Other cities may boast of the occasional street performer, but Venice Beach is an entire strip of land devoted to amateur entertainment. You can see escape artists break out of straight jackets, daredevils juggle chainsaws, and even the occasional roller skating, turban wearing electric guitarist. Thousands of tourists and locals flock every weekend to watch these amateur sensations. After spending many of my own weekends cruising the beach, watching acts from the exciting to the atrocious, I decided that possibly anyone could join their ranks. The only thing you really needed was gumption.
Pure brass cojones.
Unlike a club or a theatre, there's no barrier between you and the audience when you're on the boardwalk. And nothing, that is, to stop them from killing you if you suck. A seed began to germinate in my mind. Within seconds on the turntable, my roommates and I felt the mad urge to breakdance. In fact, we couldn't shake the image of the four of us popping and spinning to this lite-rap chestnut.