Street Music in Amsterdam

 

Street Musicians

 Classic Street Musicians in Amsterdam.

Streetmusic

 Some people have a hobby to entertain others.

Street music

A bit difficult instrument for a street musician, but the sound was great.

Street music

Street musicians in Amsterdam.

Organ players

Sitting on a terrace high above the Kalverstreet in Amsterdam, I had a nice view at the street below. Usually this is one of the most crowded shopping streets, particular in the weekends. But at this moment there was not much public so the organ players had a coffee break. A barrel organ (or roller organ) is a mechanical music instrument consisting of bellows and one or more ranks of pipes housed in a case, usually of wood and mostly highly decorated. The barrel organ is activated by a person turning a crank, or by clockwork driven by weights or springs.

At a post in 2012 I showed some pictures of the barrel organs, have a look here

Street act

At the Museum-square in Amsterdam there is always something going on. These boys from the US were inviting the audience to support there street act with yelling and clapping. Well you can see the Dutch don't have usually that exhuberance behaviour, we are a bit reserved people. But the younger ones were yet clapping.

One of the boys started a breakdance act, he was turning around very fast on his head.

Then he was making himself smaller.

Until he was very small and still turning around! It is crazy he managed to balance without using his hands. I had only seen this on television, never in reality. In the end I did clap for him too.

Guitar player

When I was watching this picture at my laptop, I noticed something strange. I thought the guitar player had taken a shopping trolley from the supermarket to put his stuff in when moving around. But when you have a good look you see the car has no wheels and is placed on a bike, as a carrier cycle. Don't know what to think, maybe it is a rejected product, but I have my doubts....

Rules can be changed

This is Bennie Volkens, a blind organ grinder in front of the New Church at Dam square in Amsterdam. He is there for more than 25 years always in the same place. In December 2010 he was suddenly arrested by police because he had no licence and had a knife in his pocket. He was given a ticket of 235 euro. The public opinion was furious about this. He does no harm, makes no noise and everybody knows him. Police said they had to execute new rules for public outings at Dam square. After a lot of protests and actions of Amsterdam people the city counsel made a rare exception for him and he is allowed to grind his organ again at the same place.

Weekend Reflections

To entertain the long queues in front of the reopend Museum of Modern Art in Amsterdam, this singer with his dog tried to earn some money. Too bad it was no Bruce Springsteen.

See for more weekend reflections  here

Street music

These boys "Les Trois Coups" were playing very enthousiastic in the centre of Amsterdam. I googled them and found more about them here. I am not sure they are from Belgium or France. They will perform in New York February 25 in streets and subways.