Annoying Grafton Street preformers

JK91

I unfortunately have to pass through Grafton street a lot, and I don't mean that to suggest that I'm merely unfortunate for having to pass through another street in the capital, but rather having to be constantly bombarded by nuisance street performers. Granted there are a few of genuine talent, that fella who plays the electric guitar, no problem throwing a complimentary euro in the box there. And a few of the lads doing stuff like sand sculptures are a genuinely good addition to the street.

However, I'm talking about those pests, usually males from the age of 18- 25 who think they are god's gift to music. The scruffy hipster sorts who bring a guitar whereby they strum the same cord for 10 minutes on end, sing ****e songs that can only appeal to teenage girls.......whiny crappy lyrics, and no musical talent. Yet believing they are so talented that everybody who passes through this street everyday should revel in their supposed musical genius, when all they are is crap musicians who irritate the hell out passers-by.

Or the ones who sing crappy generic music with a D4 accent. Am I alone in seriously wanting to tell these muppets to f-off and stop their insidious noise pollution?

fussyonion

The worst are the statue people.
You want to be tipped for standing still and looking silver?

uch

I think they're Great

wazky

JK91 wrote: »

I'm talking about those pests, usually males from the age of 18- 25 who think they are god's gift to music. The scruffy hipster sorts who bring a guitar whereby they strum the same cord for 10 minutes on end, sing ****e songs that can only appeal to teenage girls.......whiny crappy lyrics, and no musical talent.

Sorry are you describing Grafton Street still or the music industry as a whole?

Red Kev

JK91 wrote: »

I

Or the ones who sing crappy generic music with a D4 accent. Am I alone in seriously wanting to tell these muppets to f-off and stop their insidious noise pollution?

Why don't you just tell them to f*ck off, instead of just telling the internet that you want them to f*ck off ?


FWIW, I don't care how good or bad they are, everyone is entitled to do a bit of busking. They could keep the noise down and try to prevent their audience blocking up 90% of the width of the street. That would be nice.

Lapin

As I've said before in all the other Grafton St busker threads in the past, I don't mind buskers who don't use amplifiers.

Using amps is cheatin and those who do get no shillings from me.

vektarman

I think some of it is good!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gAXDwIM7OqI

Chazz Michael Michaels

There should auditions for busking spots, like London. The standard of busker in dublin is woeful.

cletus van damme

each day I walk down grafton street twice and I get an urge to shove pan pipes up somebodys hole.

oldyouth

I like a good quality busker myself. However, I know a couple of retailers who have resident performers at their doorstep who are truly wicked and it does have a negative effect on trade and they are powerless to shift them

Daqster

The ones that only show up on a Saturday bother me, that bring speaker systems and the like. Usually a bunch of pompous gits from Foxrock and the like.

True busking doesn't require amps, in fact, the kill the very essence of what it stands for.

If Mic Christopher didn't need one, then nobody needs one. It's a concert when you start dragging generators along. Even Glen Handsard and the rest don't use amps on Christmas Eve.

Even removing all that, they are so loud and intrusive, and it's downright obnoxious to think to blast out music on a public street. If your voice isn't good enough without being amplified, then you shouldn't be bloody busking.

jamesbondings

Buskers don't effect me.... Earphones in music blaring.... What wrecks my head is the chuggers.... Every day new school kids out looking for money for one thing or another.... Or the actual charity workers.... Ugh just piss off like

bonzodog2

fussyonion wrote: »

The worst are the statue people.
You want to be tipped for standing still and looking silver?

I got a filthy look from one of these guys when I told him "Psst, you're on TV". Made him look round!

Duckworth_Luas

fussyonion wrote: »

The worst are the statue people.
You want to be tipped for standing still and looking silver?

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnjqMQKUbVc

Aphex

Duckworth_Luas wrote: »

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VnjqMQKUbVc

What a cocky dickhead. Loved the ending

There' a guy on henry street who dresses up like mario and plays tunes from it

WoollyRedHat

I've seen some wonderful and strange things on Henry Street. It truly is a place full of surprises.

Chazz Michael Michaels wrote: »

There should auditions for busking spots, like London. The standard of busker in dublin is woeful.

YEah, same idea on the NY Subway

Sulla Felix

The original statue guys were ok, but these days they wear masks and stuff which is cheating imo.

Speakers should be banned. There's a lad who tries sinatra and stuff with a backing track and I think he jacks up the track to cover his woeful singing. But then again there's a deadly electric guitarist, so without his gear dunno if he'd be as good just acoustic.

the groutch

what annoys me more is the invisible impenitrable forcefield they create that people have to stand staring at them in the circle taking up 95% of the street, making it nearly impossible for anyone to get past.

