Scott Tady: John Parrendo soars on violin; Beaver gets airtime; Suzi Moon ruled

We sat at black-cloth tables under intimate mood lighting as a bartender in the back poured homemade sangria.

A total big city nightclub vibe, right there inside the Lincoln Park Performing Arts Center, which launched its Fiddle in The Box series Oct. 20 with world class violinist John Parrendo.

Standing center stage, flanked by sibling country artists Jason Kendall (vocals/acoustic guitar) and Jeremy Kendall (bass and vocals) Parrendo put on a dazzling display of violin that earned a couple mini-standing ovations.

The setlist ranged from Paul Simon's "Me and Julio Down by The School Yard" to Leonard Cohen's "Hallelujah," and a Ken Burns "Civil War" number to Elvis Presley's "Heartbreak Hotel."

I loved how a long, slow bow swipe from Parrendo brought The Beatles' "Here Comes The Sun" to a gentle finish.

Letting a violin replicate the rhythms of Queen's Brian May? No problem for Parrendo on "Crazy Little Thing Called Love." Quite naturally Parrendo's expressive takes and sizzling speed on Charlie Daniels' "The Devil Went Down to Georgia" and the country standard "Orange Blossom Special" were show-stoppers.

Parrendo also regaled the audience with tales of performing on stage with Daniels, at military bases in sub-zero Greenland, and at Pittsburgh's Point State Park as a hired hand for an emerging artist.

Having toured the U.S. as the fiddle player for country recording artists Blackhawk and Chris Cagle, Parrendo often appears as a special guest at shows by Beaver County stalwarts Eldorado Band.

I appreciate what he does for the region's music scene, like giving most of the vocal spotlight at Lincoln Park to the excellent Kendall Bros.

If you get a chance, don't miss Parrendo live.

And consider the next Fiddle in The Box show at Lincoln Park's cozy BlackBox on Jan. 27 starring MCG Jazz's five-time Grammy Award winner, Marty Ashby.

Beaver-Bridgewater on the radio

If you're not listening to radio station Q92.9 on Tuesday nights, you're missing a lot of Beaver County.

Evening hosts John Chamberlin and Rachael Rennebeck — the award-winning Ya Jagoff podcast duo — offer a weekly feature called "JagTag" giving small business owners four minutes of airtime to explain what makes their shop special. The gimmick is at the end of that four minutes, that week's featured business owner nominates the following week's JagTag participant.

A month ago, a scheduled JagTag nominee ghosted the Ya Jagoff radio show, on a night when I was making my monthly guest appearance. As the YaJagoff hosts scrambled for a replacement, I suggested they contact Beaver resident Stephanie Johnson who runs Billie Jean Denim, a vintage denim wear company. Despite little time to prepare, Johnson went on air and did a fabulous job talking about Billie Jean Denim's line of vintage concert T-shirts. At the end of her segment, Johnson tagged Cord + Iron candle/concrete home goods shop in downtown Beaver, whose co-owner Leslie Dinello did a fine job the following Tuesday on Q92.9 FM.

In turn, Cord + Iron nominated Union Skate Supplies skateboard shop in Beaver, which nailed its four minutes of airtime before nominating Beaver Bagel Co. in Bridgewater, which kept the chain running locally by nominating Vic's Oven in Bridgewater. Tune in this Tuesday to Q92.9 to hear from Vic's, a great pizza shop.

Don't you love how these Beaver County businesses support each other?

And much praise to Chamberlin and Rennebeck, who in a matter of mere months turned their brand-new 7-10 p.m. weekday show into Pittsburgh radio's No. 1 rated in its timeslot.

Goes to show people crave local content.

Suzi Moon shines

Bad news greeted Dead Boys fans arriving at Jergel's Rhythm Grille on Oct. 19 to watch what was left of the great '70s punk-rock band.

The band had experienced a "medical emergency," explained the friendly Jergel's bouncer, adding that refunds were available, or we could stay and watch the support acts.

I stayed and I'm so glad I did, because I got to see Suzi Moon, a California-bred, Washington, D.C.-dwelling singer-guitarist with her same-named quartet thrilling the 120 or so people who stuck around.

Moon played like the punk bands of yore; fast, hard, simple and sincere, with lyrics both fun ("Dumb & In Luv") and fierce ("Animal").

With her puffy, pink hair, a tats-revealing top and a long metal chain tied to her mic stand, Moon brought visual flair befitting her riveting singing and guitar shredding.

"I'm Not a Man," inspired by No Doubt's "Just a Girl," struck a fine balance between feminism anthem, and not taking itself too seriously. Women face extra challenges, but she's happy to be one, essentially is the message.

Moon gave the guys in her band a solo instrumental as she changed into a cheeky onesie.

Clutching her guitar and mic stand, she hopped off the stage to stand on the floor and perform a few songs at eye level with fans who respectfully gave her room to roam. Made it easier to snap photos and film videos that way.

From the floor, Moon belted out the lyrics to "Freedom," which in true punk fashion decries working long hours for an uncaring employer, and only being able to save enough money to buy a nice gravesite. You're better off fighting for and doing what you love, the song says.

After their performance, Moon sat at the bar for a quick drink alone. Her face lit up and she smiled when I moseyed over and mouthed the words "Loved your set" as I made the two-handed heart sign.

There was no sense talking over the music, because by that point The Briefs from Seattle were on stage, slamming through a loud and enjoyable set of throwback punk highlighted by songs like "(I Think) My Baby is a Communist" and "We Americans" speaking out against ignorance and arrogance. Ah, there are still punk bands out there unafraid to make socio-political statements. I'm sure the cheap plastic sunglasses The Briefs wore made a pointed statement on consumerism.

The Briefs barely waited two seconds between songs, plowing through a setlist in breathtaking fashion.

Bummer the Dead Boys didn't play, but I got plenty of satisfaction watching Suzi Moon and The Briefs.

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: Parrendo soars on violin; Beaver gets airtime; Suzi Moon ruled