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by Seth Rogovoy
NORTH ADAMS, Mass., May 12, 1996 -- The amazingly versatile Night Shift Cafe, which has been variously incarnated as a Chicago blues club, a New Orleans juke joint, a midwestern roadhouse and an Irish pub, was once again transformed on Friday night, this time into a '50s-era gymnasium sock hop, when groups performing under the banner of The Drifters and The Coasters revived doo-wop classics and other tunes from the golden age of rock 'n' roll.
Whereas Night Shift shows by cult performers such as Ani DiFranco and The Band see a tightly-packed mass of people crowding in front of the stage, the audience on Friday night set itself up in more typical nightclub fashion, with the bulk of the crowd seated at tables and chairs across from the stage and with plenty of room in front reserved for dancing.
Fortunately, the vocal groups didn't disappoint, providing the soundtrack for the markedly older crowd to cha-cha, twist and mash potato through classic hits such as "Shake, Rattle and Roll," "The Twist" and "Save the Last Dance for Me."
Bedecked in bright red tuxedos, today's version of The Coasters offered a mixture of the novelties made famous by the original vocal quartet in the late '50s mixed with other numbers from that era. Among the classic Coasters hits they performed, all of which were written by the songwriting team of Leiber and Stoller, were "Charlie Brown," "Young Blood" and "Poison Ivy."
The group's biggest hit, and the biggest number of their set, was the aptly titled "Yakety Yak," as the singers relied excessively on between-song banter to establish a rapport with the crowd. Other songs they offered were "Love Potion #9," "Dock of the Bay" and "My Girl," this last an obvious tribute to The Temptations, who took the sort of pop vocal style and unison dance steps pioneered by groups like The Coasters and The Drifters and turned them into works of art.
For the most part, The Drifters let their songs do the talking, such classics as "There Goes My Baby," "This Magic Moment," "Up On the Roof," "On Broadway" and "Under the Boardwalk," many with a Latin underpinning, also written by Leiber and Stoller, as well as Doc Pomus and Mort Shuman. The quartet, nattily attired in black tuxes, featured tenor Charles Thomas, a genuine member of the Ben E. King version of the group (there was an earlier group that showcased Clyde McPhatter). Much of what remains of Thomas's voice is just a gruff growl, but on numbers such as "Spanish Harlem" (curiously, like "Stand By Me" -- which they also performed -- a hit for King after he left The Drifters), Thomas's artful use of syncopation and dynamics more than compensated for what he lacked in timbral control.
The same, anonymous four-piece band backed each group, both of which performed extended sets. Except for an occasional musically anachronistic synthesizer line, they were effective and worked hard for their money, as did the singers.
(This review first appeared in the Berkshire Eagle on May 13, 1996. Copyright Seth Rogovoy 1996. All rights reserved.)
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