The Diceman, well known in Dublin, was the best imho

keithclancy

Happens everywhere, this was in a Train in Venlo (near the German Border)

http://www.dumpert.nl/mediabase/6580244/e136dd57/gekkigheid_in_de_trein.html

hatrickpatrick

You certainly sound like great craic, OP

Stojkovic

Jake1 wrote: »

The Diceman, well known in Dublin, was the best imho

Died from AIDS.

weiland79

bluewolf wrote: »

There' a guy on henry street who dresses up like mario and plays tunes from it

I work on liffey street, just off the corner of henry street, and i can say with hand on heart that he is fvcking sh!t. I mean i get it with the costume gimmick and all but that doesn;t take away the fact that he's fvcking sh!t.

In fact id struggle to find any that are any use. It's the same crap songs over and over and over, with the speakers up so loud that you can't talk to customers without raising your voice.

Christ i could name them all.

The Fvcking break dancing troop that rock up everyday at about 4 o'clock and blast out some **** music and throw themselves around the ground in the most pathetic display of break dancing I've ever seen.

The tall ginger cvnt that belts out the popular song of the day over and over, and then his little bollix mates turn up and they murder a few songs too.

The rapping junkie(see above) who you see around for a few days on the trot then i'm sure he pawns his speaker and mic for a fix, does a bit of B and E gets caught. Disappears for Three months to the joy, where he writes another half a dozen **** numbers. Then upon his return, he's back up to the pawn to collect his speaker and the world has turned once again!

somuj

You def should not come to Australia. If it bothers you that much why not do some kind of honour killing? Must be some book somewhere that justifys killing an annoying busker.

JK91

hatrickpatrick wrote: »

You certainly sound like great craic, OP

Epic sarky fail, if Grafton street was visited everyday by genuine talent, particularly good guitar playing talent, then I would visit the place just for the sake of it. Given that half of them are teenage clowns from D4 singing hipster wuss rock nonsense that appeals to girls below the age of 20, but p!sses everybody else off, then I think I have a point.

smurgen

Dublin city forum?

That Japanese guy with his "authentic" dress and dance accompanied by disturbing guttural noises.

Chazz Michael Michaels

gvn wrote: »

That Japanese guy with his "authentic" dress and dance accompanied by disturbing guttural noises.

Very odd, that.

Hangballlouie

weiland79 wrote: »

I work on liffey street, just off the corner of henry street, and i can say with hand on heart that he is fvcking sh!t. I mean i get it with the costume gimmick and all but that doesn;t take away the fact that he's fvcking sh!t.

In fact id struggle to find any that are any use. It's the same crap songs over and over and over, with the speakers up so loud that you can't talk to customers without raising your voice.

Christ i could name them all.

The Fvcking break dancing troop that rock up everyday at about 4 o'clock and blast out some **** music and throw themselves around the ground in the most pathetic display of break dancing I've ever seen.

The tall ginger cvnt that belts out the popular song of the day over and over, and then his little bollix mates turn up and they murder a few songs too.

The rapping junkie(see above) who you see around for a few days on the trot then i'm sure he pawns his speaker and mic for a fix, does a bit of B and E gets caught. Disappears for Three months to the joy, where he writes another half a dozen **** numbers. Then upon his return, he's back up to the pawn to collect his speaker and the world has turned once again!

But how do you really feel?

donegal__road

I have seen some pretty poor performers on Grafton St.
but this guy is one of the best buskers I have seen anywhere, and he plays regularly on Grafton St.

As someone mentioned before, there should be some sort of standards authority that a street performer has to audition to.. I think they have that system in Toronto.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NiHmnu4jMHw

DrumSteve

Every day I get off the luas and here this busker chap singing fast car. If you are reading this please stop.

Also no busker needs an amp. Its not busking if you use one.

jill_valentine

I agree with the person above that the buskers themselves don't bother me so much as the giant perimeter they create bang in the middle of the street.

My sole exception to this is the incredibly obnoxious magician dude who sometimes sets up outside Stephen's Green. I watched him because a friend wanted to see him. He took forever to do one trick and had the ****tiest attitude to the public I've ever seen, just an out and out tool.

harry Bailey esq

DrumSteve wrote: »

Every day I get off the luas and here this busker chap singing fast car. If you are reading this please stop.

