Sorry I haven't been able to give feedback on Saturday night earlier than this. Net access is limited, so I have to write out anything long and complicated at work and bring it back on disc (real pain in the arse).
It was a bit of a mixed result, to be honest. On the positive side, the evening was a good laugh, kinda low-key but with a good vibe. Everyone I spoke to said they really enjoyed themselves, even those who wouldn't usually listen to that kind of music. Plus there were a few people who made some good new friends and/or useful future connections (myself included).
On the downside, things did not go at all well with the venue or the fund raising. The initial arrangement (only verbal. Trust me: there's been more than enough feeling stupid and kicking of ourselves to go around) was to pay a £200.00 deposit, which was refundable if we made more than £250.00 on the bar. In addition to this we would give the venue £1.00 for every person who came. About an hour into the evening, the bar manager disputed this arrangement had ever taken place and said that we needed to get 250 people clocked in on the door before the deposit could be refunded. Completely different kettle of fish. We ended up collecting around £300.00 on the door, having had 83 people pay. The venue refused to refund the deposit, we had no basis on which to argue, and we had to repay them £83.00 (we decided to stick to our side of the bargain, as a report had to be sent back to Save the Children concerning the success of the event. We reckoned it would be best to remain blameless rather than cause potential problems for the charity). The bar manager also called into question the validity of Nathalie's charity work, which shouldn't come to anything as she is fully registered with both Save the Children and I to I. The result? We broke even. The deposit was covered by the money made on the door, leaving no money for the charity. But least we didn't lose money. I have no idea whether the changes in the conditions of using the venue were an honest mistake on the part of the bar manager and owner, or whether they're just a vile bunch of diseased cunts. I could make a guess, but judge not lest ye be judged, eh?
So it was a big learning experience of how not to do things. We're considering taking further action, and there are a couple of avenues we can pursue. To begin with, there's the original verbal agreement, made over the telephone. The call was made from where Nathalie and I work, where every call is recorded. There's a slim chance that we might be able to locate the DAT backups and use this to get our deposit back, in which case just over £200.00 will have been raised. Or we could chalk the whole thing down to experience and just leave it. One thing that we're definitely going to do is write a detailed report back to Save the Children to let them know how it went (of course trying to make things as objective as possible). I guess it's up to them if they want to investigate further.
Thank you very much everyone for your support, whether you came on the night or projected us some good vibes. Nathalie and I want to say particular thanks to:
- Lyra Lovelaces for lending us his considerable music taste and deck skills. Best DJ set of the night.
- Will Wright, for being a sound bloke and travelling a long way. Really sorry you didn't get a chance to play out (hope you weren't too pissed off).
- Flyboy for letting us crash/store bags at his old flat. Hope the move goes well, mate.
- The Magickal Order of Barbelith for their time and effort in designing a sigil for the party, and Mixmage for delivering it. I wore it proudly on my shirt for the whole night. You guys are really kind and thoughtful. Do you have a newsletter so that non-members can be kept up to date with the workings you're doing that you don't kind making public? I wouldn't mind knowing a bit more about the sigil and it's programming, if that's cool with you guys.
Many apologies for the lovely people who came and paid on the door to show their support. I am so sorry that things fucked up. I feel like we should pay you guys back (if only that were possible). You had faith in us and we let you down. Fucking humble pie, feel like a tit.
Finally (and on a positive note again), I haven't been deterred from future events one iota. I'm really up for putting on an event like this again, having learned from this experience. Less on the door (just enough to cover costs, maybe passing it to Barbelith running costs), no charity involvement which means we can pick more alternative venues (and make a decent fixed arrangement with the owners, ON PAPER). Would anyone else be up for it? |
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