Antwerpen

[charlatan_mudo]

Some say that the more you travel, the more you stay in the same place. To me it seems that all cities from one end of Europe to the other essentially are copies of each other. At least those I've seen fit this description. All have an old/historic part which usually includes or is located near the big commercial district. A cathedral. Tourist-oriented restaurants and nightlife with multilingual menus ans announcements pasted on wooden boards outside. And so on.
Anyway, at the moment I'm in Antwerpen as the locals call this place and for the first time in a while I've come across a street art scene. For one, there's this american guy called Brandon who does a comedy and juggling performance near the cathedral. Yesterday evening an acoustic jazz band performed on the Meir which is a very wide, very long pedestrians-and-bicycles-only shopping street. Also, a few days after getting off the train while doing a show I had a chance meeting with a performer who is a regular in these forums. Haven't seen him do his act yet; maybe later.
I read somewhere that permits are needed to perform the streets here, but nobody demanded that I show one yet. Could this be a seasonal thing? Will try to get in touch with Brandon and see what he says about the subject.

Oh, one more thing: there are also living statues here. We're like bloodsuckers. There are lots of us...

[Niels Duinker]

O yeah, last year I have performed the Aeromania show a couple times in Antwerpen, it is a duo show and my partner is living there so, why not to give it a try.
Personally I would risk playing there without a permit, but I am from the Netherlands and speak the same language but with different accent, and the cops didnt like that so much, I think. At least they always checked us at having permits or not.