Scott Tady: Bobby Thompson lineup changes; YaJagoff launches nighttime YouTube/Facebook/radio series

Bobby Thompson & The Groove played its final show last night.

In their place emerges a new lineup named Bobby Thompson & The Chosen Few, with young blues guitar ace Thompson still at the helm along with The Groove's stellar rhythm section of bassist Rob Sinchak and drummer Craig Gahan.

Departing the lineup is Rich Mannion, who played a vital role in establishing Thompson & The Groove as one of the valley's most accomplished and popular bands in the past six years. Mannion's dazzling keyboard sounds, showmanship and lead vocals on songs like the Doobie Brothers' "Taking It to The Streets" will be missed.

Talking to him backstage after the band's recent Sewickley Night Mart gig, Mannion told me he's had a blast, but he had decided to move on to pursue other musical pursuits, including a yacht rock band, Yachtness Monster, and his continued work with ApologetiX, a Christian rock parody band that substitutes faith-forward lyrics into familiar classic rock and Top-40 melodies.

"I still love these guys like brothers and wish them well," Mannion said. "The split was very amicable. It was just time to slow down a bit and Yachtness is going to be that outlet."

Yachtness Monster headlines Jergel's Rhythm Grille on Oct. 12.

Saying there's potential to add a new fourth member, Thompson eloquently posted, "Bobby Thompson and The Groove had a beautiful run as a band. It helped us meet amazing new people, travel, and has made me the man/musician that I am today. I can't thank all members, past and present, enough ... Through this band, I have grown so much. Everyone around me pushed me to be the best version of myself that I could be. I'm forever grateful for that. Don't worry though (Sinchak, Gaghan and) I will now be known as Bobby Thompson and The Chosen Few and are going to be bringing fresh new music your way. Stay tuned for some exciting news coming your way soon."

YaJagoff on the rise

Few, if any, Pittsburgh media sites support Beaver County talent as robustly as YaJagoff.

An award-winning podcast and Q92.9 FM radio show rolled into one, YaJagoff has devoted significant airtime to Beaver County-ites like novelist J.R. Mason, bluesman Bobby Thompson; clothing designer Stephanie Johnson, platinum-hit songwriter Melvin Steals, motivational speaker Felicia Mycyk, plus the Iron Horse Community Theater in Ambridge, Lincoln Park Performing Arts Center in Midland and Beaver-Bridgewater businesses Cord + Iron, Vic's Oven and Union Skate Supplies.

YaJagoff even gives me a monthly soapbox to encourage the Pittsburgh region to check out Beaver County events such as Beaver County Boom!, the Beaver Wine Festival and New Brighton's Fire & Ice Festival, so it's my pleasure to return the favor and tell you YaJagoff hosts Rachael Rennebeck and John Chamberlin stand poised to kick things up a notch.

On Oct. 13, the dynamic duo launches the weekly "YaJagoff! Late Night" show on Facebook and YouTube.

Streaming at 10 p.m. and simulcast on hot adult contemporary station Q92.9, the new one-hour show will expand YaJagoff's capabilities to bring uniquely western Pennsylvania news, interviews and entertainment to a larger and more diverse audience, Rennebeck, daughter of beloved Pittsburgh singer Jack Hunt (of Johnny Angel & The Halos), said. The happy hour-themed show will be taped at 5:30 p.m. and then formatted into a fully produced video for web and social media later that evening, going to normal podcast channels the following morning. Repeat clips from the show will air on Q92.9FM throughout the week.

So now YaJagoff is a radio show, podcast and streaming show all built into one.

“We’re excited about the potential 'YaJagoff! Late Night' offers as an entertainment concept," Gregg Frischling, vice president of Steel City Media, owners of Q92.9, said. "As avid advocates for everything Pittsburgh, they bring fun, impactful conversation to the topics they cover.”

I'm sure "YaJagoff! Late Night" will continue the hosts' commitment to spotlighting Beaver Valley creative types, too.

Review of City Winery PGH

The cool concerts keep a-coming to City Winery Pittsburgh, so I finally found time to check out the Strip District hot spot.

