You might think, "If I were going to play in the subway, I would go where the most people will see me and therefore have the largest possible audience." That's what I thought. I stopped to play directly in the middle of the mezzanine hallway where hundreds of people whizzed by at rapid paces as they raced from the entrance to catch their train. I had 100% of everyone's ear, and yet, they raced past, hearing distorted Doppler Effect versions of the songs I played. It was very difficult to put out that "stop and listen" energy in such a high velocity area.
As I played a little "Sunshine of My Life" I saw a woman rushing toward me with crazy eyes-- you couldn't miss those gleaming saucers even from your peripheral vision. She saw me but didn't avert her path from my giant immobile instrument; you have to admire such determination. I watched in horror as... "You are the apple of my eye eyeeeee".... she ran right into the vibraphone, knocking over my change bucket and sending quarters rolling! She turned around, scowled, and said, "You're in my WAY!"
When I thought about it, I was in everyone's way. Poor struggling old ladies maneuvered their luggage around the vibes, little kids stopped to watch but almost got run over by tall businessmen who couldn't see them, couples swiveled their hips to avoid collision with the vibraphone, three different people knocked over my change bucket.
It's all copasetic. I expected the first few times to be learning experiences.
Things that people said to me:
*"Do you know O Tannenbaum?"
*"Yeah, look at that xylophone!"
*"I'm in real estate, if you know anyone that needs an apartment, just let me know."
*"Have you accepted the Lord?" (I got three "repent" booklets in my change bucket from them)
*while pointing at some dust on the vibraphone frame, "Lazy."
and the winner....
"You're in my WAY!"
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