Len's News, Notes, and Stuff

Toronto Buskerfest 2010

Toronto Buskerfest 2010 was another fun-filled, memorable event. Buskerfest has been around for 11 years now, and this is my fourth year attending (as a spectator only!) – I look forward to the event every year, and I hope to continue coming to it every year!

Buskerfest is a 3-day event from Friday through to Sunday spotlighting street performers from around the world – and yes, also a good number from Toronto, Ottawa and Montreal. There are some musical performances, but the majority are comedy acts, acrobatic acts, or comedic-acrobatic acts, and other interesting forms of physical or visual artistry. Buskerfest takes place on Front Street between Yonge and Jarvis, from mid-day until mid-evening. You get high-wire acts when the sun is out, and you get fire acts once the sun has gone down. Performances go on rain or shine, and the crowds stay out rain or shine too!

Every year is different because the mix of performers is different. There are some regulars, typically smaller solo acts, who are from the Toronto area and who make repeat appearances. As the mix is different each year, the experience for spectators is different.

I went on Saturday, August 28 and began with a quiet magician’s performance. I have to say that it wasn’t a great performance, but I realize that not every performer is going to be great. What this performer lacked was a connection with the audience. That, I find, is the key to a great performance – in addition, of course, to the skill demonstrated in whatever discipline(s) the performer incorporates into the act. Simply performing tricks or other feats without establishing a rapport with the audience gets dull very quickly – and unfortunately, this first performer needed a lot of improvement in that department. Still, I gave some money at the end of the performance because the man was still working to entertain us.

The next performer I managed to see was That Man (aka Grant Goldie from Belfast, Northern Ireland). It’s hard to describe what his show is about, because he does a wide variety of things. He dances, he juggles, he yo-yo’s, he creates a character in front of the audience without uttering a single word yet he is not a mime. He creates an experience for the audience that is energetic, endearing, funny, entertaining, and in the end, impressive and even astonishing.  His performance was one of my two favorite performances from the entire day, and I’m glad I got to see it. A one-man show is a fantastic thing when the one man on stage is as talented, as creative, and as polished as this man.

The third performance I caught, however, was quite disappointing. It was another solo act, but the man’s schtick as a grouch simply did not work. The act was low-key to the point of being lethargic and the performer was borderline rude to the children he called up to assist in his act. Neither endearing nor entertaining, my friends and I left this act well before the end.

Almost yo-yo’ing ourselves, the fourth performance we saw was another fantastic one. Again, this was at the main performance area right at the intersection of Church & Front, leading me to believe that the festival organizers know who their best acts are and schedule them on that largest of performance areas. Stunt Double Circus is an acrobatic troupe of 4 guys with a hilarious and charming 1970s macho man theme. With a combination of cheesy humour, ridiculous moustaches, impressive strength and daring agility & skill, the four performers had the entire crowd eating out of their hands.

I think that audience members who walk away from these high-caliber performances without giving some money to the performers are quite disrespectful and heartless. These performers work hard, train hard, and put on a damn fine show for the audience. Yet, I note that performers who manage to create a real rapport and bond with the audience fare pretty well and get most of the crowd to contribute anything from a few dollars up to $20 bills. Top-class acts deserve to be rewarded for their efforts and for the joy they’ve given through their performances.

Later in the evening, we took in Magic Brian‘s masterful magic act (duh), caught Liqueur Flambe‘s flaming violins act, saw the three Saurus dinosaurs rampaging down the streets, and took in Flame Oz‘s fire act. Where we saw Stunt Double Circus clearly earning their keep through strength and daring, Magic Brian well-earned his keep not only from his skill as a magician and ability to work with kids well and charm the audience with his humor, but also with his ability to persevere through his act when his adult assistant pulled from the audience seemed bent on giving Brian a full head of grey hairs. The volunteer from the audience said he has some experience with magic, but said he’d cooperate. Unfortunately, throughout the entire latter half of the performance, the volunteer would keep moving, kept fidgeting, kept touching or grabbing things – including touching and grabbing Brian. Everyone could see Brian getting genuinely frustrated, to the point of having to step aside and take a 5-second breather to keep himself together – but to his credit, he not only kept himself together but kept the show going and kept the audience hooked all the way to the end.

Old favorites – and Toronto regulars – like Silver Elvis and Kate Mior (aka The Living Statue) were in attendance – drawing interested crowds of young and old alike.

With a lively, charming, and memorable combination of stellar acts all day long, all along the street, and with a wonderfully fun and joyful mood amongst the crowd, what’s not to like about Buskerfest 2010? I didn’t manage to catch a few other stellar performances, such as the one by the Calypso Tumblers – I only caught a portion of their act as I peered between the heads and shoulders of an enthralled throng of spectators on my way out to the subway station.

Ah, there’s always more to see at Buskerfest than any one individual can truly take in!