FALMOUTH – We have seen music in some very cool places on Cape Cod. The Wednesday night outside concert by Stomp 86 at the Falmouth Fire Department’s campsite for Homeless For the Holidays, was one of the coldest.
It was also, with the outside acoustics, one of the best sounding – and all for a great cause. Firefighters are raising donations for the Falmouth Service Center.
The campsite is next to Johnson Electric on Main Street. Firefighters began camping out at 9 AM on December 9, and the event ends at 1 PM on December 13 – a total of 101 hours. Firefighters are accepting donations of unwrapped toys, non-perishable food, or cash.
While the band rocked out an awesome couple of sets of covers, firefighters from Local 1397 were enjoying the show. According to Falmouth Firefighter Terry Rogers, firefighters will be spending a day outside each, in rotating 24-hour shifts. The point, said Rogers, is to raise awareness of homelessness, and to gather donations to help the homeless.
While the firefighters did get entertained for three hours out of 24 (and there will be other entertainment on remaining days, including Crooked Coast and The Brazen Belles), Rogers said he learned quickly last year how difficult it is to be homeless.
“It’s torture,” he recalled of how cold he was last year.
The Homeless For The Holidays event started in Bourne 14 years ago, and has since spread to other Cape towns, said Rogers. This is the third year Falmouth is holding the event. Last year’s Falmouth Homeless For the Holidays raised two box trucks full of toys and non-perishable foods, he said.
“Everything we’re doing here, we’re giving back to our own hometown,” he said.
The band played for three hours. According to Rogers, “The band brings in a lot more people.”
The band, Stomp 86, with Mark Leonard on guitar and vocals, Ryan Buckley on drums, and Robert Bearse on bass, formed in 2003, said Leonard.
The band played perfect covers. And then after a break when they all stood near the flaming barrel by the campsite to warm up, Leonard pulled out his acoustic guitar and took the stage alone.
Leonard, who was in the near-mythical Cape punk band, The Freeze, treated the audience to this sweet and melancholy original, “Somewhere Out There.”
– If you like Cape Cod music, here is a 6,000-word story that Cape Cod Wave did on the Cape Cod original music scene. We interviewed 20 musicians, four club owners, and two radio deejays – Cape Cod Music And The Joy Of Being Originally Alive
And here is a link to our growing collection of local music stories and videos – MUSIC
