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... by Joanne Corsano ... joanne@picturelake.com

Band Personnel: Sal Baglio, guitar, lead vocals; John Biafore, guitar, vocals; Steve Gilligan, bass, vocals; Dave Fox, drums; Dave Friedman, keyboards, vocals; Jon Butcher, guitar, vocals (special guest, two songs).

Sweet Little Rock 'n' Roller {Chuck Berry} - This Is Rock 'n' Roll - Let's Rock 'n' Roll {Rock E. Rollins} - Shutdown - First Kiss - Good News Now - Johnny Elvis - Santa Claus Is Back In Town {Elvis Presley} - You're the One - Temptation - Shake, Rattle, and Roll {Bill Haley & His Comets} - East Side Girl - Sand Dancer - Summer Girls - Rock, Jump, and Holler - Never Tell An Angel - Coast To Coast - Leave It In Motion ... encore ... Palisades Park {Freddy Cannon} - Run Run Rudolf {Chuck Berry} with Jon Butcher - Dirty Water {The Standells} with Jon Butcher - American Fun - All I Want For Christmas is a Rock 'n' Roll Guitar

Scroll down past the videos for review.

Johnny Elvis

Santa Claus is Back in Town

You're the One

For the tenth year in a row The Stompers played a post-Thanksgiving show at the Bull Run in Shirley, MA. Today's show was highlighted by a guest appearance by Jon Butcher, renowned Boston area musician of the same vintage as The Stompers. He contributed guitar and vocals on two of the encore songs, including a feisty rendition of that Boston anthem, "Dirty Water."

Pianist Jeremy Brown was absent due to illness. At the merch table there was a giant get well card for Jeremy, which many fans at this sold out show signed. Dave Friedman was in from the west coast and handled all keyboard duties with applomb.

Second guitarist John Biafore again was a part of the band. I thought it was a particularly good setlist, featuring some Christmas season rock 'n' roll classics and an obscurity or two from The Stompers ("Johnny Elvis"), as well as the usual crowd pleasers. Sal Baglio showed a little frustration at a couple of points during show since he was having trouble with his monitor, but none of the fans noticed anything wrong with the music itself.

Band introductions were handled in a new and effective way. After the main set was over, the band left the stage, and Sal went back on the stage by himself, to share some thoughts about longevity in music with the enthusiastic crowd. He mentioned that bass player and original member Steve Gilligan is working on a new solo album. Then each member of the band came back on stage individually, with intros from their band leader and loud cheering from the crowd. Sal is obviously very happy with drummer Dave Fox, who has been in the band for about a year; Sal said that when he joined the band, he saved the day by learning 40 years of songs in a week.

Instead of an opening act, before the show the sound system played Sal Baglio's new solo record. It is a straight-ahead rock album, clocking it at 28 minutes. Going by the name of "Loudah," this CD is credited to The Amplifier Heads, but it's mostly Sal with some help from a few friends in the music business. The merch table had it for the seriously bargain price of $10. If you like Stompers style rock, you will like this album.

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