Scott Tady: New Brighton gets new outdoor stage; TV's 'Chiller Theater' rises again

Say hello to Stage 1011, a new outdoor performance space in downtown New Brighton.

Graced with a green lawn and a colorful brick mural, Stage 1011 sits next to Brighton Music Center, whose owners built the stage to showcase Beaver Valley musicians.

"Our intention for adding this space is to create a place in downtown New Brighton to benefit all of us," Beth Schiemer, director of education at Brighton Music Center, said.

Scheimer envisions Stage 1011 featuring both established and new bands, as well as Brighton Music Center student musicians, all of whom can catch the ear of passersby's and maybe get more gigs.

"I can see a restaurant or bar owner saying 'Hey, I saw this really good group there' and then wanting to hire them," Scheimer said.

She cited the example of the Front Porch Band, a New Orleans-style jazz group that performed recently on the then-unfinished stage when it was just a concrete slab. As downtown shoppers heard the music, they popped into New Brighton restaurants to grab takeout food then planted themselves in front of the stage to enjoy the band's performance.

Stage 1011 is named for its Third Avenue address. It occupies a space that's been vacant for many years since a floral shop fire.

On Sept. 12, you can catch the Stage 1011 performances of Beaver County's "American Idol" Gold Ticket winner Morgan Gruber at 7 p.m., with New Brighton's own recording artist Dawn Savage starting the show at 5 p.m.

That Tuesday show coincides with New Brighton's Night Mart featuring local vendors.

"We are so happy to perform for this local event that helps promote the shops of New Brighton," Savage said. "Being a New Brighton girl, I am so honored to be asked to participate."

Savage and Gruber also will sell tickets for their Oct. 6 Hard Rock Cafe-Pittsburgh benefit for the American Cancer Society.

It's been a good month for Brighton Music Center, a fixture at 1015 Third Ave. A week ago, the musical instruments retailer was named a Top-100 dealer by the National Association of Music Merchants.

It's been a good month for Brighton Music Center, a fixture at 1015 Third Ave. A week ago, the musical instruments retailer was named a Top-100 dealer by the National Association of Music Merchants.

Trixx brings treats to Fallston

Trixx heads south to Fallston on Sept. 16, to rock the Grand Valley Inn's tented stage.

Coming highly recommended from the Oil City-Clarion-DuBois area, Trixx formed in 1978 and features the three Sharrow brothers, Dick, Dan and Charlie. There's cool YouTube footage of the band entertaining enthusiastic crowds with covers of Journey's "Separate Ways" and "Don't Stop Believin" and Tommy James' "Draggin' the Line."

Reserve seats by calling 724-843-9000. There's a $10 charge payable at time of reservation.

'Chiller Theater' returns this spooky season

"Chiller Theater" has returned to Pittsburgh television on PCNC-TV.

The classic and delightfully cheesy horror and sci-fi movie show was a late-night Saturday staple from 1963 to 1984 on Channel 11. Hosted by the beloved Bill “Chilly Billy” Cardille, the show fared so well in the 1970s that it kept NBC’s "Saturday Night Live" off the air for nearly four years.

The reboot version, on Channel 11's sister station, was given a Sept. 9 debut hosted now by WPXI-TV Meteorologist Scott Harbaugh. Harbaugh is a funny guy on social media, and also wise enough to tell viewers not to expect a carbon copy of the original show.

“I grew up here in the ‘70s. There is only one Chilly Billy, and I am no Bill Cardille,” Harbaugh said in the WPXI/PCNC announcement. “We’d be doing ourselves a huge disservice trying to replicate such an iconic program in Pittsburgh television history.”

Should be interesting seeing if Harbaugh comes up with a supporting cast as unique as Cardille's castle characters, Norman the Castle Keeper, Terminal Stare, Sister Susie, Stephen the Castle Prankster and Georgette The Fudgemaker.

The new version of "Chiller Theater," sponsored by Hundred Acres Manor haunted house in Bethel Park, gets an eight-episode run at 11:30 p.m. Saturdays. Along with PCNC, you can watch on the WPXI Now app.

The debut episode honored the late Cardille in the opening minutes and included an interview with his daughter, Lori Cardille, who talks about her father’s legacy.

More: What's Cooking: Buzzi's, Barney's and Trish's making food news in the Beaver Valley

Good show

Pop-punk took center stage Sept. 1 at The Pavilion at Star Lake, for a breezy and satisfying triple-bill of The Offspring, Simple Plan and Sum 41.

First came Sum 41, led by the dynamic Deryck Whibley, who at 43 still sang strongly and clearly while demonstrating boundless energy. Bolstered by double guitars and frenetic drummer Frank Zummo (rocking a mohawk hairdo), Sum 41 played a career-spanning set dating to 2001's "Fat Lip" from the debut "All Killer No Filler" album. The band's smoking hot cover of Queen's "We Will Rock You" sounded great too, and you could hear the saddened groans when Whibley reminded/announced that Sum 41 is breaking up next year, though there will be one final studio album and 2024 tour.

Fellow Canadians Simple Plan played next and stole the show with an exhilarating performance showcasing more crisp and clear vocals and a manic stage presence. Singer Pierre Bouvier connected with an audience of about 15,500, many of whom laughed or shook their heads when he questioned how setlist songs like "Addicted" and "I'm Just a Kid" could be 21 years old. "What's New Scooby-Doo" featured a dog-costumed character who − r'oh-r'oh − wielded a T-shirt rifle. Oversized white balls were pushed into the crowd for fans to bat around boisterously. When one of those big balls flew toward the stage, Bouvier showed impressive concentration basket-catching it without missing a beat as he sang The Killers' "Mr. Brightside." That was in the tail-end of a medley that also included Smash Mouth's "All-Star," whose singer Steve Harwell would die three days later from liver failure, and even more curiously "Sk8ter Boi" by Sum 41 singer Whibley's ex-wife, Avril Lavigne.

SoCal headliners The Offspring kept the party rolling with punchy versions of radio hits "Come Out and Play," "Why Don't You Get a Job" and "Pretty Fly." Dexter Holland's vocals didn't reach their strength of bygone days, though singularly named lead guitarist Noodles proved he can be a beast on guitar, cranking out spot-on riffs from Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Deep Purple and Guns N'Roses. There'd be more oversized beach balls batted into the crowd.

The three bands delivered utter fun, breathtaking energy and standout musicianship for a spirited but not-sloppy crowd, attributes all lacking at the Morgan Wallen show two nights earlier at PNC Park.

More: Didn't move the needle, but Morgan Wallen gives a packed PNC Park crowd what it craved

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: New Brighton gets new outdoor stage; Fallston restaurant offers Trixx