According to statistics from the , approximately 11,000 men, women and children in Denver are homeless on any given night. About 20-25% of those are veterans of the armed forces. About a third are afflicted with mental illness of one sort or another. Half of the homeless population is made up of families with children.
While that kind of sobering data might make the 20 pound turkey at your Thanksgiving feast look a little extravagant, it’s not all bad news. Last week, the Colorado Coalition for the Homeless celebrated 25 years of community service — of creating housing options, providing medical and mental health care and reaching out with nearly every necessary service — with its annual Home for the Holidays week. The highlight of the week was an unannounced, intimate performance by Colorado’s legendary .
Big Head Todd is no stranger to benefit shows, especially when they hit close to home. In fact, the group just played one last month for victims of the Four Mile Canyon fire.
“We get a lot of requests to do benefit types of things,” says bassist Rob Squires. “It’s really tough to decide which ones to take.”
The Colorado Coalition benefit, however, was something the band really wanted to do.
“We went down and did a tour of the facilities down there,” explains Squires of the trip he and guitarist Jeremy Lawton took to the Coalition’s offices at 21st and Champa and its clinic at 21st and Broadway. “It’s just really impressive the services they’re providing for our community.”
Those last two words drive home how the band feels about this cause. Our community. It isn’t a problem or an affliction outside of Squires’s world. It’s our community. For Jennifer Wilson, that personal connection to the cause came through at the event.
“They put on such a good show,” exclaims Wilson, the Coalition’s Director of Resources and Development. “They played all of their best songs that people knew and could dance to.”
For Wilson, having Big Head Todd agree to play the event — which was held on the east side of the club level of Invesco Field — was a big deal. The highlight of the night might have been the Coalition’s president, John Parvensky, receiving a special message from President Obama, but with Big Head Todd on hand, the focus shifted to rock and roll.
“We wanted someone who had roots in Colorado,” Wilson explains of the decision to ask the band to play. “We wanted someone who had an interest in the success of our state.”
Though Big Head Todd and the Monsters weren’t able to advertise the show due to contractual commitments, the Colorado Coalition was able to let its members and supporters know, and astute observers were able to find out by visiting the organization’s website in the weeks leading up to the gala. As a result, approximately 500 folks turned out for the casual concert.
“One of the great things about music,” says Squires, “is that it has the power to bring people together, and it can get people to rally together behind a good cause.”
Big Head Todd and the Monsters did more than just play a concert for the Colorado Coalition. They also donated a couple autographed guitars to the event’s silent auction. They even auctioned off the opportunity to introduce the band before they came on stage, an honor that went to a very excited and very nervous fan.
Rather than taking the opportunity to hype their most recent record — or even the one that comes out in January, paying tribute to Robert Johnson’s 100th birthday — Big Head Todd and the Monsters used their performance on Saturday night to draw attention to the plight of the homeless in our community, and to encourage others to give. According to Wilson, it worked.
“It’s estimated that last week’s three Home for the Holidays events raised 25% of our annual contributions from the community,” she says, “and will help hundreds of families and individuals into a warm, safe home this winter.”
“We were able to touch more people with our message, and a lot of that was thanks to Big Head Todd and the Monsters,” Wilson continues. “They’re doing what they can to make sure Colorado is a state that cares for everyone.”
Eryc Eyl is a veteran music journalist, critic and Colorado native who has been neck-deep in local music for many years. Check out every Monday for local music you can HEAR, and the every Friday. Against his mother’s advice, Eryc has also been known to . You can also follow Sorry, Mom.
