I live upstate new york so its really cold. I typically only busk during the summer and avoid the cold. Doing a good amount of shows this winter and deposits are coming in so I don't "Need" to busk... Yet a part of me "needs" to busk in order to feel right with myself. After not hitting the streets for so long I feel kinda odd. Tonight I am bunlding up and hitting the streets to rake in some hopefully huge hats. Crowds will be "MASSIVE" and walking to and from indoor events. I just need them to convince them to stop long enough to watch my show and give a good tip.

Is anyone else planning to busk tonight? : )

Probably sometime within the next 2 hours or so I'll be heading out to work it. I figure give the early risers time to get tired and make enough to be happy with, and I won't have to fight for a spot.

This is a big money day for me, usually, so there's no way I'm missing it.

If I'm lucky, I'll get to do some of my new material. Depends on what kind of people I get, really.

Not looking forward to the cold, I mean it's not like NY cold, but it's the damp kind... hurts my joints a lot. Kinda sucks that my props are all made of metal. >.< Chilly!

I stays inside on Amateur Night, a.k.a. New Years Eve, fer safety concerns.

Oh, don't even think I'm going to be out there when the ball drops, so to speak, either. I plan on being well asleep by midnight. No falling bullets for me!

But I'm not passing on all of the money that's out there to be made today.

Lol.. Had such a disappointing night tonight! So I got out super early.... 4 hours early to avoid all the traffic and find a good spot near my pitch. I left all my magic things in the car and went to a coffee shop to relax and warm up before the big night. 15 Mins before I start performing I head back to my car to grab my magic things and get ready.....

Turns out my car was towed! Did'nt have any of my ropes, cards, Rubik's cubes, tip jar, magic sign, etc.. and plus I had to find out where my car was towed to! : ( What a sad way to start the new year. I did have my Gf pick me up and hung out with some awesome highschool friends. So the night turned out pretty well after all, but I am pretty mad I wasn't able to get any busking in.

Hey Mortimer... From Doug Conn's posts on Facebook I heard that the pitch in New Orleans is "CRAZY" busy with magicians! I have never worked down there.. but I think it would be a fun growing experience!

Sjbrundage, since you were there...taking the really cold weather into account, do you think busking would have been successful last night?

Doug is one of my best friends ever. Yeah, there are a lot of magicians here who busk, because it's harder to get regular gigs here.

And for some reason, people all seem to think it's a great place to come and busk, but it's not. It's certainly a growing experience, though. This place will either make you or break you.

Cellini used to say that NOLA was the hardest place to make a living as a busker, but that if you could make it here, you could make it anywhere. I know he was probably spot on with that, because everywhere else I've ever busked has been more profitable, and much easier to work as far as getting people to stop and watch.

A lot of people think we have the cruddiest buskers here, and in a lot of ways maybe we do, but it's the place that does it, not the people. The "Big Easy" is the hardest place I've ever had to work it, and the "City That Care Forgot" is often the city that forgets to care.

I had an okay night last night, but I made less than I ever have on any previous new year's eve. We had maybe a third as many people as we usually have, and a handful of muggings has resulted in people putting up signs warning everyone to stay in large groups and to be all afraid. How can we expect anyone to have a good time when we have propaganda telling them all to be afraid for their lives?

We used to be the murder capital of the U.S., and nobody had signs up back then.

It just makes no sense.

Nope. Compared to Victorian Street walk the street were emtpy. I think it has to do with the face that the Victorian street walk is earlier in the year and a LOT warmer. Also the victorian streetwalk has the entire street filled with people. Most people there seemed to be just walking to and from each indoor event.