"Bucket boys" who beat on makeshift drums...will be banned from a stretch of tony North Michigan Avenue under an ordinance passed Wednesday by the City Council... The ban applies to the stretch of Michigan between Delaware Place and Superior Street... Noise aside, proponents also said that safety is a concern because crowds attracted by performers sometimes force pedestrians into the street to get past.I'm guessing this ban won't affect giant, multi-colored mechanical flowers used to promote the latest luxury automobile.
On Tuesday night, a giant bright flower appeared at the corner of Michigan and Superior on the Magnificent Mile. Wondering what it was for, the life-is-a-movie side of me imagined lasers shooting from its center, destroying cars and buildings as it crawled along the street. But then the cynic in me kicked movie guy aside to realize there was only one option: marketing. Which goes to show what the city will do to accommodate people and entities with money (the car-launch spectacle was timed with the Chicago Auto Show that starts this Friday). This includes a ban on street musicians, who can be seen as a deterrent for shoppers as much as a source for (legitimate?) noise and safety concerns. I'll miss the "bucket boys" and other street musicians, as they added some spice to what's becoming the heavily-controlled, "outdoor mall" of North Michigan Avenue.
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