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

Dan Kopko, Sal Baglio, Brad Hallen
click thumbnail to see a photo gallery
of the concert

Sal Baglio (guitar, lead vocals), Dan Kopko (guitar, backing vocals), Marty Richards (drums), Brad Hallen (bass, backing vocals).

Scroll to below videos for a review of the show.

song 1

song 2

In the last handful of years, Sal Baglio has been like a whirling dervish recording new rock 'n roll music. These songs have been released in a streaming format and in some cases, on physical CD. They can all be acquired on Bandcamp. Although the backing musicians on these recordings have varied (Sal has played a lot of the instruments himself), he's settled in on using the name Amplifier Heads to identify his band.

Over the years I've seen Sal solo a number of times in different venues, and I've seen him occasionally with other bands that tended not to be the hard rock one expected from The Stompers. In other words, there's a lot of versatility in his approach to music. But what stays consistent is the high quality of his writing and the pure joy he expresses in his music.

The show opened with a half hour acoustic set with Sal and a guitar. For this set he sat in front of a microphone and told stories of his life in music. He said he started to "feel his age" when he turned 59. But he's still a high energy performer, and he's looking good. His banter is engaging, sometimes amusing, and always sincere. Although the crowd was smaller than when The Stompers played at this venue, Sal expressed sincere gratitude for everyone who attended. He said we were all taking a chance coming out to hear a show when we generally wouldn't know the music that was played.

After a half hour Sal stepped off the stage and within five minutes returned with Dan Kopko, Marty Richards, and Brad Hallen. This band has one immediate difference from The Stompers -- no keyboards. The Heads are a straightforward, very basic, down to earth rock band with two guitars, bass, and drums. The only other instrument utilized was on one song when Sal shouted into a megaphone as if it were a musical instrument! They played original Baglio compositions for about an hour fifteen minutes. Since I make a habit of buying Sal's new music as it appears on Bandcamp, I had heard some of the songs before, but it's not as if I'd heard any of these songs a hundred times like with the Stompers classic tunes, and for much of the audience the music was entirely new. Doesn't mean they didn't love every minute! As much as I love The Stompers (and I've seen them more than a dozen times over the past twenty years, not to mention numerous times during my pub-crawling youth), it was a real delight to be treated to new Baglio compositions. He has never lost his rock 'n roll heart.

The band was very good. Dan on guitar was very lively and did quite a bit of singing. The sound is excellent at The Spire and the light show was exciting and added to the rock 'n roll atmosphere. If you're a Stompers fan and are wondering if Sal's new musical endeavors are worth your time, the answer is yes! If you can get to an Amplifier Heads show you will come away with a big smile on your face.

Here is a page with a handy list of links to all pages on this website with content relating to Sal Baglio and The Stompers.