Making benefit a dirty word.

Here is a new twist to the endless stream of benefits I see happening around town. A band has a benefit show for…Oh you take a stab at it. What would you think? Darfur? AIDS? Historic Preservation? No, you are not with the times; it’s a benefit for the band’s own album. Is it me or is charging $15 and calling it a “benefit” really gauche? We here at LP4 central make albums the old fashioned way, we save money from playing out and putting money from our own pockets into the pot. Hell, I don’t know where the money will come from to make our next record so, yeah, it sucks – especially when Germans get testy – but that’s how you are supposed to do it. Our audience has contributed enough to our albums by paying the door (which we split evenly with the other bands) so we would never dare have an overpriced door to “benefit” ourselves. It’s just lazy, selfish, and insulting to the audience to do that.

To make my point let me point out two benefits worthy of your consideration:

My band is doing a benefit this month. It’s not going to be convenient but it’s for a good cause so we’re glad to help out. It’s for a woman (a single mother) who will likely be dead in a matter of months from cancer. We’re charging $8 at the door.

Here is the poster:

This Saturday there is a benefit for PUSH with a lot of good bands coming together to benefit the community. Cost: $5.00.

Here is that poster:
In both of these examples, bands are playing for the benefit of others and the entrance fees are reasonable. So all I’m saying s that given that there are so many benefits already taking place, let’s not add a new genre of benefits well call the “Benefit for Me” genre to our calendars. I suggest bands show some class and fans have enough self-respect not to be gouged at the door.