I'll admit I fretted a little -- fearing two hours of Brew City William Hungs -- but judging the Downtown Idol contest at River Rhythms Wednesday night was better than expected. That's because Downtown workers, apparently, are a well of vocal talent.

In fact, out of a pool of perhaps seven contestants, nearly all of them were worthy of advancing, even if only the four best could do so.

Each contestant sang a tune chosen from a pool of famous ditties, like "I'll Be There" and "Somewhere Over the Rainbow," before the 6:30 p.m. kickoff of River Rhythms, which drew around 300 people despite a grim forecast, blackening skies and a bit of rain. Lucille's co-owner Ted Oliver accompanied all on piano.

Also judging in the first round were sound engineer Tom Fay and Brian Bernier of Lucille's Rockin' Pianos, which hosted the finals after River Rhythms wrapped at 9 p.m.

There, the competition was tight as the four finalists each rocked another tune and proved themselves all worthy. In the end, Jennifer Butters took the top spot with Alyssa Krueger second, Meghan Essig third and James Antony fourth.

In related news, Bernier tells us that Lucille's is doing so well that he and Oliver are looking at reconfiguring the space to accommodate an extra 150 seats. They're also looking at locations in Madison and out of state to open two more Lucille's dueling piano bars.

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Recent Talkbacks ...

Posted by OMCreader on Aug. 4, 2006 at 10:08 a.m. (report)

Westown Association said: We just want to thank all of the participants for setting the bar so high for NEXT year's competition! Congratulations to everyone who competed in Downtown Idol '06!!

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