--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: I've played in some pretty weird…" description: "\"I've played in some pretty weird settings; busking puts you in all kinds of situations. I can tell you the most depressing gig I've played was in the N..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ce/passenger-8415_band_i-ve-played-in-some-pretty-weird-setting_2819457.jpg" --- # I've played in some pretty weird settings; busking puts… ![“I've played in some pretty weird settings; busking puts you in all kinds of situations. I can tell you the most depressing gig I've played was in the North of England. At that time, I was playing with a band. We drove 7 or 8 hours to Carlisle to play a 600 - 700 capacity venue - 9 people showed up.” quote by Passenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ce/passenger-8415_band_i-ve-played-in-some-pretty-weird-setting_2819457.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ce/passenger-8415_band_i-ve-played-in-some-pretty-weird-setting_2819457.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/1ce/passenger-8415_band_i-ve-played-in-some-pretty-weird-setting_2819457.jpg) > “I've played in some pretty weird settings; busking puts you in all kinds of situations. I can tell you the most depressing gig I've played was in the North of England. At that time, I was playing with a band. We drove 7 or 8 hours to Carlisle to play a 600 - 700 capacity venue - 9 people showed up.” [Passenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/passenger/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The musician recounts a bleak gig with almost no audience, highlighting the challenges and unpredictability of busking. **In simple terms:** A gig in England had only nine attendees. Key Takeaway Expect and in live performance. Themes performance busking audience unpredictability Mood reflective realistic Type musical experiential When to use this quote - street performance - tour planning - artist resilience Key Concepts music industry economics Questions to Reflect On - How do you stay motivated after a poor gig? - What strategies increase audience engagement? A Different Perspective Low turnout can affect morale. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Band](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/band/) [Busking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/busking/) [Busking Puts](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/busking-puts-3578424/) [Depressing Gig](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/depressing-gig-3578422/) [People](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/people/) [Play](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/play/) [Playing Band](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/playing-band/) [Settings Busking](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/settings-busking-3578423/) [Time](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/time/) [Weird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/weird/) ## Related quotes > [To be honest, busking was a massive part of becoming aware of homelessness. I used to run into a lot of 'Big Issue' sellers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/passenger/to-be-honest-busking-was-a-massive-part-of-becoming-aware-of/) [Passenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/passenger/) > [Busking is the essence of what I do. It's made everything possible.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/passenger/busking-is-the-essence-of-what-i-do-it-s-made-everything-possible/) [Passenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/passenger/) > [I started busking when I was 24. I was living with Mom and Dad. I'd broken up with my girlfriend and didn't know what…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/passenger/i-started-busking-when-i-was-24-i-was-living-with-mom-and-dad-i-d/) [Passenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/passenger/) > [Busking taught me so much on so many levels, not just about being a musician or writing songs - actually about growing up and…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/passenger/busking-taught-me-so-much-on-so-many-levels-not-just-about-being-a/) [Passenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/passenger/) > [There was a lot of times when I was busking there were a lot of people in your face, like 'More, more! Go again,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tones-and-i/there-was-a-lot-of-times-when-i-was-busking-there-were-a-lot-of/) [Tones and I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tones-and-i/) > [I chose busking because I didn't want to be working for someone else. I wanted to work as I am. I feel like you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tash-sultana/i-chose-busking-because-i-didn-t-want-to-be-working-for-someone-else/) [Tash Sultana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tash-sultana/) > [Well, the first Australian tour I literally just took busking to the stage.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tones-and-i/well-the-first-australian-tour-i-literally-just-took-busking-to-the/) [Tones and I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tones-and-i/) > [Without busking, there is no Fantastic Negrito.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/fantastic-negrito/without-busking-there-is-no-fantastic-negrito/) [Fantastic Negrito](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/fantastic-negrito/) > [Everything about singing, I learned from busking. Everything I learned about songwriting, I learned from busking. Busking, you learn people, you learn about reading…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-hansard/everything-about-singing-i-learned-from-busking-everything-i-learned/) [Glen Hansard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-hansard/) > [If you get the chance to be a Bourke Street busker, you actually have to do an audition in front of a council panel.