Scott Tady: Midland club hosts guitar ace; Monaca bassist's band reunites after 28 years

East Liverpool guitar ace David Morgan will rock the St. Anthony Club in Midland at an April 8 show open to the general public.

The club's Facebook page shares a video of a dazzling rendition of "The Star-Spangled Banner" by Morgan, whose resume boasts of sharing stages with famed national acts like Bo Diddley, Rick Nelson, Phil Keaggy, Foghat and The Outlaws.

"I'm looking forward to bringing my show back to Midland ― I've been playing there on and off since my college days," Morgan said. "The music you will hear is mostly classic rock, pop-rock, blues, smooth jazz and original music. I'm a nonprofessional sit-down comedian, too."

Located at 561 Beaver Ave., a four-minute walk from Lincoln Park, "I think the venue will be perfect," St. Anthony trustee/co-bar manager Nick Presutti said. "We're trying to establish and re-invent ourselves."

Fellow St. Anthony Club representative Emory White said, "Last March we had Bobby Ray, a country singer from Nashville. We are now trying to bring in a singer or band once a month, as well as karaoke. All of our events are open to the public. We are trying our best to make our club a great place to go for live entertainment."

There is no cover charge for the Morgan show. The club looks to make money off sales of beverages and food, like baked wings (a recent Wing Night there sold 102 dozen orders, Presutti said).

Midland Mayor Angela “Poobie” Adkins is the backbone of the club and its kitchen.

"Her kitchen prowess is second to none," Presutti said. "Everything is homemade from scratch ― pizza, stromboli, spaghetti."

Monaca rocker back in action

Alternative-rock band Samuel reunited and last month released its debut full-length album ― 28 years after breaking up ― featuring 1988 Monaca High grad Dean Taormina back on guitar.

Now rebranded Samuel S.C. (reflecting their State College roots) the quartet's "High Places" album brings a punk-rock punch, '90s guitar jangle, and Riot Grrrl energy from singer Vanessa Downing.

Samuel's 1993-95 run included an EP release and North America tours with nationally known bands like Avail, the Promise Ring, Dillinger Four and Pittsburgh's own Anti-Flag. An ill-fated move from State College to Washington, D.C., led to the band's demise, with Taormina moving to Boston to form a short-lived duo with Downing, and ultimately becoming part-owner of a Beantown restaurant.

Available on major digital platforms, "High Places" will appeal to emo-pop listeners and older fans of vintage indie/punk/hardcore. The band also recently digitally released remixed versions of seven original Samuel songs that never got their true shot in 1995 under the title "94-95," also available on vinyl.

More:2-day Hartwood Acres concert lineup announced

“'High Places' began as a simple desire to finally capture on record a few songs that had been lost to our breakup in 1995,” Downing said. “We had no grand ambitions. The project swiftly turned into something more urgently present, a fresh creative effort between longtime friends who had come back to the table with greater assets ― our cumulative life experiences, the self-awareness that only comes with age, and refined skills. Re-grouping successfully while scattered in different locations and during a pandemic required patience and perseverance ― characteristics that were largely absent in our early 20s. Mostly we’re just having a blast making music with each other again. ”

If Samuel S.C. books a Pittsburgh date, I'll let you know.

Batchelor party

Reggae, jazz, ska and Americana blend together breezily in The Tom Batchelor Band.

"My original compositions range from straight-forward rock and funk, to reggae and island romps," frontman Batchelor, an Aliquippa High grad, said. "Live, we enjoy exploring all the realms of improvisational possibilities within the song structures, delving into genres as diverse as jazz, ska, and country."

There's a cool tug and sway between Batchelor's lead guitar and the saxophone/horns of bandmates Will Oxley and Tina Shank, as drummer Gregg Lowley and bassist Robert DeSutter keep the pocket grooving enticingly.

Gigging mostly in West Virginia, the Morgantown-based band looks to expand its fan base with originals on reverbnation.com and an April 23 performance at the Crafthouse Stage in Baldwin, opening for nationally known ska band The Slackers.

Bonamassa was a beast

Joe Bonamassa's fingers shredded his guitar strings in a blur of motion, but still didn't look to be going fast enough to match the supersonic sound you could hear him mustering.

The blues-rock dynamo spellbound his Benedum Center audience March 1, charging through a 13-song set where almost every song led to thrilling, virtuosic but never excessive soloing by Bonamassa and his excellent band.

From leadoff selections "Evil Mama" and "Dust Bowl" to mid-to-late set delights like "Double Trouble" and "A Conversation With Alice," Bonamassa ― in his bedazzled dark suit ― demonstrated not just how-does-he-do-that speed, but utter purity of tone, distinguished technique, and artistic creativity.

He let his band members shine, too, giving fellow guitarist Josh Smith moments of soloing splendor, and well-deserved spotlight time for Rock-and-Roll Hall of Famer Reese Wynans (identified as a Latrobe resident) to enthrall on rousing organ romps. One mid-set jam highlighted by drummer Lemar Carter and two well-utilized backup singers brought much of the crowd to its feet.

As in his Feb. 24 interview in The Times, Bonamassa demonstrated humor and a fun personality, too. Like when he butchered the pronunciation of "Latrobe" and fans brusquely corrected him, Bonamassa snapped back "Hey, I'm not from here" and "go ahead and cancel me ... put me out of my misery." The audience heartily laughed.

Old-timey blues, contemporary blues, rhythm and blues, bluesy rock ... Bonamassa played them all well.

The set ended with a fiery treatment of ZZ Top's "Just Got Paid" that enveloped in the almighty solo from Led Zeppelin's "Dazed & Confused." Exceedingly few guitarists could have pulled off such a close approximation to Led Zep's Jimmy Page six-string sorcery as Bonamassa did.

It was spectacular.

The encore brought the Bonamassa lauded original "Mountain Time" with its Allman Brothers-ish/"Midnight Rider"-ish glow.

A truly special night.

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

This article originally appeared on Beaver County Times: Tady: Midland club hosts guitar ace; Monaca & Aliquippa rockers make news