Over The Top Of The Pops

Watkins & the Rapiers Grammy 1958 show at the Little Theaer Café in Rochester New York
Watkins & the Rapiers Grammy 1958 show at the Little Theaer Café in Rochester New York

Last night Watkins & the Rapiers pulled out all the stops as they recreated the 1958 Grammys Show at the Little Theater. With special guests including Stan Merrell (Nel Blu Dipinto Di Blu “Volaré”) and Shawn the Café manager, the usual guests, Connie Deming (Peggy Lee’s “Fever”) and Richard Storms (Frank Sinatra’s “Old Black Magic”) and sensational performances by the band as they covered some rich musical territory. Shawn brought the house down with his version of Frank’s “Come Fly With Me.” I have never heard an ovation like that for any other performance here.

Watkins goes for it on a weekly basis. There is always a theme, costumes or new songs, sometimes whole new lyrics to someone else’s songs. The six piece band is made up of unlikely but full-fledged entertainers. They have a die-hard contingent of fans in the front half of the room and usually pack the house. You won’t find more ear to ear smiles at any other venue.

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Body Parts Found In Chicago

Watkins & The Rapiers performing live at WXXI
Watkins & The Rapiers performing live on WXXI’s Sound Stage

We went to the old Rohrbach’s location in the basement of the German House in Rochester’s South Wedge last night. Watkins & The Rapiers were playing there surrounded by TV sets tuned to various stations. “Body Parts Found In Chicago” was displayed the the bottom of the screen on Fox News. I couldn’t tell what we were looking at. We went out with our neighbor, Rick, and he ordered a pitcher of beer. We ran into Bob Mahoney and Jan Marshall and had a nice time chatting while the Regan brothers sang their super catchy songs and select covers like Ricky Nelson’s “Travelin’ Man” and Dylan’s “When I Paint My Masterpiece”. I slept like a baby and woke up with “Even on Christmas Day He Wore Black” stuck in my head. Peggi said she was singing “Mighty Nice of you to Treat Colorblind This Way” and they didn’t even do that one.

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