Greg Brown wows 'em at Adele's

If the capacity crowd is any indication of what Carson City wants to hear and see in the heart of downtown, the Greg Brown concert in the Adele's parking lot proved the restaurant and the Brewery Arts Center, joined by the downtown revitalization people, are on to something.

The rough-voiced bass baritone serenaded the crowd with blues, bluegrass, rock and ballads, even a protest song ("Nixon Lied To Us"). And the crowd ate it up. The stage was temporary, the sound system new, and the lights bright, and the parking lot never looked so good. Plenty of refreshments, lots of people having a good time.

Next show is Wednesday, Sept. 21, same place. The talent is Dan Hicks and his Hot Licks Band. Hicks describes his music as "folk rock," with some swing tossed in. Tickets are $40 for the Gold Circle (first five rows) and $30 for the rest of us at Adele's, the Cracker Box Restaurant and BAC in Carson City and at www.breweryarts.org.

Blaze at Black Rock

In case you've been in China and missed the news, the Burning Man event came back to the Black Rock Desert near Gerlach last week, with more than 35,000 participants on hand.

The Saturday night burning of The Man was a glorious affair, with fireworks signaling the beginning of the end for the towering, wooden statue.

This was my first outing at Burning Man, and I was impressed. Yes, drugs were there; so were families having a great time.

People actually seemed to be taking the event's theme of "we're all part of a village, we just need to become friends" seriously.

The big surprise was the relative calmness of everybody - that is, except for the cheering when The Man went down.

Comma benefit

Comma Concerts is hosting SJ Tucker at 7:30 p.m. Friday. Opening for her is "Ilsey Juber," Lawrence Juber's daughter.

This is going to be an awesome night of female talent.

Buy your tickets on line at www.commaconcerts.com or at Comma Coffee for $15.

All profits from this concert will go to the Salvation Army to help provide relief to those who have been affected by the devastation of Hurricane Katrina.

If you can't make it, buy a ticket and give it to a friend.

Or just stop by and make a donation.

Beer's up

Brewery Arts Center's aptly will ferment its 13th annual Beer Tasting Auction at 5:30 p.m. Friday. It's a fine chance to sample 10 brews from 10 Northern Nevada beer distributors.

It's free - that is, getting in the door - but a tasting glass is $15 (you wanna drink from your hands?).

The barbecue is five bucks for big folk, $3 for children. Call 883-1976.

More music

I don't see how anyone could miss the dual piano work of Squeek Steel and Jane Theiss, 7 p.m. Monday at the Brewery Arts Center Performance Hall. It's only $5 and benefits BAC. Call 882-9517.

More oldies

Now that just about any movie made is available by mail, here's a couple this writer recently enjoyed: "Shane," with the impossibly handsome Alan Ladd, all 5-foot-5 of him, along with Jean Arthur, Van Heflin and young Brandon De Wilde. That echoing cry of De Wilde "Shane! Shane! Come back, Shane!" says it all. Then there's bumbling man Jimmy Stewart in the classic send-up politicians in "Mr. Smith Goes to Washington." Stewart is a rube, but he makes the nation listen in his epic filibuster. (And who wanted to kill filibusters? Shame, shame!)