In a deck of playing cards, the King of Diamonds is a pretty good card. Of course the Ace is the top card in any deck. On a stage, however, the King of Diamonds is a young man named Rob Garrett, who portrays the great Neil Diamond to perfection.
This writer had promised to stop by and catch one of Garrett’s shows the next time he was in town. Rob, a resident of Las Vegas, was booked to perform at the Eastside Cannery Casino on Boulder Highway last weekend. So, Saturday evening, I drove the few miles from my home to catch him in action inside Marilyn’s Showroom. It had been a long time since I saw Garrett working on stage, and that was when Rob was in “Legends in Concert” at the Imperial Palace.

Las Vegas is home to some of the best impersonators in the world, and most of them work in one of two shows, “Legends” or “Superstars” at the Stratosphere Hotel & Casino. In my humble opinion, there are two great Neil Diamond impersonators, Garrett and Jay White at the Riviera Hotel. White has pulled the plug on his show after an eight year run, leaving the “King of Diamonds” as the sole Neil Diamond show in our little village.

Garret works with a six-piece band and back up singer, Michelle Rohl. It’s a tight group of excellent musicians, and it shows during the nearly two hour performance. Most of the 22 musical numbers performed during his stint on stage are from the 1976-1981 era. Garrett covers a multitude of hits ranging from “Crunchy Granola Suite” to “Coming to America.” Here is a list of just a few of the songs covered: “Hello Again,” “Shilo,” “Kentucky Woman,” “Thank the Lord For The Night Time,” “Sweet Caroline,”   “Love on the Rocks“and “I Am,”  I Said. His duet with Ms. Rohl, “You Don’t Bring Me Flowers,” is a definite show stopper.
Overall I enjoyed the show and so did the Standing Room Only crowd. So, the next time you read where Rob Garrett will be performing, do yourself a favor and go see him sing.