Rock for El Salvador raises over $600

The Rock for El Salvador concert at the Washington Ethical Society on May 11 raised over $600, according to organizer Mairi Rothman. The money will go towards paying for Rothman's trip to El Salvador, where she will train midwifes in emergency procedures and deliver birthing kits. The money will also go towards sending Rothman's daughter, sophomore Sarah Rothman, to El Salvador to help with a variety of community service projects for communities in need.

The evening started off with the band Full House, a group composed of a number of parents, including Mairi Rothman, and junior Ele Rubenstein and senior Zack Rothman. Full House took the stage with an announcement that while the audience might not find their music contemporary, they could still have a good time.

"We're going to go first, before the loud stuff, to get you warmed up. We're gonna play some stuff your parents would listen to, and if you know it too, please feel free to sing along," said one of the lead singers.

Full House played a variety of classic rock songs, starting the show with an excellent rendition of "Ain't No Mountain High Enough," a song that's been recorded by artists from The Temptations and Marvin Gaye to American Idol winner Kelly Clarkson. Full House continued their lineup with songs like "Summertime Blues" and "Will You Remember Me." Most notable was the group's rendition of the U2 song "Pride (In the Name of Love)".

The band Iron Dirigible, a clever play off the band Led Zeppelin, featured seniors Zack Rothman and Jeremy Goodman and juniors Diego Ardila and Ele Rubenstein. Their first song, "Rock and Roll," had many in the crowd on their feet dancing. Their second and final song, "Dazed and Confused," calmed the crowd somewhat.

Full House took the stage after Dirigible with similar songs to earlier although many were quieter and the band failed to revive their earlier energy and intensity. One highlight during this set was Sarah Rothman's singing of "Soak up the Sun," which got some in the audience on their feet.

After Full House retired for the evening, Defenders of Pluto took the stage, featuring seniors Jeff Holliday, Rothman and Louis Weil as well as junior Shaagnik Mukherji. Pluto covered the indie rock group Death From Above 1979. While some may not have liked the relatively unknown music, no one could fault any of the band members for their palpable intensity and passion.

The concert finished with The Fighting Janes, in what was easily the longest set of the night. The group included Blair sophomores Andrew Joseph and Eric Merchant. They played a mixture of original songs and covers. Even with the length of their program, The Janes, were extremely polished and sounded good the whole way through.

Mairi Rothman spoke very highly of all of the Blair parents and students who came out to support the trip to El Salvador. "The contributions were mostly from the youth. The community of Blair really came out and supported this endeavor," she said.