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Alice Huyler
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My mom has pretty good taste in music and I wanted something to do. So I reluctantly headed for The Pub in Winter Park, CO to see the Hillbilly Hellcats. The Pub is usually overrun with uber-trendy 20-somethings here for a winter of fun before heading into the real world. Also it frequently smells bad. The band was a good time, though. Their tight rhythms had the trendy folks rocking right along with the old time locals in snow boots who remember when the Hellcats used to come up here for appearances in a bar that doesn't exist anymore. The stand up bass used to belong to a member of the Elitch Gardens bandstand band from when they played for the amusement park crowds. In a Pub first ever, during their final sound checks the bass player asked to turn his mike down a little. At most Winter Park bar band scenes, the theory is “louder is better,” but the Hellcats are actually a professional band who practice and write songs and sound good. As well they should after performing together since 1994 and touring the country and parts of Europe. Denver's Westword magazine readers voted them the Best Rockabilly Band 5 years in a row. When the cops came in on their nightly rounds, the Hellcats were right in the middle of singing “I love whiskey and a big fat reefer.” A good time for the Rockabilly Hipster in us all.