Halifax International Buskers Festival - Honest reviews!

[Jim]

Have fun with this one, folks...

[Peter Voice]

Awwww, Jim, do we really have to go there? I've spent tens of thousands on therapy and anger management courses since '91, am still emotionally disfunctional and will probably remain psychologically scarred for life.

Has "He who shall remain nameless" got a prosthetic nose yet?

[Jarv]

Peter Voice: Awwww, Jim, do we really have to go there? I've spent tens of thousands on therapy and anger management courses since '91, am still emotionally disfunctional and will probably remain psychologically scarred for life.

Is it really as bad as that? What's wrong with this festival?

[ALAKAZAM]

I don't know what all the fuss is about,i just went to halifax,had the time of my life , did kick ass shows,was treated well,flights,accom [swank hotel near the pitch] perdium and 3 shows a day,on top of that i got to hang with my street bro's and eat good fish and chips.Where's the problem.

...i think if you gonna complain about a street performers festival,you'd better not be one of those performers who calls them selves street performers but have never actually touched a street pitch in thier life,but instead just go to the cushy environments where everything is laid out in front of you for the taking.

I'm not gonna complain about that cause i know how hard it can be on the street and i'll take halifax over any saturday after noon at circular quay [sydney] on a hot summers day.Although i love the street, i also love performing any where and everywhere,festival or not.

You have to remember,we aren't rock stars we are street performers.There is too much self importance that goes with this job,people need to just relax and say.....I'm the one who chose to do this for a living and i'm the one who chose to go to whatever festival,
Take responsibility for your decisions don't blame anything on any body else.

Halifax rocks.
AL
cool.gif

[ 08-29-2003: Message edited by: ALAKAZAM ]</p>

[em]

"You have to remember,we aren't rock stars we are street performers"

you said it baby!! couldn't agree with you more,it doesn't matter where its being done as long as it is being done, we can't afford to be snobs about each others decisions, long live respect...

just look after each other and have a good time wherever, and whomever we are...

(and how are ya Al?)
love em

[ALAKAZAM]

I'm doing great...
You cats coming down under this year?
say g'day to peewee.
AL

[Scot Free]

On arrival to Halifax I was greeted by Jack he was super cool and After dropping my luggage off a driver came to take me to the welcome party at the Oldest bar in Halifax-The Seahorse. What a cool place. Dark and sub-terrain. It felt old.

I unlike Al was not put into a swank hotel but rather a skank collage dorm. The seed of jelousy and resentment was planted.
There was light hearted joking among us (OKA, The USA Dancers, The New York Street Boys and Peter) about how we got chosen for the projects but the alligations of racism were dismissed because myself, The New York Street boys and 50% of OKA are white not to mention that Elvis is silver.

It rained the first 2 days of the festival, some shows went off on the first day but as I recall most everyone hung around the storage waiting for a break. On Day 2 with no end in site to the rain hardcore work ethic or desparation kicked in for most everyone and many shows went off in the pouring rain. The crowds were there, waiting for shows with their raingear and umbrellas.

Also on day 2 were informed that we were being moved to more appropraite accomadtions. Thank you Kelly.

The schedual was a grueling 3 shows a day and we are talking monster energy shows. where can I get Red Bull in halifax.....should have asked Chano.

I managed to escape having to do any extra corporate stuff that some of the others had to do. I was happy about that.

The support from the staff was stellar for me, again thanks to Kelly, Jack, Marcel and the God among men Chano.

The highlight for me other than the killer shows was the last Saturday night where a bunch of us went to chek out a local Ska band called King Konqueror! these guys rocked and fuck did we dance our hearts out....it was so good to be thoroughly entertained rather than doing the entertaining! We got down!

other Highlights:

Dado becomes a Dad
me on the front page of the newspaper.
Chano
John and Rebecca getting engaged
The guy PRO Skateboard shop with the hook-ups
The fog
Mike Wood and the cheap bastard
Fish and Chips
Captian Black Sweets
new yoyo
Corona and tequela
The Pepsi pitch
Lee's food-chain hat-pitch
The CAST
The Crew
The Ash circle/New york street boys team show.....standing ovation energy through the freakin' roof-good job boiys!

