to watch the show.

Although the concert was totally awesome, my first busking experience was the highlight for me. The next day I counted up and was totally shocked to find $450 in the case. Just goes to show with the right planning and belief in your abilities busking can pay well…..looking forward to round 2!