[Image: Pool Cleaners From Distant Planets]

[Image: Colorado Rockers for Kids]

Plastic Parachute		Rosco		Zen Barons
Wendy Woo			The Indulgers

Reasons for Rocking

by Rhaab

Do you need an excuse to go see some Denver-area musicians perform? Is it difficult to justify paying $15 for five different acts in one night? Would it be even better if it were for a good cause? For the Pool Cleaners from Distant Planets, the answer to those questions are "not really", "no", and "of course". That's why we were happy to take up our posts as the Balcony People at the Gothic on January 30. We had a great time, and we were happy to know that all the money we spent on tickets went to the Teen Lounge at the Children's Hospital.

Everybody knows the healing process can be tedious--and, as Jeph can tell you, it can take forever to get the taste out of your mouth following a full bacta-tank dip--so why not try to make it a little easier by giving patients something to do? The Lounge gives the various kids, cubs, pups, buds, sprouts, hatchlings, and un-accelerated clones of the area a chance to have a little fun while they're being treated. Of course, even the most modern hospital can't alleviate all suffering--many of the patients have homework to do, too. Still, the Lounge provides a little help with that in the form of computer access, so there's another reason to throw support behind it.

Everyone who contributed deserves a pat on the back. The performers especially deserve thanks and recognition for putting in their time, effort, and talent towards the cause. We wouldn't be the aliens we are, however, without forming a few opinions about the performers just based on what they did on stage. So here are our reviews of the evening's entertainment, in order of appearance. Enjoy.

Take a Parachute and Jump

By Rhaab

The first band of the night at Rockers for Kids was Plastic Parachute. The first thing I have to say is "Wow!" The second thing I have to say is that I apologize for wanting to compare this band to No Doubt, 'cause I bet they hear it all the time.

The similarities are obvious: both are loud, energetic, enthusiastic bands fronted by female lead singers with a lot of presence. That's about as far as I can go, though. For one thing, I know a few guys who have reported a certain hard-to-define scariness about No Doubt's Gwen Stefani. No one said anything of that nature about Plastic Parachute's Deb Hooks, plus the kids really seemed to like her, so we can take "scary" off the checklist. Oh, and she obviously liked the kids, too, so if they have any future all-ages shows in the works, don't be afraid to bring the little 'uns along.

Want another difference? Okay, but keep in mind that while I appreciate some of No Doubt's work, I'm not what you would call a huge fan. Based on what I've heard from them over the years, and what I heard on January 30, I'd have to say that Deb seems to have more vocal ability and range than Gwen does. It's hard to describe exactly what she sounded like, but at various times I heard tones that reminded me of Bonnie Raitt, Bjork (on some of the high notes, but in a good way), Denver's very own Anitra Carr, the little-known but amazing Mary Cutrufello, and even a female version of Cheap Trick's Robin Zander. All I've ever heard from Gwen is, um, Gwen. And, for the record, I think I'd much rather watch Deb wiggle, but that has little to do with music.

I don't want to give you the impression she was up there alone, however. It is, after all, a band, and a very solid one at that. If they hadn't said that their drummer was a substitute, I never would have known, so the group obviously put some work in. Ricky Brewer's guitar and Shaun Nelson's bass give us a framework for Deb's vocals, and the drums, of course, are the foundation for everything else. Instead of the regular drummer (listed as Neil Matlock on the website), some great sit-in work was provided by Rubber Planet's drummer, identified only as Leo 7. (He may or may not be related to Logan 5; I didn't get a chance to ask.)

Towards the end, after all the hard rocking, we got treated to some blues . . . some updated blues. Some post-grunge, neo-punk, hard rock, whatever-you-wanna-call-it blues, in the form of a song called "Six O'Clock News". It's a powerful song, and it's reason enough by itself to go see this band perform.

I get the impression from their website that the band hasn't been together very long. Let's hope they're with us for a long time, because I'm glad that fans have a new band to see--a new place to go, so to speak. Or, to put it in the words of Ireland's Something Happens, "Take a parachute and jump / You can't stay here forever". As for me, you can put me on the plane with the tiny green army men, because my parachute is going to be plastic.

Rosco for Kids

by Myk-El

Rosco are a blues-rock band that performed second on the bill at Rockers for Kids. They sounded a little off on the first couple of tunes, which I believe was a matter of not being entirely warmed up. But after the first two songs, they started to show some fire and got the audience involved.

Pamela Martinez fronts Rosco with her vocals and with acoustic guitar. The double braids and the bluesy sounds had one Pool Cleaner comment that "somebody done Heidi wrong." It's hard to find a vocalist to compare her to. The closest would be to imagine Melissa Etheridge without the raspy voice. Jonny Burquest plays solid bass and, on this night, looked like former Hall & Oates and Saturday Night Live band bass player Paul Ossola. Michael Huevleman handles lead guitar duties. He seems to be influenced by the guitar stylings of Stevie Ray Vaughn but lacking the twang (more on that later). It's good but not spectacular, yet. Lastly, John Gillen provides the back beat. Not much is asked of him except for the wearing of a wig when performing "Superfly", but it's the right backing for this music.