Also no busker needs an amp. Its not busking if you use one.

ah i think you might be referring to a mate of mine there,his repetoire is,as follows. 1.Fast Car,2.Mad world,3.wonderwall. That's it. Nothing else. Just those three.

fryup

remember this.........

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jwCMuV2fZOU

Pinch Flat

Its the ones who have baloons and other bits and bobs they give to children, then hassle you for a euro. I still tell them to fück off - really get on ky t!ts

UCDVet

My only complaint with street performers (and chuggers) is that they go out of their way to be 'in the way'. I realize there are some tourists who might want to go someplace and see some lively Dublin street performers and all - but Grafton street is a big shopping center. Most people I see aren't paying any attention to the performers, they are trying to shop.

The performers seem to want to interject themselves between you and where you want to go.

Maybe I'm wrong, but I'd love if they picked a different location. Give a small section a small section in the park and let people who want to appreciate their performances walk across the street.

Dyr

UCDVet wrote: »

but Grafton street is a big shopping center..

Just to stop you there, It's a street.

UCDVet

Bambi wrote: »

Just to stop you there, It's a street.

You're splitting semantical hairs....and you're not even correct. Words and phrases frequently have multiple meanings.

It's not a 'shopping centre' in the sense that Stephen's Greens shopping centre is or Stillorgan shopping centre is. But it's certainly a shopping center.

Go to Google and type in:
define: center (notice that there will be several results )

a place or group of buildings where a specified activity is concentrated

The specific activity is 'shopping' and I don't think anyone would claim that Grafton street is not a place or group of buildings where shopping is concentrated.

Wikipedia agrees - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Grafton_Street

Grafton Street (Irish: Sráid Grafton) is one of the two principal shopping streets in Dublin city centre, the other being Henry Street...

// The more you know....

EyeSight

for a narrow street like Grafton street there should be rules. The crowds need to cop on too. It's impossible to walk down the street sometimes!

I'm surprised nobody has used the "but U2 did it" argument yet

biko

Yeah Shop Street can be pretty bad at times too but we just grin and bear it.

Degag

The best one is that fella dressed as a sultan who looks like he's floating in mid air.

Think I have him figured out though:pac:

renegademaster

some buskers are on the streets hail rain or snow out of necessity and not just for the craic

Schwiiing

There's 1 gimp on shop street in Galway who tries to beatbox through a digeridoo and just sounds like a spastic. Yet, at the other end of shop there is usually a great group who do a lot of Irish folk and trad led by a guy who is the spit of Luke Kelly in both looks and sound.

chrissb8

Sulla Felix wrote: »

The original statue guys were ok, but these days they wear masks and stuff which is cheating imo.

I love the fact there is a standard for you for people standing still. I laughed at that,thanks.

EyeSight

biko wrote: »

Yeah Shop Street can be pretty bad at times too but we just grin and bear it.

I have to say that the busker quality in Galway (on average) is much much higher. Especially on arts week.

During Xmas i thought some of the charity buskers were a little cheeky. The choirs were grand but some of the people collecting while they sang were a bit too aggressive & over enthusiastic. I know it was for a good cause but there's no need to be in peoples faces

kevin65

Schwiiing wrote: »

There's 1 gimp on shop street in Galway who tries to beatbox through a digeridoo and just sounds like a spastic. Yet, at the other end of shop there is usually a great group who do a lot of Irish folk and trad led by a guy who is the spit of Luke Kelly in both looks and sound.

Totally agree, that assh*le with the digeridoo is pure sh*te, sounds like a constipated dog farting down a drainpipe.

Think that banjo player is a member of a group, the Atlantic Pirates, they are excellent alright.

Bruthal

bonzodog2 wrote: »

I got a filthy look from one of these guys when I told him "Psst, you're on TV". Made him look round!

They say it puts 10 pounds on people alright

Ghost Buster

kevin65 wrote: »

Totally agree, that assh*le with the digeridoo is pure sh*te, sounds like a constipated dog farting down a drainpipe.

Think that banjo player is a member of a group, the Atlantic Pirates, they are excellent alright.

This post caused me to shoot tea out me nose .

Ole Rodrigo

FAS should do a busking course with certification. Dublin CC should require certification to busk in a public area. It would cover basic things like not being annoying, crap or too loud.

They should also do a cert in internet whinging. The stander is quite low sometimes, I feel.

the groutch

EyeSight wrote: »

I'm surprised nobody has used the "but U2 did it" argument yet

considering how Bono turned out, that'd be the perfect argument against allowing them.