Drum beats and guitar chords filled Philips Hall at Cal Poly on May 26 during a benefit concert for the San Luis Obispo Women’s Shelter.
Lamai Son, The Halls, Clay Pharoah and Afterhour Shower, four local bands in conjunction with the Progressive Student Alliance raised $191.20 in donations the shelter during the four-hour concert.
“We wanted to put something together on campus,” said Matt Sutter, a history senior and lead vocalist for Afterhour Shower. “(PSA) made the suggestion for a benefit show.”
“PSA believes the women’s shelter is an important resource to our community,” said Andy Scott, a mechanical engineering sophomore and co-director of PSA.
The concert consisted of a mixture of music. Lamai Son, an experimental noise band, played first, followed by The Halls, a punk-rock band from Paso Robles.
The all Cal Poly student band Clay Pharoah made one of their first stage appearances and Afterhour Shower, a combination blues rock and alternative band, headlined the show.
“All in all a successful evening,” Sutter said. “It was a good haul for the women’s shelter and we got a standing ovation.”
The bands asked for a $3 to 5 donation at the door to benefit the women’s shelter and in return handed out “Beat the Punch” bracelets in support of the shelter’s new campaign to end domestic violence.
“The Beat the Punch campaign is preventative,” said Lindsey Dunn, an outreach development employee for the women’s shelter and a Cal Poly alumna.
The campaign was designed by four Cal Poly art and design students who created a series of posters and advertisements for the media campaign.
“We’re trying to create social change and stop it before it starts,” Dunn said.
The San Luis Obispo Women’s Shelter was one of seven pilot sites chosen by the state to experiment with a new campaign against domestic violence. If the campaign is successful it may go state or nationwide.
“Domestic violence isn’t a highly visible crime,” Sutter said. “It’s behind closed doors.”
The campaign is targeting 18 to 24-year-old men in an attempt to raise awareness about domestic violence amongst the age group that is most susceptible to it.
“We’re not trying to come off as saying you’re wrong,” Dunn said. “We’re looking for guys to buy in and come help us.”