Tuesday, September 21, 2010

Spotted: fabulously awkward street performer.

Actually, I am not sure you can call him a street performer if he is doing his thang in the subway station. Anyone? Well, he was performing. Namely to the tune of "Independent Women Part I" by Destiny's Child. (On that note, does anyone know if Destiny's Child ever come out with an "Independent Women Part II?" Or was Beyonce doing her own thang considered a symbolic "Independent Women Part II?" See. I'm DEEP.)

Back to the performer. I trudged down the stairs to the subway station today, slightly brain dead after a long deposition. I noticed a man down there starting his boom box (pretty sure it wasn't a fancy stereo system.) The tune? The instrumental version of "Independent Women Part I." Only he wasn't singing about his girl Drew, Lucy Liu or Cameron Diaz. Nope. He was singing his devotion, or rather "obsession" (he used that word, NOT me) with Beyonce Knowles. Oh yes. The entire song was made a tribute to not only Beyonce, but also to the fact that she was going to buy him all sorts of things. I believe he said something about an Xbox.

The kicker? He was using a stuffed tiger as a prop. The tiger wasn't life-size, but it definitely was a large stuffed animal. The stuffed tiger had a chain around it. He proceeded to dance down the center of the subway platform with this tiger, using it as a prop to emphasize his words. This fit with his lyrics because he discussed how he was like a tiger and Beyonce told him to be gentle. He also referred to her buying him things such as "Hennessy and a bag of ice and a large order of shrimp fried rice." (Hey, he's got rhyming skills, clearly.)

Maybe he wasn't a street performer. But he was definitely performing. It was highly awkward. I think the tiger gave him the fabulous edge.

(Also, you may wonder why I keep using "thang" instead of "thing." It makes me feel a little sassy. Deal with it. I do my thang, you do yours. Even if you call it a thing.)

5 comments:

  1. Life just would not be the same without crazy people.

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  2. He might be crazy, but I think he is very innovative, and he has guts! For all we know he might have done his act in order to see people's reactions and now he is writing a blog about it... :) I googled 'subway musician blog' - there actually are many musicians in the subway who blog about their experience. For example www.subwaymusicblog.com - a lady who plays the musical saw in the NYC subway describes the people who pass by her when she plays. Maybe that crazy guy you saw is now bloging about you :)

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  3. First of all, I like your blog! While that is true, I also felt I should lead with a non-weird statement before I launched into a totally random comment whereby I admit to knowing that there is TOTALLY an "Independent Women Part II." I listened to that Destiny's Child c.d. with annoying frequency circa 2001 and that was one of the only songs I always skipped. I know. Creep factor = High. But slightly less creepy than the street performer. Yay me!

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  4. So, Amy, I can out-creep you. I made up a dance routine to Bugaboo in college. (I can't believe I just admitted that on the internet.)

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