Adam Sherman and Sal Baglio
with The Amplifier Head
The Burren, Somerville
3/11/20
Sal Baglio & The Amplifier Heads |
For two hours straight the Burren backroom rang with fine-tuned, catchy melodies
and the beefcake cousins of power pop guitars. Sal Baglio raises
his head every few years to do his own thing or shake the dust off his locally
loved (or hated), nationally underappreciated, untrendy, good-time bar band
The Stompers. You gotta admit that Baglio has always been able to write
a good tune and that talent hasn’t fallen out of his fingers.
The Amplifier Head drops some of the old sheen for a stripped-down,
rough-edged, twin-guitar sound. That said, the lead track, The Boy with the
Amplifier Head, from their fine new disc, Loudah,
holds hints of twang and XTC chorus and proves to be a power-pop charmah both
live and on disc.
Sal gets a bit tied up trying to perfect an ending to a new tune from the stage.
By the third effort, it threatens to weird the vibe, but the band keeps their
cool and work it out with reasonable humor to rousing applause. Otherwise, the
band is tight, and toss off hints of Little Richard r ‘n b, prime Stones
and Big Star hooks. They would certainly fit the bill at any number of good
rockin’ Midway bills.
Adam Sherman Band
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Adam Sherman Band gives Sherman more room to
stretch then his co-pilot gig with the Billy Connor’s Project.
He expands the band and the sound pallet for this gig to include
Jeff Song - Bass Guitar, Lauren Parks
- Cello, Chris Michaels - Drums and David
J. Lieb - Keyboards. Sherman is one of the town’s
most talented songwriters. No quick takes on girls, cars, and
parties for him. He digs deep into that silver psyche of his and
lays out carefully cut lines that tug at the head and the heart.
The lineup allows the band to seamlessly slide from mid-tempo rockers to Sherman’s
stock in trade whistful, broken-hearted ballads. The latter group - particularly
Shine, Madeline, and Do You Believe in Dreams - give the solo spotlight over
to Lauren Parks’ cello. The rockers tend to blend her
and David Lieb’s comping keys into a sweet production
twist in the mix, but the slow tunes give Parks mournful but hopeful cello room
to breathe. She inhales deeply, her facial expression and hair ride the arc
of the bow and the light, low register range moan of the cello. You hear it
so infrequently in rock (anyone remember Tom Cora with Dog Faced Hermans?) that
it jumps out from its chair and, in the right hands, pushes a great song towards
the sublime - I’m talking to you Madeline, “with your perfume clinging
to the fabric of my jacket”.
Adam Sherman Band
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Sherman invites Baglio back to the stage.
They are joined by the always welcome alto sax of Ken Field
for revival tent takes on Knock Down Day and Enough. No one will ever accuse
Sherman of being the punk or joker in the room, although his “political
rant” California manages a smile and an exasperated wink. But, if you’re
looking for musical catharsis, or a deeper rock conversation with cello, keys,
and guitar, Sherman is your man.
Sal Baglio - Amplifier Heads
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The Amplifier Heads
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The Amplifier Heads
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The Amplifier Heads
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Sal Baglio - Amplifier Heads
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Lauren Parks - Adam Sherman Band
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Lauren Parks - Adam Sherman Band
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Jeff Song - Adam Sherman Band
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Ken Field - Adam Sherman Band
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Adam Sherman Band
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Chris Michaels - Adam Sherman Band
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David J. Lieb - Adam Sherman Band
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Jeff Song - Adam Sherman Band
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Chris Michaels - Adam Sherman Band
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Adam Sherman Band
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Ken Field - Adam Sherman Band
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Adam Sherman Band
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Adam Sherman Band
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