The lowlights:
The rain
The sun


per deim Al? Are you talking groupies? Whacha mean you're not a Rock Star?

[ 08-31-2003: Message edited by: Scot Free ]</p>

[Jim]

[quote]Originally posted by ALAKAZAM:
<strong>I don't know what all the fuss is about,i just went to halifax,had the time of my life , did kick ass shows,was treated well,flights,accom [swank hotel near the pitch] perdium and 3 shows a day,on top of that i got to hang with my street bro's and eat good fish and chips.Where's the problem.</strong><hr></blockquote>


Problem #1:
Not everyone gets this treatment. Per diem? Flight? Swank Hotel? Did every act at Halifax this year get this deal? I highly doubt it.

Problem #2:
[quote]Originally posted by Scott Free:
<strong>The Pepsi Pitch</strong><hr></blockquote>

AL, how "street" is it, to perform under a corporate banner? I felt really cheap doing it when I was there. Mostly because I didn't see a dime from the corporations I was promoting while doing my act. And when I was there, it was dorms, no per diem, no travel, no food, no water. NADA.

[quote]Originally posted by ALAKAZAM:
<strong>I'm the one who chose to do this for a living and i'm the one who chose to go to whatever festival...</strong><hr></blockquote>

Yup, that's why you won't see me in Halifax again.

Jim

[Lee Nelson]

Halifax, great shows, alot better than working a street pitch and 11 straight days of it rocks. It is a little bit wierd working directly underneath corporate banners though. Sometimes they even get in the way of performing (like the KEA pitch) which was perhaps the biggest eyeopener of all.
Basically though I totally agree with Al. We make our choices of where we perform, we get booked in advance so we know where we are going rain or shine and we are not rock stars. Dont lose site of what it felt like to do your first show and the fact that it just felt good to finish. It stills feels good to me to know that I can walk out onto my home pitch with just a suitcase and make some magic happen regardless of what I have done with the rest of the year. That is why I love street performing and will always be a street performer.
Working at busking festivals is not street performing. It is theatre with a random element!!! Never on any street pitch have I encountered 300 people neatly seated and waiting for my arrival at the pitch.
Dont compare them!!
Just my thoughts
Lee

[Mr Silly]

Ahhh, thanks for this Jim! I can see the smirk on your face from each posting you read. I’m glad to see that you are never to busy to start up a good old fashion "hoop-stretch” session!


How is the head doing?

[Scot Free]

Hey Jim, funny you quoted me on that soft drink pitch, as I was rereading my post this morning I thought: oh great I just advertised for them here in my post, To be clear- my public postings do not condone the use of cola drinks.....
That said, if the folks at Red Bull wanna sponsor me I'd have no problem. Call me.

I firmly believe that when some performers get treated better than others at a festival it does nothing but breed discontent and threatens the community feel.
When I was informed I would be in the dorms my ego took the blow, I got over it because I don't like to feel insecure, jelous and resentfull. I changed my perspective but that doesen't mean I don't think it is wrong. There should be NO stradification among the performers and I don't understand why they do this in Halifax. It would seem obvious to treat every one with the same consideration.

[ 08-31-2003: Message edited by: Scot Free ]

[ 08-31-2003: Message edited by: Scot Free ]</p>

[Jim]

[quote]Originally posted by Scot Free:
<strong>There should be NO stradification among the performers and I don't understand why they do this in Halifax. It would seem obvious to treat every one with the same consideration.</strong><hr></blockquote>

Yes, or at least similar consideration. Giving some acts hotels and other acts dorm rooms is just plain insulting. Especially when you just know that someone is walking away from from the festival with tens of thousands of dollars. (And I'm not talking about AL.) How much does Pepsi pay to have their name viewed by half a million people? $50,000? How many corporate sponsors are there? a few dozen? Where is all that money going? ... Not to the performers!

