Ciaran Tierney writes:
Galway City Council want to bring in new bye-laws to regulate busking in the city centre and buskers say they are vague, restrictive, and unenforceable. In recent weeks, a war of words seems to have opened up in the local media between the buskers and the city centre traders, who rightly point out that they pay rates and that they shouldn’t have to listen to terrlble cover versions being blasted out through amplified sound systems every day. How did it come to this? That a city famed for its culture and vibrant street life, despite enduring so much rainfall, could be on the verge of losing the wonderful street entertainment which has helped spread Galway’s popularity all across the globe. The buskers are angry.
READ ON: The Great Galway Busker War Of 2017 (Ciaran Tierney Blogspot)
All buskers are annoying except for the classical music types.
all that red hair, bare chests and facial hair is really getting my goat
I blame “Once”.
See comment below (when it comes out of moderation)
It might not be cool to admit but I quite liked “once”
I think perhaps because it came out in the depths of recession and it was nice to see an Irish film that for one wasn’t about some sicko priest or moaning about being poor or on drugs
If you don’t like Adam and Paul you’re dead to me.
lol, nah that’s a good movie alright, but man so depressing
Once bucked all those heavy Irish movie stereotypes, it was light, fluffy and completely insubstantial, what a welcome change
Whats not to like about “Once”? It was very entertaining, decent plot, acting and of course fantastic music.
Standard of busking has gone to hell. It’s especially bad in Galway where untalented fopps play on the romantic notions that American tourists, whose inability to identify artistic merit or talent is bigger than their fupping waistlines, have for the raggle-taggle Irish street musician stereotype. Any fool with a bodhran and unwashed hair can generate a crowd of money-throwing American twats. It’s a scourge and a nuisance for people trying to go about their regular lives.It’s just as bad in Dublin, but instead we’ve got early 20s eurotrash singing badly to backing tracks.
ah the good old days when Glen Handbag was out busking
Back in my day things were so much better blah blah blah…
so limit the volume on the speakers. If the music is good, it’ll sound fine without significant amplification.
Like busking but not a fan of using amps. Also bugs me when they mark off a section of the street.
People who mark of sections of the street should be dutifully ignored by right-thinking members of the public going about their business.
The only issue is the volume. Shop street is ruined for everyone when a fully amped up band with drummer is terrorising the entire length of the street with cacophonous tripe. Everyone loves the charm of buskers on the street, but when you take a few steps away their noise is gone. No one wants to be deafened by the same band for 200 metres or more, which is what happens with some of these people. If you need an amp, you’re not really a busker.
yeah I tend to agree with this
perhaps they could allow amped up busking in less enclosed spaces or parks
Ban the amps. There are some good buskers, but lots of them are awful. I would also ban the speakers some shops blast music through as well.
no more pan pipes please
Yer man never has that unicycle tuned properly and even then he can only do Oasis tunes.
+1 on the Pan Pipes Harry, the Devils Fingers.
Can’t stand buskers with amps, without amps they are great, they got greedy thinking amps equals more cash, wrong, just a pain in the backside now, the fella playing guitar at bottom of Grafton St, I can still hear him and all the rest of them half way up Grafton St.
Unfortunately amps does equal more cash. And the louder the volume the more they make. It’s why they don’t turn down.
Before they are allowed to busk they should be assessed for musical ability by an agreed authority of the music they intend to play. To avoid mind-numbing repetition the council should insist on them having an extensive repertoire.