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Angry hurdy-gurdy guy shoves Keytar Bear
By adamg on Wed, 08/26/2015 - 6:02pm
Seconds after the shove.
At 5:43 p.m., a shocked Abby Cirella reported from State and Congress:
Keytar Bear was just pushed by other local musician.
Why would anybody push Keytar Bear? She continues:
Other musician claims Keytar Bear plays too loud. Got in his face.
Two pedestrians have called the police now. The other musician is yelling about how loud (ironic?) Keytar Bear is.
He plays a very strange accordion, first time I saw him was outside State. Wasn't playing at the time.
Hurdy gurdy guy - and his dog - who normally sit outside the main entrance to the Old State House, were last seen walking rather quickly through Downtown Crossing, BPD in warm pursuit. He managed to evade them by hopping on the T.
Keytar Bear fans vowed to protect their hero, who has been attacked rather more viciously in the past. Tikva tweets:
Keytar Bear is awesome! Does he need a posse? *fierces!*
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Comments
When Folkies Go Bad
Aggro folk musicians: reason #284755629303037575656 why we should just legalize weed already!
Im all for legalizing weed
But can you pot smokers please shower after?
You smell like shit from a hundred yards away.
Or just use edibles.
Get as high as you want, but please keep that smell to yourself. You reek like a diaper pail.
I don't use
Smoke or otherwise. For me it is a matter of good public health policy.
I smell far less here in PDX and in Denver than I do after work in Boston.
How is encouraging smoking
How is encouraging smoking good public health policy? Inhaling smoke from any burning organic matter is carcinogenic. Your DNA replication machinery doesn't care if it's a stogie, a cigarette, or a joint.
Are you sure you studied public health?
Okay Dr. Science
Okay Dr. Science
What is it about this guy?
I've seen him play. Pretty harmless. Doesn't seem to bother anyone.
But he is like a magnet for violence.
There are people who want to attack others
When I see Keytar Bear I see a guy who is easy going, safe and even vulnerable. A guy who comes across as very open considering we see the bear and not the guy. But I believe that there are folks who attack vulnerable people because they seem to be easy targets. I remember the punks who attacked him a while back. They wanted to attack somebody and Keytar Bear looked like an easy target.
I'm sorry that the hurdy-gurdy guy went off the deep end and attacked Keytar Bear. He decided to be a bully. Now he's too scared to own up to what he did.
he is different
Historically people dont like that about other people it seems
Its unfortunate but sadly, not unexpected.
I normally see this guy right
I normally see this guy right outside the Old State House every day, all day. If he's even playing at all its not very loud or obnoxious, and he often chats with the tourists. I've never seen him be a problem before.
Honestly, keytar bear is the only street performer in this city I actually enjoy, and I love that he's hanging out around state st lately. I love having his music echoing around the financial district.
The Hurdy Gurdy man is rude
The Hurdy Gurdy man is rude all the time, his dog only barks at or attacks black people, dogs learn that behavior, and he has toned the noise level down recently, but hearing it all day is unpleasant and rude after more than two hours.
~someone who works nearby.
I take it this isn't the same
I take it this isn't the same hurdy gurdy player I see frequently on Red Line stops (Davis, Porter, Harvard, namely)? He usually doesn't have a dog, but he's the only hurdy gurdy player I've spotted around town.
It is him and he's a giant douchebag
I've had several run ins with Hurdy Gurdy man before, its the very same guy you describe, he plays a bunch of places, if he plays on the t he doesn't bring his dog. I've never met a busker who has anything nice to say about him at all, mostly because the only time he interacts with us is to harass or assault us. The last time I saw him he grabbed my mandolin, and refused to let go unless I agreed to follow his arbitrary rules, he then put his other hand on me, only relenting because I threatened to break his fucking neck if he didn't back off. every interaction I've had with him has been him harassing or attempting to strong arm me. He's a bully and needs to be dealt with.
I had no idea. I love his
I had no idea. I love his music. I even bought a CD from him.