I had a lot of fun performing for the people of Halifax and I had a nice time hanging out with the other acts... and I thought the city was really nice. I just didn't feel any love coming from the organization.

I felt so used doing my show under a 30 foot wide "KRAFT FOODS" banner and I wasn't offered any Kraft Food in 12 days. I wore my Halifax Buskerfest t-shirt with the giant "CANADIAN" beer logo across the back and at the end of the festival I was offered a single beer ticket in the beer tent wrap party. I was put in a dorm and paid my own travel expenses. And when I asked about water for the acts, I was told that it would be FOR SALE at every pitch!

Maybe things have changed a little bit since 1997, but after hearing the different experiences of Scot and Al, it seems there are still inconsistencies in the treatment of the acts. I don't like it.

Then again, that's just my opinion.

Jim

P.S. Hey Silly, how's your hoop?

[ALAKAZAM]

I'll be the first to say that i don't give a shit about performing under a sponsors banner,every time i do a show in boston i do it under the american flag,the international symbol for corporate greed and that is on a street pitch.

I say cheers to halifax and all the other festivals out there that can plan festivals and make their living doing it.We all found something that we love to do for a living,they do what they love for a living too.

It's fine for jim not to go to these festivals ,he has a base and gigs else where,but for me and others these are the only kind if gigs we see.It's nice to be invited somewhere.I don't want to do a show in a stuffy hall with college kids ,i don't want to do a show at a corporate christmas party,I want to do shows on the street,where it's real.

Alot of performers say that they don't believe in sponsorship or labels,i think some of them are geniune but most of them say it because they think it's the right thing to say,don't want to stray from the crowd and be scolded by other performers.I'll be the first to say I DON'T CARE. This is why...

The reason i perform is because i've been travelling since i was 17 ,i've been on the road for 7 years,I get lonely alot and i find the best friend to me is an audience,they laugh with me and clap for me and they each give me a token of their love after the show,I do it because it makes me feel good,it makes me feel better about my life.I can be in a foreign country,know nobody,be utterly miserable and a show will be my cure,i'll be the happiest guy on the planet.

I'm and insecure ,lonely guy who has a great street show because of those 2 things.

So i will perform any where,as long as i can have an audience laughing and supporting me,i will perform,i don't care what piece of canvas is tied to the pitch that i'm working at.I'm there for me and i'm there for the audience,As long as i am not told to do a sales pitch for the sponsor,let them hang thier shit.If it wasn't for them there would be no gigs for guys like me.
AL

[Jim]

Sell-out.

wink.gif

[ALAKAZAM]

jealousy...

[firegirl]

[quote]<strong>
That said, if the folks at Red Bull wanna sponsor me I'd have no problem. Call me.
</strong><hr></blockquote>

oooooohhhhh.... you prolly could do that.... then you would get to drive the REDBULL CAR!!!

you should call THEM... that car is frickin'COOL!

biggrin.gif

[ 09-03-2003: Message edited by: firegirl ]</p>

[LUCKY DIAMOND RICH]

I think that this is the old glass half empty or glass half full situation!

[gazzo osborne]

Why Lucky, was peppe in Halifax ...

[em]

hmm, this is pretty extreme on the banner front it seems, especially if you guys were not getting any benefits from the apparent sponsorship. It needs investigating...i have to admit i was thinking more along the lines of a local business or hotel who had donated rooms as "ethical bannering", but Pepsi? ooof! and no beer from the beer sponsor? EH??????

x

ps oh and i was in a similar situation on the hotel front because we were international act visiting canada and not "local".....we were put in a totally swanky hotel, unbelievably swanky actually, the best yet, in a well known canadian city. It was only half way through the festival that we found out half of the other acts were in the youth hostel. Even worse, there was an issue with their showers, so we invited people to ours to wash. But actually all it did was really piss them off when they realised how imbalanced the hospitality was. And we felt totally shit! Needless to say we didn't move to the hostel to support our brethren, the lure of chocalates placed on the pillow every night was too much. I have to say, good accomodation for all is the only way forward, or even just a bit of care. If we know the promotor has our interests at heart we don't half work better!. The student accom. in waterloo was basic but noone cared as so much effort had gone in to the green room. Free beer, juice, fruit, yoghurt etc. mmmmmm

