Ladder 14 rolls up to Great Scott on Tuesday night; photo by Josh Smith
Two punk rock benefit shows this week that aimed to raise money for the families of two firefighters who died battling a nine-alarm blaze last month has pulled in a cool $50,000.
Lieutenant Ed Walsh and firefighter Michael Kennedy died battling a Beacon Street fire on March 26. With the help of Bowery Boston, Ducky Boys’ Mark Lind first organized a benefit headlined by Street Dogs this past Tuesday at Great Scott in Allston, and pre-sale VIP tickets — at $75 each — sold out within hours. After a quick huddle, a second show was added, last night’s benefit at the Sinclair in Cambridge. That show quickly sold out as well, at $35 a ticket. Other donations started to come in — from Bowery and Great Scott donating the rooms, the bands donating their time and effort, Narragansett adding $1 for every beer sold, Soul Fire and OTTO Pizza feeding the bands, an extensive raffle item list and Dig publisher Jeff Lawrence flying in some out-of-town band members — leading to all money raised going to the Lieutenant Walsh – Firefighter Kennedy Memorial Fund.
The final calculations are in, and the final amount going to the fund is exactly $50,000. Here’s how it shook out, according to a note Bowery’s Josh Smith just posted to the Facebook event page:
I know that Mark Andrew was skeptical when I told him my “estimate” last night, since we were all busy and still selling shirts and posters as people left I had to put a pretty close number together, one that I really wanted to get right, but really wanted to hit that milestone… well, I’m happy to say my math is good. Here is the breakdown… Thanks so much to everyone for coming together and helping raise this money. It was a privilege to have been involved in this event. I book well over 300 shows a year, and nothing that I’ve been involved with this year, or in years past has felt as meaningful and important as these last two nights. I’m humbled, I’m impressed, and I’m proud of everyone who contributed… thanks.
Night #1, 4/22/14 at Great Scott
Tickets: $16,500
Raffle: $5,187Night #2, 4/23/14 at The Sinclair
Tickets: $18,060
Merch: $3,170.50
Raffle: $5,730+$1032 from Narragansett Brewing Co. ($1 for every ‘Gansett purchased)
brought us right up to $49,679.50…I would have said that that was close enough considering our original goal of raising $10,000 had long been surpassed…
but our office disagreed and said that close, just wasn’t enough… and donated another $320.50 from The Sinclair to get the total to $50,000. on… the… dot.