I think KeytarBear gets attacked a lot because people look at him and see a costume, not a person. That happens all the time in Times Sq, at Disney parks and sporting events. People see the cartoon-y character and forget that it's a person in a suit.
It happens to actors, too -- Billy Dee Williams couldn't go anywhere for years without people coming up to him and saying something like "How could you have betrayed Han Solo?"
this will probably blow your mind
Please, I hope you're sitting down when you read this. Keytar Bear is Billy Dee Williams. I bet you didn't see that one coming.
Actually, I just made that up.
sounds legit
well, I know I've never seen them in the same place at the same time.
By that logic
one could argue that Billy Bulger and Whitey Bulger are one in the same.
Wow
Too bad you weren't able to tase him or something!
Plays in the Public Garden too
His name is Donald Heller (he's been in a few news stories) and he often plays on the bridge in the Public Garden. I busk occasionally and he once threw a fit at me because he thought I was too close to his "turf," even though I was playing an unamplified string instrument. Does not seem like a friendly guy.
His dog only barks at black people?
Just like the "racist dog" episode of "Curb Your Enthusiasm".
No songs of love?
Probably needs to review his Donovan.
https://youtu.be/HwOE9lx_TEY
creepy
Always thought it was a creepy song, even before "Zodiac."
Nothing creepy about it
It's actually a lovely, mystical song if you take the time to listen to it. Jimmy Page plays the lead guitar on it.
The shark was jumped
a racist pet...
Any harm comes to this dog
Any harm comes to this dog because of the nasty comments here and we'll know who to blame. Dogs cannot be racist, a$$holes. Karma's a bitch.
but what about...
...dogma?
thanks, folks. I'll be here all week. tip your waitress.
Ba
zinga!
I also love Keytar Bear!!!
I also love Keytar Bear!!!
omg no
I was just there like an hour before.. and I even tweeted a pic.
Bah.. people really do suck.
I've chatted with the hurdy
I've chatted with the hurdy gurdy guy, and he seemed really nice. I wonder if there's more to this story.
Territorial Pissings
Hurdy Gurdy Guy will try to drive out any other busker within a short radius. He probably thought that Keytar was "on his turf", which is to say that he didn't want him within a square mile or so.
I've seen him pull this bull before. I'm not sure why he doesn't move somewhere else.
because
it probably is his turf.
there are some rules
amoungst buskers,panhandlers, etc.. Everyone has their established spot and that should be respected. Keytar bear is given a pass by anyone in the city for his dumb outfit so he probably thought he could just take this guys spot.
No, it is not
See Mandolin player, above. Exactly what I'm talking about.
There is no "turf". This is public property. On the T there are designated rules, but in an open plaza? No.
Let me guess: you use space savers? Hurdy Gurdy Bully is only demonstrating the same sort of asinine entitlement to public property, backed by physical assault and verbal abuse.
I could see why a busker
I could see why a busker would get annoyed if he was performing, and another performer with loud amplified music arrived and set up very close by.
Totally agree. The hurdy
Totally agree. The hurdy gurdy guy and his little dog are super friendly and the guy talks to everyone. People take pics with his little dog which is is the most gentle little guy. He brings a smile to everyone's face.
That's a shame about this fight. I do feel bad for the acoustic street musicians though... they are always getting drowned out by the guys with amps and prerecorded backup music.
^^^ Hurdy Gurdy Guy
Thank you, Hurdy Gurdy Guy.
I often see the hurdy-gurdy
I often see the hurdy-gurdy guy on the 71 at rush hour (inbound in the morning, outbound in the afternoon), for whatever that's worth. I've always thought he seemed like kind of a dick, but he always behaves as if he's so frail I wouldn't have expected something like this.
Jealous that Keytar had a
Jealous that Keytar had a cameo on "Boston EMS"?
He did?!?
He did?!?
Yup! One of the EMT
Yup! One of the EMT supervisors was dancing to his music. I want to say, episode 5. Great show, btw!
Does Hurdy Gurdy man really
Does Hurdy Gurdy man really think he can evade police for long? He's the most spottable guy downtown next to Keytar Bear, Spare Change Guy and Bow-legged, Black Cowboy.