Impromptu

One of the best things about the ubiquity of cheap, high-quality cameras and sound equipment is that we can capture forever all sorts of impromptu street performances that would otherwise be ephemeral affairs. Youtube and Vimeo are gold-mines for this sort of thing, and I could spend hours sifting through them if I had the time. My favorites are the ones that capture a sense of spontaneity -- where the artists just walk in to the space and start playing. I love to see the reactions of the unsuspecting patrons. Obviously most of these are anything but impromptu, but it is still bit of live performance that would otherwise be lost.

Christian Sorensen Hansen makes some lovely high-definition videos that he posts on Vimeo. Here is a great impromptu performance by Campfire Ok:


Campfire Ok at Oddfellows from Christian Sorensen Hansen on Vimeo.

La Blogotheque's fantastic conert a emporter, or take-away show, series is another treasure trove of street performances. Here are just a few of their hundreds of excellent videos from a huge variety of artists:





Pickwick is a band out of Seattle that has generated some incredible buzz with their soulful performances at SXSW and others. Here is a fantastic a capella version of their song Blackout which made an appearance on my best of lists for 2011. It has been making the rounds on blogs for quite some time, but I haven't gotten tired of it yet.



Here is a great outdoor performance from The Head And The Heart brought to you by Germany's Cardinal Sessions.



And finally, a bonus video from Christian Sorensen Hansen. Clearly choreographed, but it's such a lovely version of this fantastic song from Cataldo that I had to include it.


Deep Cuts from Christian Sorensen Hansen on Vimeo.

I'm sure I'll be revisiting this topic some time in the future as I have no doubt there will be no shortage of new performances being captured.