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Some Strumming & Some Shopping!

May 13, 2014 By ngold17 Leave a Comment

It is my second time round doing field work on music venues at McCaffrey’s Super Market in Princeton Shopping Center. As I said before, it is not a typical location for live music to take place, so I decided to blend in with my surrounding and go grocery shopping in conjunction with listening to more music. Arturo Romay performed once again on the guitar. I went on another Saturday morning from 11:30 AM to 12:30PM in the bakery section. The area where he performed was lit the same way as last week. The vibe did not really change in any special way to compliment the performer.

His set up consisted of the same single amp and a chair for him to sit on. Once again, an iPod was used to provide the rest of the instruments. I did not lean on the hot food counter like last time. I did not want to feel awkward or out of place. The music was pretty much the same. You could tell there was Latin rhythm and flare to it.

Instead of staying in one place like last time I decided to shop, stop and watch, and then shop again. I repeated this multiple times. It was pleasant background music to shop to and sort of calmed me down when going about my list. I noticed other people’s reactions when they went about their shopping. Some would shop to the speed of the music. Others would tap their hand or foot against the cart. I found myself being caught in the rhythm as well. Last time he seemed to be part of the background when I acknowledged him from one spot, but when I shopped, his presence became more known. Those acknowledging the music without seeing him were people of all ages, but when I went to see him and watch, it was the same middle-aged women stopping to give him a tip or a smile.

I was supposed to sing with him, but this did not happen because we could not find a song in common. I also had to run errands and was not able to stick around too long. When I stopped in front of him again, I asked another woman who stopped what she thought of him. She thought he was great, but wished there were chairs so she could sit and enjoy him for a little bit rather than standing. It almost felt as if you were limited in time to watch him because of the venue. Last time my feet got so tired from standing. I needed a little break! At least I could lean on a shopping cart if I wanted to this time around.

Once again, the music was all instrumental guitar with a beat. The tempo was a little faster today, and then he decided to slow it down a few times. I found that he grabbed more attention when playing songs with a faster tempo. It really got me into the shopping zone. I almost felt myself slowing down with the tempo when it was a slower song. Nevertheless, the music still had a morning punch to it because of its bright timbre and his funky noodling of the guitar. He had a stack of CDs out and cards again, which people did acknowledge. A few people did stop to take some photos, but not as many as my first trip. It seemed to be this way because it was a much busier day at McCaffrey’s.

 

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April 8-10, 2016 Westminster Choir College of Rider University Princeton, NJ "Locations and Dislocations: An Ecomusicological Conversation" seeks to bring together scholars, performers, and composers to further explore the relationships between music, culture, and the environment. The conference will tune to sounds as they fit or belong in the place they are heard, as they fit or belong in some other place, or as they have no ecological home, either built or natural. Among the questions at

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