Much has been made of late about all the big media holiday parties being canceled in the wake of the Financial Crisis of '08 (though not worthy benefits, fortunately!). One would be forgiven for assuming that this trend might also be true of the financial world (or what's left of it). Instead fishbowlNY found itself at the Marriot Marquis in Times Square Friday night attending the big Financial Follies gala, which is hosted every year by the Financial Writer's Association.

Basically different Wall St. firms sponsor individual tables and invite financial journos, bloggers (and us) to eat and drink and enjoy a show of musical numbers whose lyrics have been changed to reflect the current economic environment. This year featured such ditties as (the increasingly popular) 'Brother Can You Spare a Dime', and 'The Gambler' ("you got your big fat bonus sellin' loans that were not stable" ). Most of the folks at our table, which included writers from the WSJ op-ed page, the Financial Times, and Reuters said that this year was by far the best mostly due to the fact there was something to laugh about (and who doesn't enjoy gallows humor put to music). So! Wasn't it a little strange to be feasting for free (actually the cocktail reception was a cash bar) while Citigroup burned? Well yes. There was definitely a sense that we were eating dinner on the deck of the Titanic. That said, more than one person pointed out that the party had been paid for more than six months ago. Also? We imagine our free media meal ticket is about to run out, so may as well enjoy it while it lasts. Video of some of the musical numbers after the jump.