Scott Tady: Get ready to rock in Rochester; a 'Fantasy' fulfilled at Jergel's

We're a month out from the grand return of the Rochester Riverfront Stage.

Billy Evanochko wants the excitement to start building now for the "Rocking on The River" music festival.

"This is the big one," Evanochko, local blues icon and curator of the June15 event, said.

Evanochko's band, Billy The Kid & The Regulators, will headline the daylong music extravaganza. He hand-picked a stellar lineup that also features rock 'n funk groovemasters Mojo Dia & The Usual Suspects, country/classic-rock band Honky Tonk Heroes and Beaver County rock royalty The Granati Brothers. Kicking off the show will be the talented youngsters in David Granati's For Those About to Rock Academy.

"What makes this event so unique and special is that it's completely 100% Beaver Valley homegrown. Every act on the bill is from right here in Beaver Valley," Evanochko said. "What’s really so special to me is that everybody on this bill is very near and dear to my heart. It will definitely have a family reunion kind of a vibe. I guarantee anyone who comes to this event will leave seeing firsthand and knowing without a shadow of a doubt how special and unique the Beaver Valley music scene really is."

There'll be local vendors and food trucks, and emcees from Beaver County Radio.

Admission will be free.

The roofed stage, under the Rochester-Monaca Bridge, sat vacant for 10 years after the property was taken over by a private company.

In the mode of better late than never, Rochester officials re-established ownership of the site and even expanded the parking lot with hopes of making the stage a recreational destination.

Many fans of live, local music savor fond memories of seeing shows there in the early 2000s, such as Joe Grushecky, Norman Nardini, Billy The Kid & The Regulators and the very popular Rockin' The Suburbs, double stage music festival.

An October concert last year technically reopened the Rochester Riverfront Stage. Honky Tonk Heroes played a strong set to start the show, but then a downpour of rain postponed the performance of scheduled headliners, Beaver County chart-toppers The Jaggerz.

Makeup dates were rescheduled for Honky Tonk Heroes on June 28 and The Jaggerz on June 29, the same night as the Beaver County Boom!, fireworks event. More live bands, vendors, food trucks, a car show and karaoke will be part of the fun.

The stage also is being considered for hosting a carnival Aug. 10 celebrating Rochester's 175th Anniversary.

Aldo Nova brings 'Fantasy' to Jergel's

I knew I'd take flak from my hipster friends for skipping indie-rock darlings Death Cab For Cutie and The Postal Service at the Petersen Events Center on May 2. For spectacular photos from that night with a mini-review, check Sarah Wilson's coverage at timesonline.com.

Personally, I chose a different show that night, refusing to pass on a chance to see Aldo Nova's first Pittsburgh area show in over 32 years. Nova hasn't played many shows anywhere in that span and picked Jergel's Rhythm Grille in Marshall Township as a launch pad for his 2024 tour.

Any rock fan my age remembers Nova's "Fantasy," a 1982 radio smash that's remained a staple for decades on 102.5-WDVE's "Electric Lunch" all-request program. "Fantasy" sounds like nothing before-or-since, with its helicopter and laser gun sound effects intro, followed by thunderous whacks of a floor tom drum then Nova's piercing guitar blasts and unrestrained vocals.

Subtle and nuanced? Not in the least.

The 400 fans at Jergel's got all of that pomp for "Fantasy," though Nova sagely made us wait until late in his 75-minute set, making sure to heighten the drama and showcase other hard-rocking tunes from his early 1980s catalog.

Knowledgeable fans, a few holding aloft Nova vinyl records, sang along with tracks like "Monkey on Your Back" and the love-gone-sour ballad "Ball and Chain."

Nova's vocals were fine; not powerhouse but enjoyable. His lively bassist and a similarly animated fellow guitarist added vocal harmonies that boosted songs like "Under The Gun."

Nova, 67, smiled a lot but didn't preen or peacock as early '80s hard-rockers tend to do. His Canadian heritage must keep him understated, or perhaps he's not regained the swagger this early on his first proper U.S. tour since 1991.

Devoting the past three decades of his career writing songs for artists like fellow Montreal-er Celine Dion and Clay Aiken (plus composing the guitar riff in Bon Jovi's "Blaze of Glory"), Nova expressed gratitude to the Elder Gen-X and Baby Boomer audience, but lived up to his promise of "less talking, more rocking," as when flashing fancy fretwork on "Blood on The Bricks"

The punchy, hook-driven "Medicine Man" ended an entertaining night and stepping stone on a cool comeback story.

Decemberists made May night special

Somewhere around the third time Colin Meloy showed off his knowledge of the Ohio, Allegheny and Monongahela rivers for a Stage AE audience May 7, the mental light bulb lit up for The Decemberists frontman and his bandmates. They realized and agreed The Confluence would be a great name for their yet-to-be-named horn section.

There is, after all, a majestic way to how The Decemberists wide-spanning mix of accordion, piano, guitar, bass, diverse percussion − and yes, horns − flow together mightily, as fans of the Portland, Ore. indie/folk band have come to depend upon.

The Decemberists' rich instrumental textures − such as a bit of viola and sprightly xylophone on "The Crane Wife 1," and folksy accordion for "Traveling On" − pleased the Pittsburgh faithful once again during a mellow-starting show that grew to a more rocking affair complete with Meloy's engaging banter.

Audience members shouted out specific song requests, which Meloy playfully shot down with a "haven't you heard that one enough?" The Decemberists stuck to their script, including the simple, acoustic-based love declaration "All I Want Is You" and lone encore pick "Joan in The Garden," a 19-minute prog-rock heater, both from an excellent new album, "As Ever It Was, So It Will Be Again," arriving in early June.

Meloy's endearingly nasal vocals matched the crisp melody of 2024 earworm single "Burial Ground." It's a song reminding us of our mortality, Meloy said, adding he wasn't trying to damper the mood.

Another new song, the loose and jazzy, somewhat Mariachi-ish "Oh No!" let that saxophone-led horn section shine. The jangly new tune "Long White Veil" references a ghost, Meloy warned.

Jenny Conlee's piano and accordion work got overpowered, though restraint is tricky for a band with a lead guitarist like Chris Funk, whose stern countenance spawned the Meloy quip, "Never have we heard such sweet jams by a more disinterested looking person."

Humor is an integral part of any Decemberists show, and Meloy elicited plenty of laughs when spoofing the whole I-sing-then-you-sing charade with the audience. Lulling fans into a false sense of security, he'd point the microphone toward the crowd when it was their "turn," but then immediately pulled it back toward himself and did the singing instead.

For "16 Military Wives," Meloy implored spectators in the balcony to sing alone on the "la di da di da/la-di-da-di-da" part. When those balcony fans underwhelmed on both singing attempts, Meloy instructed fans on the floor to turn around and wave an upraised fist at their balcony brothers and sisters. When given the chance, we floor fans sang it much more loudly.

Sipping from a wine glass that was perched on a drum riser, Meloy theatrically crooned the deep cut "I Was Meant for The Stage."

He and The Decemberists indeed proved the stage is the place they belong.

Scott Tady is entertainment editor at The Times and easy to reach at stady@gannett.com.

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Tady: Get ready to rock in Rochester; 'Fantasy' fulfilled at Jergel's