PIAS Fire Benefit at Favela Chic

Great music, great venue, great cause – what went wrong?

Recently, I went to the Richard Norris and Label Love PIAS Fire benefit at Favela Chic. I was looking forward to it as it had the potential to be a smashing evening – the line-up, venue and cause were all great. AIM had funded the evening to raise money for UK independent music labels whose music was lost in the riots on August 9^th when the main PIAS warehouse was destroyed.

I met a friend at Old Street after work and we walked to Favela Chic, having been told the event started at 7. We got there on time, against the odds having arrived on the tube. My first thought was that it was a cool place – but it was totally empty. We sat and had a drink whilst music types sorted the decks, thinking that it would fill up.

I would like to say that by 8 it was packed and Richard Norris was raking in money for the great cause but it would be a lie. I warned two other friends that were coming about not being too late, but even though they arrived at 8.45 the crowd was still pretty sparse.

The music was great; eclectic, to say the least – a mixture of Reggae, Dubstep, House and my firm favourite of the evening – Swing. However the lack of people meant the atmosphere and camaraderie that should have been present at such an event was lacking.

All in all, it was a great evening (thanks to everyone involved), but the lack of punters overshadowed the event somewhat. Throughout all the music, my friends were the only people I saw frequenting the dance floor! Maybe it was because it was on a Wednesday. Whatever the reason, it should have been busier considering the musical talent and the cause, but luckily Richard Norris did make a profit.

If anyone couldn’t make it and wants to donate to the worthy cause, you can visit the Paypal account of either Label Love which is under the email piasfundraiser@gmail.com, or AIM’s own Paypal account which is under the email accounts@musicindie.com.