bristol, but not the kind you expect – a diy busker’s chaos log

i woke up this morning feeling like a confused raccoon trying to find a snack. my bag smelled like old coffee and yesterday’s regrets. bristol’s weather is doing that thing where it’s like, maybe i’ll change my mind later, and the humidity is sitting at 77%. i checked the app and it’s 11.12°C out there, which is basically freezing for a human who spent last winter in florida. but hey, we’re here for it.


now, if you’re wondering why i’m wearing a flannel jacket in july, it’s because i found it at a thrift store near the waterfront. no, it’s not vintage. no, i don’t care. authenticity is overrated when you’re just trying to stay warm while playing a broken drum. my passengers today were a guy in a neon windbreaker who kept asking if i play for tourists and a woman who insisted this was the worst place ever. i told her to check yelp. i never trust yelp. it’s like a gossip site for people who hate people.


boire’re sitting here, wondering why a diy busker would parade through a rainy city. well, first, the pavement is perfect for feet. second, the locals always know where to find free water. i heard someone at a café tell another person that the best gigs happen when it rains. i don’t know if that’s true, but i ran a half-mile to confirm. the rain sprung up fast, and i started playing in a park near the harbor. no stage. no lights. just a few people and a tree that looked judgmental. but it was electric. people danced in puddles. teenagers filmed me on their phones. a old man gave me a candy bar. that’s how it goes.


the reviews are all over the place. one tripadvisor post said the area is haunted. i don’t know if that’s true, but i did hear a drunk man whisper, this place is cursed. i walked past his table and he started air guitaring. i joined. we played kashmir on the sidewalk. it was glorious. i also overheard a local warn someone about the ‘ghost busker’ who haunts the docks at midnight. i’m not sure if that’s a real thing or a meme. probably a meme.


neighbors? if you get bored, bristol’s next town over might be a vibe killer in terms of excitement. there’s a place called stoke-by-nith where everyone goes to chill. i heard it’s just a quiet town with too many ducks. classic.


i took some photos with my phone. not professional. one of them is a puddle reflecting the sky, another is my hands shaking while tuning a drum. you can find them on unsplash if you search bristol rain drama. the map says i’m near 53.748,-2.482, which is probably some sort of industrial estate. the app insists it’s the best location, but i think it’s just a giant dumpster.


here’s the thing: i don’t follow a plan. i don’t have a gear list. i don’t even know what gear list means anymore. my setup is a drum kit tossed in a duffel bag, a jacket, and a belief that strangers will connect with this chaos. did they? i can’t tell. some people clapped. others gave me weird looks. i told them to leave. it’s okay if you don’t get it. i didn’t get it either.


what should you do? check the local board for gig postings. i saw one that said free acoustic session at the docks tomorrow. maybe. maybe not. i heard it was a scam. another review said the café near the park serves the worst coffee in the world. i haven’t tried it yet. i’m a coffee snob. i passed.


if you like this nonsense, follow me on instagram. i post 37 seconds of me failing at parkour. it’s called busker_basketball. also, look up ‘bristol alternative scene’ on tripadvisor. it’s a thing. ask a local. they’ll know.


p.s. the weather is still 11°C. i just checked. hope you like that kind of thing. it’s fluctuating. like my will to keep going.

[i’m pasting images here because i forgot to pack a camera and now i’m basically a blob of energy on a street corner. three random unsplash pics. one of a rock on a hill, another of a snow mountain, and a third of a cow. why? who knows. maybe it’s a metaphor.]

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