Yes! I've seen--I can still feel--the instrument breakage that can happen at gigs, and granted those were all much more crowded, chaotic conditions than this was, but I can't help a bit of a wince.

Heh, now that I think about it, that same musician who made the point about busking paying the rent was the guy who said, shortly after a fistfight broke out (and was then contained) at a pub where we were playing, "If that had gone any further, it would've been 'Save the instruments, then worry about the rest of you!'"