Just beat it

I've been trying to track down a soundtrack to Y Tu Mama, Tambien, and as I was walking to the beat of a song that's been stuck in my head for weeks, another beat creeped into my ears.

Crisp. Clean. Loud and getting louder.

I turned the corner outside the Virgin Megastore at the Denver Pavilions and there sat a man, about 20, banging beat-up sticks on a collection of upside down buckets. It reminded me of the percussion show Stomp. I thought of the Buskerfest that showcases street performers, and I seem to miss it every year.

And there he sat, eyes closed, his rhythm turning the 16th Street Mall into a sea of bobbing heads on this warm summer night.