Same thing, except one tries to impress you to get your money. >.>
I don't consider it to be the same thing at all.
Performers can actually add to the ambiance of a place. Nobody, however, enjoys having pity-seeking beggars around. The first actually tries to do something to earn that money, and as such it's barely different than a real artist doing a big expensive show in a Colosseum: it's just smaller in scale and the price being all up to you.
