Underwhelmed at Buskerfest

Buskerfest is a relatively new festival in Toronto which brings street performers to the St. Lawrence market

Maybe it was because we went on the last night but I found it pretty disappointing. Lots of acts just weren't very interesting and everyone seemed exhausted.

The final show was extremely painful. One of the acts was late so the crowd had to listen to the two hosts awkwardly fill the time. The female host (didn't catch her name) Tallulah (thanks Laurie) was particularly bad; it says something about someone's comedic skills when they have to resort to sex jokes at a family event. To make matters worse, the jokes weren't even funny; someone should have let her know that camel toes, diarrhea, and comments about any and all elongated objects are not automatically worth a laugh.

Highlights

• Robert Muraine did an incredible job popping. I had no idea how famous he was. Apparently he was one of the most talked about acts on SYTYCD.
• Chalkmaster Dave Johnston taking a break from drawing Ironman to posing like a centrefold (above right). "I had to know what it feels like," he said.
• Sick Sound Syndrome put on a pretty good beatboxing show.
• Matt James (below) created an interesting sound by talking into a didgeridoo.

Matt James combined a didgeridoo and a slide guitar, with a house beat as backing.

Next year, I think I'll just go on the first night when they have the fire show and the performers are still energetic.