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Kats: Vegas Neil Diamond performer Rob Garrett set for ‘biggest show of my life’

I caught the great Neil Diamond tribute artist Rob Garrett at MGM Grand Garden arena in March 2020.

Garrett wasn’t performing as Neil Diamond. Neil Diamond was.

Garrett who headlines in his Diamond tribute at 8 p.m. (doors at 7 p.m.) Saturday at M Pavilion, was in the audience at the Keep Memory Alive Power of Love gala, the annual benefit for the Cleveland Clinic Lou Ruvo Center for Brain Health.

Diamond was one of the honorees at the event, which drew 1,500 attendees just before COVID took hold. Those in the Grand Garden Arena thought he might perform a song or two. Instead he performed a 25-minute set.

Garrett thrilled in the performance, as this was almost certainly Diamond’s final public appearance. The rock and pop legend announced in January 2018 he was retiring from live performances, having been diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease.

Diamond’s final ticketed performance was Aug. 12, 2017, at The Forum in Inglewood, California. Garrett was there.

Diamond first show in Las Vegas was when he opened the Aladdin Theatre for the Performing Arts (today’s Zappos Theater) in July 1976. Garrett was there, too.

He’s had something of a Diamond-studded career.

“I remember he called three shows at the Aladdin, and they sold out. He called a fourth, and it sold out. He finally called a fifth show, and my mom and I got into that show,” Garrett said in a phone chat Monday. “For its time, it was a very big deal. Nobody had ever sold out that many shows in a 7,500-seat theater in Vegas before. It wasn’t thought of until they built the Aladdin, and brought in Neil Diamond.”

Garrett, as Diamond, is also recording impressive numbers.

Typically a lounge and showroom headliner (including a run with “Legends in Concert” and his own touring show), Garrett should sell out the 1,800-seat M Pavilion. He is also performing with a full orchestra for the first time in his long career.

“I’ve got an even bigger band than when Neil did it,” Garrett said, referring to the Aladdin shows. “And we will be playing the hits people expect to hear.”

Garrett says he’ll fill three-quarters of the show with such hits as “Hello Again,” “Forever in Blue Jeans,” “Love on the Rocks,” and the “riot” song, “Sweet Caroline.” We call it a “riot” song, because if Garrett doesn’t sing it, there might be a riot.

“I’m also going with some of his newer stuff,” Garrett said. “Maybe 25 percent of the show will be more obscures songs. More recently, I’ve started dabbling in his newer songs, just to show people he’s still one of the greatest fighters in history.”

The show falls coincidentally on the 87th birth date of another of Garrett’s icons, Elvis Presley. Garrett saw Presley perform 23 times total, 18 at the International/Las Vegas Hilton, three times at the Nassau Coliseum in Long Island and twice at Madison Square Garden.

Garrett, a native of Brooklyn who grew up in Queens, immediately noticed the Jan. 8 date, even if the hotel booking the shows didn’t make the connection.

“I’m not even sure if they realize they gave me Elvis’s birthday,” Garrett said. “For me, personally, it makes it even more special, because this is the biggest show of my life.”

Serpentine es en fuego

On the topic of great tributes … column fave (and Kats family fave) Tyriq Johnson’s Serpentine Fire tribute to Earth Wind & Fire is set to open a monthly residency at The Space on at 8 p.m. Jan. 14. Johnson formed the band in 2015, along with music director Mariano Longo.

Johnson is joined by his brother, Johnny Johnson, who is also music director for Boyz II Men, Chris Clermont, Walter Jones, Eddie Fluellen, Gabriel Falcone, Gerard Lawson, Caleb McKee, Daniel Johnson and Lannie Counts.

We met Johnson years ago with Santa Fe & The Fat City Horns. His vocals that band’s cover of “After The Love is Gone” is reason enough to catch Serpentine Fire. We have felt for years SF should pin down a regular haunt. The Space is it.

Live at five

On the topic of The Space …

Mark Shunock’s community theater annex turned five on Wednesday. Amazing run, for Shunock and his staff, which have built a diverse schedule. The anchor night, Mondays Dark, returns Jan. 24 to benefit longtime headliner Jeff Civillico’s Win Win Entertainment operation.

Other highlights on the corner of Polaris and Cavaretta Court (show times at 8 p.m.):

— Jan. 29, Pauly Shore, who seems to have set a goal to perform in every club in Las Vegas, headlines, “Stick With The Dancing — Funny Stories From My Childhood.”

— Feb. 3, ESPN baseball analyst Tim Kurkjian is booked in the main room. Kurkjian might seem, you know, a curve ball as a Las Vegas headliner. But his son Jeff Kurkjian, is a Vegas local who co-hosts “Jeff and Aimee In The Morning” on 102.7-FM Coyote Country. Jeff is set to hosts his dad’s appearance.

— Feb. 13, busy burlesque performer Buttercup returns her recurring production, “Tease: A Burlesque Revue.” The star is also a featured performer in Brian Newman’s “After Dark” show at NoMad Library.

Cool Hang Alert

The Scotty Mac Band rolls into Stoney’s Rockin’ Country at 7 p.m. (doors) and 10 p.m. (show) Friday. This is the rollicking country/rock band formed through an ad on Craig’s List by Scott McLaughlin in 2015. The band has toured with such headliners as Brett Young, Tyler Farr, Lee Brice, Chase Rice and Phil Vassar. Cover is $5 in advance, $10 at the door; or $15 in advance, $25 at the door for ages 18-and-over. And pack the boots.

John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. His “PodKats!” podcast can be found at reviewjournal.com/podcasts. Contact him at jkatsilometes@reviewjournal.com. Follow @johnnykats on Twitter, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.

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