The economy may been in tatters but when a bank’s gotta rave, a bank’s gotta rave. According to The Sunday Telegraph, Macquarie Bank paid electro stars The Presets ‘around’ $30,000 to play at its Sydney Christmas party recently. “I’m here with all of my bankers, yeah, yeah, yeah…”

However, the performance fee was barely a slice out of the overall bill – assumed to be between $500,000 and $750,000. Such wanton excess did not impress the folks at the Tele. “While other companies cancel or downgrade their end-of-year bashes as 2008 ends in financial disarray, the so-called ‘millionaire factory’ spared no expense, hiring Cockatoo Island on Sydney Harbour to stage a gothic extravaganza last Thursday,” they huffed. Honestly, though, who doesn’t like a good party? They need to get out more.

Speaking with inthemix this week the band’s frontman Julian Hamilton was coy when asked about the party. “I can’t really confirm or deny that I was there, but I can say that… umm… the fee that they quoted us as [having] charged is wildly underestimated!” Julian laughed. “We don’t get out of bed for $30,000!”