Punks Against Poverty Minifest
For the last couple of years I've been running an event called Punks Against Poverty. The idea came after reading an article via Share the Dignity on how homeless women struggle dealing with their periods when they can't afford pads/tampons. For whatever reason that was something that never occurred to me. Some months I might look at my pack and wonder if I can get away without having to buy another pack, let alone ever having to wonder what I'd do if I couldn't afford them at all. It's one of those items women NEED in life. I love what Share the Dignity do to help women but I wanted to do something myself locally. Each show I've tried to have a different lineup, some have had raffles and others not (the first one had so many donations for raffles it was ridiculous) and my last one was Christmas themed (where I've never seen so many bands raise their hands to playing the show and singing a Christmas song, only to complain about having to sing a Christmas song!) and included a limited Christmas PAP t-shirt. This year I decided I wanted to try and make it bigger and it became a minifest featuring 9 awesome Perth bands. I also picked a new charity to fundraise for - Perth Homeless Support Group - who help the homeless with food, clothes, toiletries and support. They also hold regular fundraiser movie night fundraisers and stalls so check them out on Facebook to keep up to date with what's happening if you'd like to support them!
This is where I thank everyone...
Thanks to Owen for the awesome zombie punk artwork and making my gig poster look freakin' cool!!
Thanks to Leeches, Scalphunter, The Donald Trumpets, The Shakeys, Dead End Brawler, Priority One, Lo-Fire and Castle Bravo for playing!
Special thanks goes to The Wolfbats for filling in on extreme short notice as the opening act. Lifesavers!
Thanks to Shayne who is the awesome door girl at The Boston. The last couple shows she's been prepared with boxes for any donations and this time around handed out chocolates to anyone who donated spare change! She also insisted on driving me home after the show and given that I'm just about a cripple these days after a gig it was muchly appreciated.
Big thanks to The Boston who have let me have all of these shows at their venue and unlike other venues don't want an essay and your first born because you had shit attendance one night!! Some gigs are great, some gigs are not, you just never know how a gig is going to go or what you might be up against that night.
Lastly thank you to everyone who bought an online ticket and everyone who attended the show. Your support helps make a difference and that night we raised $1145!!
Now I'll give it at least six months so I can forget how much gig organising stresses me out and I might think about doing another.