I've got a love-hate relationship with subway buskers. Mostly because when they're good, they're really good. But when they're bad, they're really, really atrociously bad. And when they're the worst, it's very difficult not to claw your way out of the train car or the station that has become your temporary prison.
Fortunately, this group that often performs in Union Square, Too Many Zooz, is just fantastic.
As Americans take the subway instead of driving their cars to work more and more, they're also going to have to get used to the concept of somebody playing music, often at and not for, them during their afternoon commute. This can either grow into a positive appreciation for the arts, or an absolute disdain for someone just making noise when you're trying to get home.
More likely than not, the difference is a manifestation of talent and effort. Luckily for people in the world that actually like music, there are people like the guys in Too Many Zooz who clearly use both. Seriously, the music starts kind of slowly, but towards the end you've got a whole crowd, people are dancing, and there's even a spontaneous hype man.
(And before you take it, Spontaneous Hype Man is already the name of my new subway musical act. I claimed it, you can't have it, so there.)
I would pay at least $5, maybe even $10, to see this group perform. But one of the joys of subway busking is that you get the concert for free, if you're cheap, and for a couple of dollars if you're not. And sometimes, you get a subway busker that some people usually pay hundreds of dollars just to see them from the cheap seats.
Are these guys the best subway busking group in the world, though? They're definitely the best I've seen recently in New York, but I'm sure plenty of you would disagree. Maybe Tokyo's got a guy who does really good Kenny G covers.
Think you've seen a better one? Show us in the comments below!