Noise complaints are one of those annoying reminders of why we can’t have nice things. Granted, many are completely valid, but when you, for example, move into a neighbourhood famous for its live music scene, complaining about noise is a serious jerk move.
However, one Manly resident tuned the d-bag meter all the way up to 11 over the weekend after he accosted a busker who was performing in broad daylight in the middle of the suburb’s famous Corso. Footage of the altercation has since surfaced online.
Sydney photographer Emma Leslie was on the scene when an unidentified Grumpy Old Man (GOM) interrupted a performance by local musician Declan Kelly, complaining about the volume of the performance, much to the chagrin of Kelly and a gathering crowd of supporters.
“Yep this just happened at Manly Market,” Kelly wrote on Facebook. “Lil ol me playing tunes, then aggressively told mid-song to turn the Fff down. I gave him my calm response to step away though he would not.”
“One of those stubborn boring complaining types. You know, the 1% making it difficult on culture and progressiveness. Was gratifying having the crowd turn on him and tell him where it’s at… 2016.”
At one point, the man began arguing with a crowd member who pointed out what we were all thinking: “If you hate noise, why would you live right on the Corso?” Apparently, the man first moved in 30 years ago and noise only recently became an issue in one Sydney’s most famous shopping and nightclub precincts.
Footage of the incident has been doing the rounds online and has been re-shared by several local musos, with pretty much everyone siding with Kelly and leaving supportive comments. At the time of writing, the video has amassed just under 140,000 views.
You can check out the footage below (or via Facebook), but make sure you watch till the glorious end when Kelly begins playing and the NIMBY-er marches off in a huff as the crowd cheer. Noise complaint sorted, and they didn’t even have to call Dave Grohl.