I attended the early evening Sept. 30 standup set by comedian-actor Michael Rapaport ("True Romance"/Netflix's "Atypical"), whose blunt humor earned ample laughs as he poked fun at the unglamorous role of parenting and the guilty pleasures of reality TV, while decrying the major political parties' inability to find quality candidates (he blamed both sides.) For a diehard New Yorker, Rapaport impressively rattled off the names of a dozen '70s Steelers, getting as deep as L.C. Greenwood-Mel Blount level after an audience member handed him a Terrible Towel.

The sound was top-notch in the two-level, 220-seat performance venue, separate from City Winery's regular indoor and outdoor dining areas, Think sophisticated yet unstuffy.

And while the communal tables aren't ideal for us shy types, the Rapaport performance started promptly when scheduled, so evidently you can strategize your socializing with strangers accordingly. If you're on a date, I'd suggest reserving side-by-side seats both facing the stage.

My main constructive criticism is the need for more ground-floor restroom capacity. With just one stall and one urinal in the men's room, the post-show potty line was longer than necessary. (And it wasn't like this was a Rush concert, ladies outnumbered the men.)

The primary parking is that metered, back-in style that I will never be fine with until tailgaters acknowledge its existence. But good news: There's plenty of regular, parallel parking just three blocks away near the Heinz History Center.

Little Anthony boosts Midland firefighters

Midland firefighters will get $5,000 in sorely needed apparatus updates thanks to Rock & Roll Hall of Famer Little Anthony. That was the amount of proceeds generated by the "Tears on My Pillow" singer's July concert at the Lincoln Park Performing Arts Center.

“We recognize the commitment of the members of the Midland Volunteer Fire Department and praise them for their efforts in keeping our community safe," Chris Shovlin, Lincoln Park’s chief executive officer, said at a check presentation. "These are hometown heroes who never hesitate to answer the alarm so with that, Lincoln Park wants to help them be outfitted in the safest, most modern firefighting apparatus available and thank them for their unselfish contributions."

Shovlin also said the Midland center hopes the Little Anthony show has started an annual summer tradition where nationally known musical acts play there.

More: Andy Summers discusses multimedia solo show headed here, and a few Police memories

Rock star in Hopewell

Brandin Lea, lead singer for nationally known rock band Flickerstick, dropped by Bruster's Real Ice Cream in Hopewell Township a week ago for a Caramel Apple Crunch cone.

Lea is good buddies with that Bruster's location's owner-operator Norm Ely, the world's No. 1 Flickerstick fan.

"I used to run some of the merch booths on their tour," Ely said. "I’ve seen them 110 times now."

Flickerstick found fame in 2001, besting 2,000 bands to win VH1's "Bands on the Run" reality show. The Texas rockers earned a major label deal and toured the nation multiple times.

Face-melting marvels

Stevie Nicks graced the PPG Paints Arena stage on Sept. 27, and I'll bet she sang as wonderfully as ever, probably spinning around in some lacy-sleeved outfit during "Rhiannon."

Personally, I was across town that night at Stage AE to witness The Mars Volta's first Pittsburgh appearance in 20 years.

Rooted in face-melting progressive rock, The Mars Volta embraced experimental styles as far-reaching as acid jazz and Tex-Mex psychedelic pop, with occasional Zappa-esque instrumental jams.

Trippy and riveting stuff made all the more fascinating by the way slick-shoed frontman Cedric Bixler-Zavala regularly glided across the stage like a one-man waltz to a rhythm only he heard.

His tenor voice pleaded with emotion on the edgy "Shore Story" and got cautionary on "Graveyard Love," another 2022 song Rolling Stone describes as a statement against U.S. colonial rule of Puerto Rico from which guitarist Omar Rodriguez-Lopez hails.

Just like the very start of the show, dry ice smoke returned to blanket the stage 75 minutes later for "The Widow," a straightforward, slower alt-rock song with shards of guitar amping up the angst.

They lacked the Top-40 hit parade of Nicks, though Texas' the Mars Volta brought out-of-this-world entertainment I recommend experiencing.

More: Rochester Riverfront Park stage returns to action with Jaggerz concert & Oktoberfest event

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: YaJagoff begins YouTube/Facebook/radio series; City Winery pleases