> What makes the difference between these two situations is the framing or
> the context - Venice Beach is an "institutionalized" venue for street
> performers, L'Enfant metro station is not. This is what the article is
> trying to explain.
Let the record also show that we're talking about Washington DC here, a very philistine town(*).
There's a guy here in New York who I see playing the violin in the subway all the time. He's really, really, good. I frequently see people standing and listening to him, or coming up and talking to him between numbers, and he often gets a round of applause.
There are a lot of subtle variables in this stuff, though. My subway fiddler is quite good at engaging his audience -- makes eye contact, and he can even talk to you while he's playing. Playing hard stuff, too. Can't do that at all, myself, and it always amazes me.
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(*) I'm allowed to say mean things about DC because I was born there.