If you haven't heard about what's been going down in Haiti, you must live in a hole, or simply be out of touch with the world. Two earthquakes in two weeks have devastated the country, leaving thousands dead and over a million homeless... That is why it was a privilege to be part of Ctrl.Alt.Shift's Haiti fundraiser club night at an old fav venue of mine, The End in Holborn, London, now known as The Den. Here's the mad set list of artists below, along with my review for the Ctrl.Alt.Shift website:
Editor's Blog: No Short Change For Haiti
What an immense week. To think, it was only last weekend when my senior/lady with the plan, Chantelle Fiddy rang me up and said, "We're highjacking The Den club to put on a fundraiser night for Haiti." Initially I thought it just had to be done, so let's get it on... until she told me if was going down on Wednesday January 20 (just four days later).
Was she mental? Not in the slightest, for what has happened since that phone call and now (as I sit in my bed, groggy with a pint of water and my laptop), was nothing short of a legendary night and an amazing response by the next generation to our brothers in Haiti.
The place was absolutely rammed! And at a certain point before midnight, the line (going around the block) had to be cut; when you have to start turning people away from your event - you know it's a success, despite the aggro from those who didn't get in (though it wasn't the worse thing to see so many people persistent to pay their £5 donation, get in and rave it up to our second to none set list).
I didn't actually get to see many of the acts and DJs - most of my time was spent wondering around with a bucket (alongside 20 other bopping volunteers) demanding more than shrapnel from the pockets of the lucky 1000+ who did manage to fit through the doors for the festival-esque line-up. As I swivelled my way through the jumping masses to catch snippets of my favourites (Ms Dynamite, The Thirst, Tinie Tempah, Heartless Crew and Shy FX), it was the sheer vibe that got me on a hype; reminiscent of my days as a cheeky 15 year old blagging my way into this beloved venue (formerly renowned as The End).
I'm a loyal fan, and I was devastated to hear The End had come to an end last year, but it was manic to see that we and The Den were able to revive the spirit of the schoolnight/after midnight clubber - and all in the knowledge and name of a very, very necessary cause.
This was so much more than a Red Stripe and sambucca session in a UV-lit room. No one has been able to dodge the news of Haiti in the past fortnight; 200,000 (approx) dead in the 7.0 earthquake on January 12, 1.5 million made homeless - 'ruins' and 'mass graves' are your buzzwords here. Then on the very morning of our club fundraiser, an aftershock (a 6.1 tremor) rocked the country once more, leaving the global community wondering just how much more the people of Haiti could take... Our team simply rallied together following the news of the second quake, given yet another kick up the backend to assure we got the very most out of our event; and the notes (i.e. sacrificing of booze) floating into our buckets, together with the ticket sales, proportion of the bar sales, and artist contributions (who paid/donated to perform!) - promised we had achieved our goal.
Of course it may come as short change in a massive equation to rehabilitate Haiti - there is no possible substantial expectancy of when the nation will be able to function and continue to live as 'normal'. But judging from the different kind of rumble last night, we are listening, and we will support the struggle.
This article can be sourced from here
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