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tash-sultana/if-you-get-the-chance-to-be-a-bourke-street-busker-you-actually-have/) [Tash Sultana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tash-sultana/) > [Dance Monkey' is about the bad side of busking.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tones-and-i/dance-monkey-is-about-the-bad-side-of-busking/) [Tones and I](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tones-and-i/) > [My mum pushed me to get a normal job when I finished school, and I just wasn't into that at all. So I hit…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tash-sultana/my-mum-pushed-me-to-get-a-normal-job-when-i-finished-school-and-i/) [Tash Sultana](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tash-sultana/) > [I felt like I was homeless anyway, so the change in environment wasn't that much of a big deal. I felt pretty much the…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/benjamin-clementine/i-felt-like-i-was-homeless-anyway-so-the-change-in-environment-wasn-t/) [Benjamin Clementine](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/benjamin-clementine/) > [I've done my share of busking, and it's fun until it isn't. There are musicians in the subways that will make you cry, they're…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/andrew-bird/i-ve-done-my-share-of-busking-and-it-s-fun-until-it-isn-t-there-are/) [Andrew Bird](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/andrew-bird/) > [In Irish law, busking is considered vagrancy - you can be arrested for it. It's risky asking people for money in public. So it's…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/glen-hansard/in-irish-law-busking-is-considered-vagrancy-you-can-be-arrested-for/) [Glen Hansard](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/glen-hansard/) ## More by Passenger > [To be honest, busking was a massive part of becoming aware of homelessness. I used to run into a lot of 'Big Issue' sellers…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/passenger/to-be-honest-busking-was-a-massive-part-of-becoming-aware-of/) [Passenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/passenger/) > [Staring at the bottom of your glass Hoping one day you'll make a dream last But dreams come slow and they go so fast…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/passenger/staring-at-the-bottom-of-your-glass-hoping-one-day-you-ll-make-a/) [Passenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/passenger/) > [Before it happened to me, I'd look at other people who had become really successful and think, 'What a dream. That must be absolutely…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/passenger/before-it-happened-to-me-i-d-look-at-other-people-who-had-become/) [Passenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/passenger/) > [I love that - you get everything from seven-year-olds to 87-year-olds at Passenger gigs.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/passenger/i-love-that-you-get-everything-from-seven-year-olds-to-87-year-olds/) [Passenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/passenger/) > [Only know you've been high when you're feeling low...](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/passenger/only-know-you-ve-been-high-when-you-re-feeling-low/) [Passenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/passenger/) > [I'm lucky in the sense that I can write wherever I am - on the bus, in the hotel room, backstage, sitting at home.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/passenger/i-m-lucky-in-the-sense-that-i-can-write-wherever-i-am-on-the-bus-in/) [Passenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/passenger/) > [“Don't you cry for the lost Smile for the living Get what you need and give what you'r given Life's for the living so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/passenger/don-t-you-cry-for-the-lost-smile-for-the-living-get-what-you-need-and/) [Passenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/passenger/) > [I think Passenger is a bit of an ambiguous thing because in the past, it's been a band, or it's been just me, or…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/passenger/i-think-passenger-is-a-bit-of-an-ambiguous-thing-because-in-the-past/) [Passenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/passenger/) > [I think some sing-songwriter music can just be very serious - after an hour and a half of it, you are exhausted - so…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/passenger/i-think-some-sing-songwriter-music-can-just-be-very-serious-after-an/) [Passenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/passenger/) > [I still have the mentality of a street musician, because I was one for five years. Every opportunity that comes my way, I feel…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/passenger/i-still-have-the-mentality-of-a-street-musician-because-i-was-one-for/) [Passenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/passenger/) > [America is a funny place; it's a land of extremes, I think. There's fantastic, and there's gobsmackingly dreadful. In every realm you could imagine,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/passenger/america-is-a-funny-place-it-s-a-land-of-extremes-i-think-there-s/) [Passenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/passenger/) > [I've grown up on American songwriters my whole life - listening to Paul Simon and Bob Dylan and people like John Prine - you…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/passenger/i-ve-grown-up-on-american-songwriters-my-whole-life-listening-to-paul/) [Passenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/passenger/) > [I've got friends and my family and people who've been around for years and years and years. And those people are never in doubt:…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/passenger/i-ve-got-friends-and-my-family-and-people-who-ve-been-around-for/) [Passenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/passenger/) > [Some people expect me to have changed overnight because of one big song.