[Butterfly Man]

I have been lucky enough to experience the Halifax Festival many times over the years and I must admit I've had a lot of great times there thanks to the wonderful people and the great acts (Gazzo is one possible exception) ... but ... from day 1 of the '89 fest ('88 was cool) until now, that fest has become a victim of it's own success ... the huge amounts of corporate money changed the face of the organization (in one case, quite literally).

But hey, it is a symbiotic relationship and Al is right ... you make your own choices ... cut the best deal you can and go for it, I say.

... It is interesting to note that the Edmonton street fest started at almost the same time and evolved in a completely different manner ... thanks to one amazing producer.

So ... the way I see it, it all comes down to the love or the money ... too much of one and not enough of the other and you'll end up somewhere in between ... like roomin' with Movin' Melvin in Kingston.

[Stretch]

What is a corporation? http://www.straightdope.com/columns/030919.html
How can a corporation be a person? (http://www.straightdope.com/columns/030919.html)

[THE USA BREAK DANCERS]

HERE'S WHAT WE THINK OUR GROUP BEEN TO A COUPLE OF OTHER BUSKER FESTIVALS SOME OF THEM WERE KOOL SOME OF THEM WERE NOT.WE GOTTA BE HONEST OUR GROUP IS KIND OF NEW TO THE BUSKER FESTIVAL CIRCUT AND HALIFAX IS THE FIRST BIG ONE WE DID AND LET US TELL YOU IT WAS A GREAT EXPERIENCE. IN THE PAST OUR GROUP HAS BEEN TREATED UNFAIR BY SOME VERY POPULAR STREET PERFORMER LOCATIONS BECAUSE OF THE NATURE OF OUR PERFORMANCE. HALIFAX WAS ONE OF THE ONLY FEW PLACES OPENED MINDED ENOUGH TO KNOW THAT OUR BREAK DANCE SHOW CAN BE JUST AS ENTERTAINING FOR THERE CROWDS AS A JUGGLERS,MAGICIAN,MIME WHAT EVER... WE GIVE THEM TWO THUMBS UP AND TWO THUMBS DOWN FOR FANUIL HALL AND WE HOPE THE YANKEES BEAT THE CRAP OUT OF THE RED SOX THIS YEAR... BY.... OH AND CONGRADULATIONS AL WE HEAR YOU GOT THE PEOPLES CHOICE AWARD.

[ 10-04-2003: Message edited by: THE USA BREAK DANCERS ]

[ 10-08-2003: Message edited by: THE USA BREAK DANCERS ]</p>

[newyorkstreetdean]

This is the first time I have posted or even read from this websites forum. The interesting thing to me is that all of the people remarking negatively regarding Halifax, have not been to the festival in years. We were in Halifax this year for the first time. Here is how I feel. We made a lot of very close friends (hi guys), learned alot about performing and the life of being a performer, were treated as fairly as possible, stayed in a city that I would not as a 22 year old student be able to visit for free, and quite honestly made damn good money doing it.
Halifax this year was awesome. I have no problem performing under a pepsi sign. I realize the festival producers also need to make money (otherwise they would not be able to produce the festival). If in order for the show to go on I have to have a banner hanging from the (convienient and appreciated) sound system, so be it. On the other hand if some performers are offended to not recieve a free kia hatchback while standing under a sign. Great, that just means that in the years to come the USA Dancers, Scott Free, and the New York Street Boys may find more open slots in the lineup for them to be greatfull to recieve. -I would of mentioned you Al, but you know you are already in--------Bastard------ were all jealous. Just kidding and congrats!!!!

[Butterfly Man]

ケツが蒼い

[newyorkstreetdean]

can anybody tell me what that means?