Nationally touring comedian Dan Rosenberg, a Chippewa Township native, released a stand-up comedy special on YouTube that’s drawn 20,000 views in its first three weeks.
“The show I did at the Lindsay Theater (in Sewickley) in April was a great rehearsal for this and I’m really excited to share it,” Rosenberg said recently.
Filmed at the Bainbridge Performing Arts Center in Washington, where Rosenberg dwells, the free, 38-minute show is titled “Finger Quotes,” a title referencing his distaste for people who use air quotation marks.
Rosenberg’s humor targets topics like tech, weight-loss advice, supermarket restrooms (always in out-of-the-way areas next to an OSHA poster), and family dynamics via insights inon his parents and marriage. His mom conceived one of his best zingers, noting that urgent care medical facilities would more accurately be called eventual care. Yeah, it often takes a while to get treated at those.
The audience laps it all up, including a joke where Rosenberg questions if you’re divorced by a waitress, do you only owe her 15-18 percent.
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Rosenberg mentions hailing from Beaver Falls, drawing a parallel to Joe Namath.
But I don’t want to give too much more away, so if you’re interested, check out his special on YouTube or danrosenberg.com.
Bob & John at Star Lake
Bob Dylan dramatically changed the rhythmic delivery of his classic songs, and Western Pennsylvanians forgot a key verse of John Mellencamp’s “Jack & Diane.”
So, in other words, everything was normal last weekend at the Outlaw Music Festival at the Pavilion at Star Lake.
I thought Mellencamp delivered one of the best warm-up sets of 2024. The 72-year-old Heartland rocker was upbeat and spirited, with that cigarette-roughened voice bringing moxie to old hits like “Small Town,” “Pink Houses” and set-closer “Hurts So Good.”
His band rocked out ruggedly, with thick drumming and loud guitars, and longtime fiddle player Lisa Germano bringing soul-grabbing textures to songs like “Paper in Fire” and “Check It Out.” A razor-y electric guitar tone powered “Lonely Ol’ Night.”
Mellencamp regularly pointed encouragingly at spectators who caught his attention. His most amusing stage gesture was an above-the-head lasso-like motion that followed a few songs, including “Crumblin’ Down.”
With an ornery hint of a smile, he set up “Jack and Diane” by calling it a “stupid” song he wrote as a young man. Once the lyrics started, the Star Lake audience sang along, somehow forgetting the “sucking on a chili dog” verse in their premature haste to get to the “oh yeah, life goes on” chorus. Amazingly, that same exact forgetful flub has happened at least three other times at Mellencamp performances in Pittsburgh and Burgettstown the past dozen years.
C’mon, sing it with me people to remember: “Sucking on a chili dog outside the Tastee Freeze/Diane’s sitting on Jackie’s lap, he’s got his hands between her knees/Jackie says, ‘Hey Diane, let’s run off behind a shady tree/Dribble off those Bobby Brooks slacks and do what I please.’”
Mellencamp is always a good sport when Pittsburgh area fans omit that verse, pausing amid “Jack and Diane” at Star Lake to remind the crowd there are things called “verses” and “choruses” in songs, and in that case, he had written two verses before the chorus.
Dylan, by contrast, offered no banter, seated at his piano, licking his fingers to turn the pages of his sheet music as he and his tight band ripped through a set of hits and deep cuts from the preeminent songwriter.
A chugging “All Along The Watchtower” came first, then “Rainy Day Women #12 & 35” with a piano-powered, country-blues gait gentler than the rowdy, horn-fueled radio and album version.
They kicked out the jams for a rocking cover of Chuck Berry’s “Little Queenie,” while “Mr. Blue” basked in the warm glow from an upright bass.
“A Hard Rain’s a-Gonna Fall” earned a hearty cheer from the seated pavilion crowd.
For “Things Have Changed,” featured in the Beaver-Rochester made film “Wonder Boys,” Dylan tweaked the vocal tempo to a faster speed.
Dylan spiritedly covered Paul Davis’ 1961 truck driving anthem “Six Days on The Road,” earning another cheer for its traditional “well I pulled out of Pittsburgh,” opening line. (He’s been doing that song nightly.)
An hour into his set, Dylan uttered his first “thank you” to the crowd.
The rearranged classics kept coming, with “I’ll Be Your Baby Tonight” starting slow before suddenly sped up to a piano-driven romp-and-stomp. Though “Simple Twist of Fate” never attained the wistful romanticism of that “Blood on The Tracks” gem.
Before his last song, I made a beeline to the restroom. I was surprised by how many people I saw milling around the merchandise and food concession areas, rather than watching the performance. I heard several fans grumble that Dylan on that evening wasn’t reaching their expectations.
Dylan’s been doing arrangement-altered concerts for decades, and though the results − for the open-minded − can be satisfying, I understand the consternation of fans expecting a more straightforward performance.
Pittsburgh hospital featured in Max show
Western Pennsylvanians watching “The Pitt” on (HBO) Max next year will recognize local landmarks such as Allegheny General Hospital, which serves as the new medical drama’s fictitious hospital setting.
Starring Noah Wyle (“E.R.”), “The Pitt” pledges to realistically examine challenges facing America’s health care workers through 15 episodes as seen through the lens of the frontline heroes working in a modern-day hospital in Pittsburgh, according to Warner Bros. Television.
Some specific Allegheny General Hospital areas to be featured include the North Side Pittsburgh hospital’s LifeFlight helipad, entryways to the facility and the original main lobby.
Filming at AGH took place earlier this month.
While some scenes were filmed onsite at Allegheny General Hospital, most interior scenes will be filmed at Warner Bros. Studios in Burbank, Calif. That set will be designed to replicate AGH with creators paying special attention to the unique architectural and historic details of the more than 100-year-old hospital.
“We are thrilled to partner with Allegheny General Hospital on ‘The Pitt,’ Carnegie Mellon University graduate Michael Hissrich, co-executive producer of the show, said in a press release. “Pittsburgh is a city full of everyday folks doing extraordinary things, especially those serving on the frontlines in a post-pandemic world. It’s a working-class town, that is also a center of medical excellence and technology – and AGH has been at the forefront of that innovation. We couldn’t think of a better place to shoot ‘The Pitt.’”
Luke Combs UK to play Jergel’s
Need further proof Luke Combs is enjoying a banner year?
The stadium-headlining, Grammy Award-winning country star now has an international tribute act imitating him on stage.
Luke Combs UK, a full, England-based band, announced an early 2025 tour that includes a Feb. 15 stop at Jergel’s Rhythm Grille in Marshall Township.
Luke Combs UK launched in late-2023 and has played packed venues throughout Europe.
Combs headlined Acrisure Stadium in April 2023. His 2024 stadium tour included multiple dates where the opening acts included Charles Wesley Godwin and his Beaver County backing band, the Allegheny High.
Ticket details for Jergel’s will be forthcoming.