I can honestly say I have seen the Scintas over 50 times. This show was one of the best. The locally grown Vegas sensation entertainers started wowing their fans in the late 70’s. We first saw them in Williamsville at a place called Goldie’s Apartment, and it was our little secret. When they moved to the Buffalo Playboy Club in the Executive Hotel by the airport, we brought customers there a couple of times a week. The act is a Vegas style mix of great music, comedy, impersonations, you name it. Frank Scinta was the main man last night at the Bear’s Den in the Seneca Niagara Casino, as his brother and sidekick, Joe, was dealing with a medical issue back in Vegas. Frankie didn’t miss a beat though, as his energy is endless, and his content is as unpredictable as it is awesome. He is a tremendous musical talent, playing keyboards, guitar, mandolin, and even the spoons. But it’s his delivery that makes the night. He and his backup band could play four chords of an Elton John song, and you’d swear they did the long version. He’ll interrupt a music set with impersonations of George Burns and Dean Martin, mocks ethnicities, then jokes at the thought of the audience being uncomfortable with it. You’ve just gotta laugh. He’s a master. Janien Valentine is the backup singer, and even belted out an opera song that brought the audience to its feet. She joined the band a few years ago, and hails from East Amherst.

American patriotism is a big part of Frankie’s show, and singing, “America the Beautiful,” while doing an impersonation of Ray Charles brought the Americans and Canadians in the audience closer together than the Rainbow Bridge could even think to. A full house of lucky concert goers at the Bear’s Den left smiling after a full two hours of laughing and singing. So Western New York is well represented in the world’s biggest entertainment venue, Vegas, while we still get up close and personal performances when these folks come home. And as Frankie repeated throughout the night, “There’s no place like home.”

Despite the extra workload Frank carried to manage the show by himself, he took the time to hang out with us locals at the Lobby Bar in the casino hotel for about an hour after the show. He was to start as a co-host of the Variety Club Telethon for Buffalo’s Women & Children’s Hospital at 7:00AM, a 12 hour gig for charity, then back to Vegas.

The entertainment industry- think about it. These guys have been “on” for almost 40 years straight, and haven’t missed a beat. Thanks to the Seneca Niagara Casino, they’ve got a great place to play to the hometown crowd.

Erdco Development, LLC is pleased to announce the opening of Ion Yoga, a Yoga studio available to all certified Yoga instructors to utilize in the entertainment district of Niagara Falls. Located at 451 Third Street, the 1200 sq ft facility will handle classes of up to 20 participants. Individual instructors can lease the facility for private classes as well as providing yoga services to walk-in clients as reservations dictate.

“Yoga has been an established form of wellness and exercise around the country and around the world,” says Craig Avery, owner of Erdco and Ion Yoga. “Since we have people visiting us from all over, there is a growing need for places to do yoga within a short distance of our downtown hotels. Our local residents are becoming increasingly aware of the benefits of Yoga and will be more and more active as relationships develop with our instructors.”

This facility supplements the renaissance of Third Street giving yoga participants an opportunity to discover and enjoy the new restaurants and lifestyle that is developing downtown.

An open house will be held Wednesday, April 5, 2017 from 5:00 – 9:00 PM to showcase the studio. Instructors will be present to discuss the various styles of yoga, the benefits of establishing an exercise program, and will explain the features of the facility.

Ion Yoga may be contacted at info@fallsyoga.com

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I wasn’t sure what to expect when I headed to the Bears Den Saturday night to hear Dan Hill, known primarily as the guy who wrote and sang, “Sometimes When We Touch.”  I knew there wouldn’t be throngs of teenagers crying and throwing themselves in front of the band’s bus like when the Beatles first came to town.  I suspected a crowd of over middle-agers cringing from the days when his songs were either feared or relished as the first slow dance for many a Jr. High schooler.  Whatever, I have learned that these hour and a half to two hour concerts at the Seneca Niagara Casino are a welcome relief to hanging at a bar for five hours and stuffing our faces with chicken wings and nachos.

A seemingly elderly man made it to the stage, walking slowly, not because he was old, just because it was obvious that’s how he rolled –  Slow and steady, as we soon understood, like his music. As it turns out he is only 62, but I think most would agree that life and times in the entertainment industry must have differing effects on those involved.  He had a talented piano backup and a young female vocalist on stage with him, and he began to tell stories.  In a methodical and almost slurred vocal pattern, he told a little ditty about each song he was about to play.  With a very dry sense of humor, his delivery grew on us.  It soon became apparent that this guy was not just a one hit wonder singer, but a gifted song writer who has lived music his entire life.

He told tales of auditioning an 18 year-old Celene Dion, who toured with him for a bit.  He went on to write songs for her in her role as a music icon.  He told of his comforting his mother with song as she was hospitalized for mental illness, he told of his fear and reflections after being diagnosed with cancer. Each story had a twist, a moral, and usually ended with a smile.

What really got me was his ability to use words.  He was a lyricist, a wordsmith and his command of the english language in putting together a simple story, made it obvious how he became a successful songwriter.  He joked that the four water bottles on the table next to him were actually tequila, and they may very well have been.  But that didn’t matter.  Here was a guy for us to meet and understand in a way we never would have, and never would have asked to.

He finished with his signature song, then came back for one more. We weren’t hoarse from screaming, we weren’t tense cause the people in front of us wouldn’t sit down, we didn’t get contact high from second hand smoke, and no beer was spilled in the making of this concert.  It was just a nice evening, and a pleasant surprise. I appreciated the music, I appreciated the stories, but mostly, once again, I appreciated the experience that I wouldn’t have looked for in Niagara Falls.