I played in the subway for a couple of hours today. I couldn’t stake out my usual spot, because Davis Square was about 102 degrees and there was a fence around the area where I usually play. Stupid wet paint. Davis being hell in the subway turned out to be a blessing in disguise, because I ended up down in Park St. where I had a great time.
I think that the highlight of my evening was when one of the train conductors called a woman over to have her put a dollar in my case for me. I’ve gotten tips in the subway from all types of people, but never from a train conductor before. It was really touching.
Equally sweet was the two-year-old girl who gave me a dollar and put a sticker on my guitar case. It’s a shame, though, because it fell off on my walk back home. It didn’t exactly match my other stickers (it was pink and said “honesty” on it), but it would have been a nice reminder of a cute story.”
I got a little annoyed at this guy who kept belching in the faces of everyone who dropped something in my case. He was also making comments along the lines of “Who needs to show off the fact that they have change?” and “Pffft. Anyone can sing.” I was really hoping that he would aim his heckling directly at me so that I could say, “I’m sorry sir. It appears that nobody has told you that you’re not as funny as you think you are.” I would have said it to him directly, but he got on a train before my song was over.
I love playing in the subway, because it’s always a chance to make somebody’s night. I played a Madonna song (Like a Prayer), which got a couple of women on the other side of the tracks to have a spontaneous dance party. How cool is that? I love spontaneous dance parties.
