Trust us: It gets good around the two-minute mark.

While hundreds gathered in Union Square for a protest against police brutality on Saturday afternoon, a smaller, more impromptu crowd formed at Astor Place to watch a most bizarre act. Matthew Silver, 32, and Cory Metrick, 20, said they decided to set up at Astor Place around 3 p.m. after the police ejected them from Washington Square Park in the wake of a march that passed through the area. “A magician that got kicked out was outraged,” said Mr. Metrick, who drums in the comedic hip-hop band Buckwheat Groats, among others. “He was like, ‘I’m going to try to talk sense into [the police],’ but to no avail.”

Mr. Silver, who began performing several years ago when he moved to New York (he currently resides in Brooklyn), told us it was a “good day,” and he plans to return to Astor Place tomorrow – with the Ollie the Ostrich costume, but without the drummer. According to his website, he’ll also be performing at Sidewalk Café on Sunday.