Outdoor Performances

One of my favorite memories in Paris is of the people performing outside of the Centre Georges Pompidou. There was a festival feeling. In one spot there was someone playing a musical saw. There were people doing gymnastics. There were people singing. There was a mime. I cannot remember exact details, but I do remember the wonderful relaxed atmosphere as one could spend hours there enjoying different kinds of performances. You could give money if you could. There was incredible talent being displayed. I also remember seeing performers on the Métro. Sometimes there would be someone singing with a guitar. Mostly they were very good, but I remember one woman trying to sing like Édith Piaf. She was dressed like her and was singing one of her songs. She was terrible, and people were very vocal in letting her know how they felt about her performance. They might not have been so cruel if she had been imitating someone else. This was in 1979, and Édith Piaf had died in 1963. Her grave was still covered in fresh flowers, and people were frequently paying their respects to her. So ti was not a good idea to "sing" her song as this was doing. She sounded more like she was screaming out of tune. It would not have even worked for punk music. i do not believe in being unkind, but it would have been better if she had not continued this performance as she walked along the platform.
I also have fond memories of some outdoor concerts in Winston-Salem. There were weekly jazz concerts during the summer. I only made it to one or two of these, but it was great music. I once went to a concert of several hardcore punk Christian bands. There was one band I really liked. They were called Allisonhymn (Pronounced All eyes on him). I bought one of their CD's, but the music on the CD was nothing like what they performed. In concert they were performing hardcore punk, but on the CD it was soft, melodic music. It was good, but I had expected it to be like what I had heard at the concert. I would have liked to have a CD more like their performance.