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The Stompers with Bird Mancini ~ 2016 June 29 ~ Pilgrim Memorial State Park ~ Plymouth, MA

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

The Stompers
The Stompers play outdoors
click thumbnail to see a photo gallery
of the concert

Band Personnel: Sal Baglio, guitar, lead vocals; Steve Gilligan, bass, backing vocals; Jeremy Brown, electric piano, backing vocals; Sam Wood, drums.

Opening band Bird Mancini: Ruby Bird, vocals, accordion, harmonica, melodica, percussion; Billy Carl Mancini, vocals, guitar

Set List

Route 66 - This Is Rock 'n' Roll - Shutdown - Diddy Wah Diddy - First Kiss - East Side Girl - House of the Rising Sun - Temptation (with bits of I Put a Spell On You) - The Weight - Lonely Beach - Summer Girls - Under the Boardwalk - American Fun - Rock, Jump & Holler - Never Tell An Angel - Coast to Coast

Bird Mancini opening set:
Wake Me When It's Over - You Don't Know What I'm Saying - If You Want To Get To Know Me - Sunny Afternoon {Kinks} - Chicken Bone - Night Time is the Right Time {Ray Charles} - Better Man - Through Your Eyes - Hold Me Tight {Beatles} - I Want My Own Brian Epstein - I've Got a Feeling {Beatles} - Tuning In Tuning Out - Take the Long Road Home - With a Little Help From My Friends {Joe Cocker version}

Video

Scroll down past the videos for review.

First Kiss

Review

Joanne tries so hard, she's put heels on her feet, she's abandoned her sneakers, she's walking a brand new beat. She has a transistor radio logical mind, keeps it playing in rock 'n' roll time.

What could be more a more perfect setting for a concert by The Stompers than a hot summer night by the waterfront in beautiful historic Plymouth.

Although I've seen The Stompers numerous times over the past few years at their annual Thanksgiving show, The Stompers are really a summer band. Songs about the beach, songs about girls, unabashedly romantic rock 'n' roll, songs you can dance to, songs you just have to sing along with. They're led by the incomparable Sal Baglio, who is one of the best songwriters and lead guitarists anywhere. Those beloved Stompers chestnuts are thirty years old or more but they are timeless; good songs are like that. I want to live in the parallel universe where "Coast to Coast," "American Fun," and "First Kiss" are smash hits. Alongside Sal is his trusty sidekick and compatriot of the years, Steve Gilligan, whose enthusiasm and love for the music, not to mention chops on the bass (and vocals) are as strong as ever. On stage left the one and only Jeremy Brown, the only keyboard player tonight (since Dave Friedman's on the other coast), setting down the tuneful backdrop. The newest member of the band, Sam Wood on drums, bringing his youthful energy and pizzazz to the proceedings.

"Were you there?" was the theme of the night. Sal shouted out the names of the venues where the band played back when they were taking the Boston club scene by storm, in the 1980s. The Paradise! The Channel! Cape Cod Coliseum! Hampton Casino! Were you there? I was. Although for some years this band was merely a memory of the joyful days of long ago, Sal of late has embraced his inner Stomper and he promises to bring the band to the audience as long as the audience brings themselves to the band. As I see it, there is no end in sight to this lovefest of Stompers and Stompers fans.

The show was opened by the exceptionally talented Bird Mancini, husband and wife duo of guitarist/singer Billy Carl Mancini on vocals and guitar and multi-instrumentalist Ruby Bird on vocals, accordion, harmonica, melodica, and percussion. Ruby wore jingle bells on both ankles and with a microphone at her feet, added a percussion track to every song. They played a thoroughly entertaining 45 minute set consisting of a number of tuneful originals and some fab Beatles covers. Ruby has a very strong voice and an enthusiastic stage personality and plays her wide range of instruments with skill and style; Billy Carl is a wonderful guitar player and also a strong singer. They were the perfect opening act for The Stompers.

More Stompers

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