On Saturday, I came across this gentleman sharing his skills for a few dozen spectators.  After inflating a balloon with his nose, he then stretched a rubber glove over his head and proceeded to also blow it up with his schnoz.  As he made it bigger and bigger, more folks rushed over to grab pictures. When the rubber glove eventually exploded, he received lots of applause and laughter from the crowd.  He even made a few tips too!

The rain just started pouring down as he rolled his r’s in his first song, and crowd waiting for him was small, but dedicated. They danced in time with his marching-in-one-spot groove to old folk songs, both Japanese and English.

Feeling sorry for us punters dancing in the downpour, he hopped off stage and danced in the mud with the rest of us for a bit. Which was harder on him than us, because we at least had raingear on. He did a killer version of Boney M’s Rivers of Babylon and had people linking arms and singing every line of each song by the end of the set.

As he walked back on stage, he shouted, “One love, one nation!” over and over again with a big smile on his face, and expressed his gratitude to everyone sticking it out in the rain. From the loud applause he received I’m pretty sure the feeling was mutual.

Eppai, who has very little Internet presence, is famed for playing street corners with a smattering of various instruments/toys, often playing 5 at a time. (No, he is not an octopus, and yes, there is a kazoo or two).

He starts in with an authentic Irish jig. But Eppai does not play the usual way. He holds the violin bow between his knees, and instead moves the fiddle to his tune. That way his right hand is freed up to honk horns, play keyboard, and cause other kinds of anarchy. Meanwhile, his harmonica head gear holds his kazoos, and his feet, one duct taped with a drumstick and the other for the cymbal keep the beat.

Somehow between all this chaos he manages to crack jokes and put on an amazing 12 song set in just 30 minutes.

“Yeah! Bravo! Bravo!” he shouts to compliment his own performance. The crowd cracks up and echoes the Bravos.

Rooted in punk, he plays “The Boys,” on the spoons, and throws a half dozen rubber chickens at the audience.

Then comes a romping rendition of “Cotton-Eyed Joe,” while he juggles lemon shakers, successfully for a second or two believe it or not.

Another Irish drinking song goes, “I been on the road, spent all my money on whiskey and beer,” and with that he puts on a clown nose and poses for a few pictures.

Next was a song from the Misfits and “Merry Christmas!” he says randomly, out of the blue, that being the theme of his performance, which everyone loves, and shouts back “Merry Christmas! Merry Christmas!”

Streamers and poppers shoot the crowd, and he makes one little boy no more than 10 years old promise him to buy a beer after the show.

“Aung Lang Syne,” of Japanese supermarket closing time fame incites a sing-a-long, or hum along rather, and Eppai makes a guy in the front row go and get his horn which he earlier threw, “Hey, can you gimme that?”

Next is a European wedding song, to which he says something about a really ugly girl (I missed the punchline), and asks two guys to come dance. “Oh, you’re Scottish, right?” he humorously assumes. Thanks to those fellows, a right and proper circle pit ensues! Arm in arm, stomping and stumbling around the Busker Stop pit, definitely the most action this stage has seen all weekend. “Yeah! Bravo!”

Last song (still in his 30-minute slot mind you, this guy doesn’t mess around) is Danny Boy, but first he caps a toy bird with a pop gun, pop pop pop! And it breaks in half. LOLs from the crowd, and he starts in a more emotional organ waltz to show his breadth.

Finally, he finishes “Give me money or give me death” and dismounts his busker battleship, but before he goes, he grabs a tall boy beer from his guitar case, shakes it furiously, hops in the crowd, gets on a chair and shotguns that brew like a champ, effectively spraying everyone around the circle pit to everyone’s delight. Exit stage left.

…

Five minutes later, he comes back out and hands that 10 year old a 1000 Yen note to go buy a beer; and probably tells him to keep the change.

Eppai put all the other singer-songwriters on the Busker Stop stage to shame, but that doesn’t mean he won’t knock back a cold one with ‘em. Punk Rock 4 Life!

Seated on a chair in the middle of the stage, the French musician played guitar, harmonica, and bass drum.  During his 30-minute set of blues and vintage rock numbers, Wilko Johnson and his bassist Norman Watt-Roy watched from the side of the stage, and Watt-Roy could be seen singing along to a few of the cuts.

Although Tehoval is a solo act, he got a bit of unexpected backing instrumentation during his set.  Busker Stop is situated really close to Stoned Circle, and when the drum circle at Stoned Circle really got going, it could be heard alongside Tehoval’s songs.  But the extra drumming sounds didn’t take away from the bluesy goodness Tehoval was creating

The psychedelic electric guitar godfather, most notably from Simply Red, but also with a smattering of other appearances with worldwide greats Bono, Seal, Annie Lennox and Deep Purple to name a few, this spot on the tiny Busker Stop is a very special engagement, showcasing the one-man show Kenji Jammer creates right before your eyes.

His long wispy hair going grey, shades and pink shirt (probably hemp), along with his gait establish a sense of place for the atmosphere he is about to create.

With just some gadgets, a few pedals, a drum pad and a couple guitars, Kenji starts with a beat, something like a tin can or tabla, then comes on top of that repeating with his sitar solo, and before you know it 10 layers are coalescing together in a symphonic performance. He even used a cute little red bass that I swear was a toy.

He finally gets to the fun part wailing on top of his rich track and is clearly having a blast, getting back to his busker roots perhaps.

The second song (after his intro that was a good ten minutes) is more progressive, with a stronger beat, and he lays atop a bit of regal national anthem-esque rock. He can seriously drop a driving beat and coast down that road like a ’64 Cadillac El Dorado on California’s Highway 1, only slightly swerving towards the sun.

One can really zone out, or more likely lose oneself completely, because Kenji-san is not just a world famous guitarist, he is an atmosphere creator. You have to be that good to be christened the “jammer,” right?

He plays again tonight at the Pyramid Garden, a superior international showcase that includes Bassekou Kouyate and Ngoni Ba and Los Guanches. Three completely different kinds of music, but guaranteed high-quality jamming will ensue. I personally have never even made it to the Pyramid Garden, have you?