While I was standing exactly one week ago on Dam Square, Amsterdam, I was enormously overwhelmed by the presence of so many people on one square. People from all over the world, gathered on a square in the middle of Amsterdam. There was also a balloon thingy going on (that appeared to be an act to raise consciousness for the people who have been held hostage in the war in Israel, all the respect and love for the people there). Here I am, again. With my full streetperforming equipment setup on my bike, hesitating to just set up and play, or rather not. Feeling nervous. Because Dam Square is something different, I felt it.
At one point I gathered my courage and started business. While setting up people were already becoming curious. I started playing and people showed interest, engagement, and love. During my second song I noticed something strange in my guitar sound. A distortion that shouldn’t be there, and a need to crank up the volume to be audible. Not good. The battery of the preamp had died, and I didn’t have a spare. There wasn’t a battery-shop around and I was alone. It was about to rain in maybe 30 minutes, so packing up and unpacking again wasn’t an option. I really had to stop, unfortunately. But, with a great feeling: I played for no less than seven minutes on that damn Square!
Today I learned two lessons. Facing my fears pays off! I’m already looking forward to the next time. While I know I will be pissing my pants then, I’ll do it anyway. Lesson two: always take a spare battery with me.