By JOHN NORTH
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Benny Anderson’s Drifters and Robert Lee Smith and His Original Tams gave a small-but-enthusiastic crowd its money’s worth with a nearly three-hour concert featuring beach music and other rhythm-and-blues classics on May 5 in the sparkling new Sherrill Center at UNC Asheville.

Billed as “A Tribute to Motown Scholarship Benefit Concert,” the show — the first concert ever to be staged in the Sherrill Center — actually included only a few Motown hits, as neither The Drifters nor the Tams were part of Motown Records.

While the show proved terrific, with high quality musical performances, choreography and general showmanship, among the disappointments was the turnout of only about 400 people.

Also, even though popular local vocalist Kat Williams was billed as a “special guest” at the show, she actually only made a few brief appearances on stage, mainly in an emcee capacity.

The Drifters had the crowd singing along to many of the group's hits at UNCA.

Notably, Williams joined the two groups — after the Drifters invited The Tams, who already had changed into their street clothes — to join them on stage to reprise The O’Jays’ disco-era anthem “Love Train.”

Much to her credit, Williams, when given a chance by the groups to sing a verse, made the most of it by belting the lyrics out with a whiskey-voiced, blues-singer styling.

An area with a smooth floor to the left of the stage was set aside for dancers — and the dance floor was kept near capacity during much of the concert, especially during The Tams’ high-energy songs.

Each group played its trademark hits, with a selection of other artists’ songs.

The Tams, who performed first, opened the show with a rip-roaring version of “Love Train,” followed by “Don’t Let the Green Grass Fool You” and “Treat Her Like a Lady.”

The group then played a number of Tams’ classics, including “I’ve Been Hurt,” “Untie Me,” “Laugh It Off,” “What Kind of Fool Do You Think I Am?” “Hey Girl, Don’t Bother Me” and the spirited crowd-pleaser “Be Young, Be Foolish, But Be Happy.”

A highlight was a trio of songs The Tams introduced as its “College Medley,” which included “Oh, What a Night,” “You Send Me” and “Daddy’s Home.” The Tams finished their set with a second performance of “Be Young, Be Foolish, But Be Happy.”

The Drifters opened with “On Broadway,” followed by “This Magic Moment,” Save the Last Dance for Me,” “Saturday Night at the Movies,” “There Goes My Baby,” “Some King of Wonderful” “Dance With Me” and “Up on the Roof.”