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/passenger/some-people-expect-me-to-have-changed-overnight-because-of-one-big/) [Passenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/passenger/) > [If you can't be what you want, you learn to be the thing's you're not](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/passenger/if-you-can-t-be-what-you-want-you-learn-to-be-the-thing-s-you-re-not/) [Passenger](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/passenger/) [Explore all 81 Passenger quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/passenger/) ## More Band quotes > [The reason I was drawn to the Band Perry was because they have a knack for doing rollicking country music that can sound a…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/phoebe-robinson/the-reason-i-was-drawn-to-the-band-perry-was-because-they-have-a/) [Phoebe Robinson](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/phoebe-robinson/) > [It was an important period for us, because even though we weren't a "punk band", and what became a model for a punk band,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/stephen-mallinder/it-was-an-important-period-for-us-because-even-though-we-weren-t-a/) [Stephen Mallinder](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/stephen-mallinder/) > [There is something to be said though when you have 4 or 5 guys playing with no net, there is a sense of urgency,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/marco-mendoza/there-is-something-to-be-said-though-when-you-have-4-or-5-guys/) [Marco Mendoza](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/marco-mendoza/) > [My Nirvana experience was much different than the other three guys. For me, it was really new and exciting. I was just a guy…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/pat-smear/my-nirvana-experience-was-much-different-than-the-other-three-guys/) [Pat Smear](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/pat-smear/) > [I think my music has always been a mixture, depending on whom I'm working with - what band, what musicians, what producer.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/matisyahu/i-think-my-music-has-always-been-a-mixture-depending-on-whom-i-m/) [Matisyahu](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/matisyahu/) > [As you'll never hear the thing again, my boy, why not throw in a couple of brass bands?](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/thomas-beecham/as-you-ll-never-hear-the-thing-again-my-boy-why-not-throw-in-a-couple/) [Thomas Beecham](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/thomas-beecham/) > [I've always made sure that I tour with bands that people aren't expecting me to tour with.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/mayer-hawthorne/i-ve-always-made-sure-that-i-tour-with-bands-that-people-aren-t/) [Mayer Hawthorne](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/mayer-hawthorne/) > [There is more to me than just having been in the Runaways. And even though I'm really, really proud of what the band accomplished,…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jackie-fuchs/there-is-more-to-me-than-just-having-been-in-the-runaways-and-even/) [Jackie Fuchs](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jackie-fuchs/) > [I like the bad-boy types. Generally the guy I'm attracted to is the guy in the club with all the tattoos and nail polish.…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/megan-fox/i-like-the-bad-boy-types-generally-the-guy-i-m-attracted-to-is-the/) [Megan Fox](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/megan-fox/) > [Bass guitar is the engine of the band.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/suzi-quatro/bass-guitar-is-the-engine-of-the-band/) [Suzi Quatro](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/suzi-quatro/) > [I just became accustomed to being all the members of the band. That was something that was really exciting to me.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/jacob-collier/i-just-became-accustomed-to-being-all-the-members-of-the-band-that/) [Jacob Collier](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/jacob-collier/) > [I guess because we're essentially a two-man band, we're attracting Wham's crowd. But Wham! are more of a businessman's band.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/curt-smith/i-guess-because-we-re-essentially-a-two-man-band-we-re-attracting/) [Curt Smith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/curt-smith/) > [I'm about as privileged as you can get. I'm a white, male, heterosexual front man of a rock band.](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/dan-reynolds/i-m-about-as-privileged-as-you-can-get-i-m-a-white-male-heterosexual/) [Dan Reynolds](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/dan-reynolds/) > [I'd been playing in bands for something like seven years at this point. And we were always trying to get ahead, trying to rehearse…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/aerosmith/i-d-been-playing-in-bands-for-something-like-seven-years-at-this/) [Aerosmith](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/aerosmith/) > [Metallica's the only band i've ever been in. I'm not sure that when it ends in five, ten years, I'm going to put an…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/lars-ulrich/metallica-s-the-only-band-i-ve-ever-been-in-i-m-not-sure-that-when-it/) [Lars Ulrich](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/lars-ulrich/) [Browse all 6,497 Band quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/band/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "I've played in some pretty weird settings; busking puts you in all kinds of situations. I can tell you the most depressing gig I've played was in the North of England. At that time, I was playing with a band. 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