If there is a flaw to their music, it's that their sound is a bit non-descript. Texas blues sounds different from Mississippi blues which is different still from Chicago blues. Much like folks who were born and raised in Colorado don't have a distinctive accent when they speak, Rosco doesn't have one when they play. While that helps if you want to break into TV or Radio news, this isn't a help when playing the blues. This is not to take away from the talents of the folks in the band. They should be able to find their voice given time.

The Zen Barons

by Karin of Earth, Official Groupie to Sh'wn

It has been just over a week, and I'm finally able to diminish my headache from experiencing the Zen Barons live at the Rockers for Kids benefit concert for The Children's Hospital. I had never heard of this band before and still wish that were true. Anyone can pick up an instrument and beat on it, but it takes a TRUE musician to use it to make music. The Zen Barons aren't musicians, but masturbators of instruments. The same beat was played for every song (I use the term "song" loosely). Their words weren't understandable, the performance was emotionless and the life was literally sucked from the audience. They stated that their first CD will be coming out soon, but I suggest they put their money towards music lessons instead. I rate The Zen Barons at 15 hot pokers in order to remotely forget their attempt at performing.

Wendy's Wooing Wows

By Sh'wn

Friday, Jan. 30, the Pool Cleaners united at the Gothic Theater to listen to music and to support the Rockers for Kids event. This fundraiser was put together to support The Children's Hospital. All in all, there were five local bands that performed that evening. I'm here to talk about the fourth performer, Wendy Woo. First, let me say that Wendy was supposed to be performing with Nina Storey. Unfortunately, Nina became unavailable at the last minute, so Wendy had to go on without her.

If you didn't already know, Wendy Woo is one of biggest and best names in the Denver music scene, and with good reason. She has a beautiful voice and is a supremely talented guitarist. When Wendy first took to the stage that night, however, she had her work cut out for her as the previous act (the Zen Barons) had totally sucked the life out of the audience. However, as she concluded her first song, I knew I saw flickers of life returning to the audience. As her set progressed, the crowd became more and more lively.

Admittedly, Wendy was a little off her game. In fact, she even said that if she knew what the crowd was going to be like, she would have been better prepared. I honestly don't think it mattered. Her songs, combined with her vocal emotion and her creative abuse of her acoustic guitar (she is the ONLY performer I have ever seen that uses her acoustic guitar as an percussive accompaniment) got the crowd on its feet and restored their life signs to acceptable levels. I also would like to point out how good I think it was for Wendy to mention her visitations to The Children's Hospital and how supportive she was of the Rockers for Kids project.

During her set, Wendy did a Bill Withers cover called "Use Me", which should also be familiar to fans of Opie Gone Bad. A couple of her other highlight sings included "Most of Yesterday", and the (I believe) unofficial sequel "Gonna Wear Red". Wendy closed her set with her song "Rocking the Skyline" which will be on her new album to be released in April. All in all, it was great music, so be sure to check out Wendy Woo, either as a solo performer or with the Woo Band.

The Indulgers

By Jeph

The Indulgers are one of Denver's more energetic acts that we see on a regular basis. Even if Wendy hadn't re-energized the audience after the Zen Barons, the Indulgers would've lifted the room right back up with only a little effort. All five members of the band perform with passion and enjoy what they do.

Don't let the fact that these guys have a fiddler fool you into thinking they're a country act of any form. Damien McCarron, their lead singer, is pure Irish, and it shows in the style of their music, best described as "Celtic Rock". If you want other examples of their sort of musical direction, you might also try the Young Dubliners, or maybe Seven Nations. But it's to your advantage to look up the Indulgers since they're a local act, and music like this is best heard first-hand.

Renee Fine handles the fiddle with a skill and passion that can barely be contained in her petite frame. Mike Nile handles guitar and several other unique instruments, including an electronic 'buzzpipe' that serves as an introduction to their cover of 'Born To Be Wild', which alone recommends this band for me. Chris Murtaugh covers bass, bouncing back and forth. Pat Murphy drums for them in what has to be the most stripped-down kit I've ever seen, but he gets 125% out of that kit, if not more.

Now, like any band that's been around for years, they have their groups of local fans. But any band that brings fans that pull out lights for "Fisherman's Blues" and place them on their heads at the appropriate moments, and who do strange "rap music" dance moves for "Diddly Day", deserves more recognition than many. Damien refers to that group as "the Lads", and even got one of them up on stage with sunglasses for "Dirty Old Town".

All in all, if you're in for something to stir the blood in you that you didn't know you had, with sounds of a country you've never seen, then the Indulgers are your "shamrockin' good time".