Full Moon Fever: Tom Petty tribute band to perform at aquatorium

ROCKIN’ ON THE MON SUMMER CONCERT SERIES PREVIEW

The Tom Petty cover band will take the main stage at 7:30 p.m. Day One will perform on the Upper Level at 6 p.m.

By MATT PETRAS
For the MVI

The Monongahela Aquatorium’s Rockin’ on the Mon summer concert series returns this Saturday evening featuring headliner Full Moon Fever, a Tom Petty cover band, opened by the two-piece version of Mon Valley band Day One.

Last weekend, the series began with the RiverFest, a two-day festival done this year for the first time. Gates open at 6 p.m. for Saturday’s show, with admission costing $10 per person at the venue or online.

Day One will perform at 6 p.m. on the Upper Level, while Full Moon Fever takes the main stage at 7:30 p.m.

Full Moon Fever, a band based in Toronto, Canada, last played the aquatorium two years ago. Frontman Todd Sharman remembers the venue fondly, he said.

“It’s always a lot of fun going down to the aquatorium,” Sharman said. “We always have a great time with the people there. People dancing and having a good time, coming up on their boats and partying away. I remember it being a lot of fun.”

The band has featured the same guys since its inception in 1991: Sharman on lead vocals along with guitar and harmonica, Randy James on vocals and drums, Mark Higginbottom on vocals and guitar, Mark Arbour on vocals and bass and David Veldhuizen on piano and organ.

They play all the hits and like to throw in b-sides – favorite b-sides of Sharman’s include “It’s Good To Be King” and “A Thing About You.” When they tackle Petty’s music, they try to be authentic even though their own spin can come out in the sound sometimes, he said.

“We’re gonna go through his catalog and play all the big tunes,” Sharman said. “By the end of the night, I’m sure everyone’s voice is gonna be hoarse from singing along and their feet will be sore from dancing.”

By the vendors before the show begins, Day One’s acoustic set-up, which includes Brandon Zanardelli playing bongos, Tom Lang playing guitar and both singing, will play a wide mix of popular music from different generations. In keeping with the spirit of Full Moon Fever, the band members plan to pick some 80s and 90s rock, John Mellencamp and more.

“We’ve been able to pull from our repertoire songs that we think would be enjoyed by the crowd that will be there for that particular band,” Zanardelli said.

Day One’s acoustic twopiece band often opens for bands at the aquatorium, but at last week’s Riverfest, its conventional setup, which includes four members and electric instruments, played on stage at the Aquatorium for the first time. This means a lot to the Pittsburgh-area band, including Zanardelli, a Bethel Park High School graduate.

“Even in spite of the heat, it was such a great time,” Zanardelli said. “It was really fun to play on the main stage with the full electric guitars, the full drum set. And just so many great bands, both Friday and Saturday, so it was a real privilege to play there in that capacity.”

Day One celebrates its 25year anniversary this year and plans to release a new EP later this summer, according to Zanardelli. The band began writing new material close to the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. This new music sounds like early Train, he said.

“Writing some new material, some ideas we’ve had over the years, just fleshing them out into full songs. So it’s been a lot of fun,” Zanardelli said. “It’s been a really cool process, and especially going into this 25th year together, it’s been invigorating.”

Zanardelli said he greatly appreciates what the aquatorium does every year and appreciates Tanya Chaney, organizer of the summer concert series, for playing a major role in putting together the shows.

“It’s such a unique aspect of Washington County, to have a facility like that, to have a beautiful concert venue, right on the river, with an amazing backdrop,” Zanardelli said. “You look across the river, and you see all the trees. And you couldn’t ask for a better town to have it in.”