Nutty Brown night

I think the Nutty Brown Café and Amphitheatre in Dripping Springs is my favorite outdoor venue these days. During this hotter-than-average summer I wimped out a lot and stuck to indoor activities more than usual, but with the return of cool nights it’s a great time for going. Del Castillo played there on Saturday night, with Alpha Rev opening. Had not seen Alpha Rev before, and they were a great surprise! They are an Indie pop rock band, and I loved the fiddle player’s style. Second time lately I've seen a fiddler produce guitar-like sounds from the instrument (the other being Stuart Duncan on "Black Dog" last week with Plant & Krauss). We will see them again, maybe at the Oasis in a couple of weeks - a free sunset show overlooking the lake.

The Nutty Brown holds probably 1000-2000 people, not really sure, and this show was competing with a big football game so it was less crowded than it would have been normally. There was plenty of room to move around everywhere, even up front. We left the front rail for an elevated perch for awhile (it used to be the stage before the place was redesigned), and there was a nice, cool, strong breeze blowing - strong enough to blow over a half-full drink. Had not seen Del Castillo in about 4 months (that's a long time)! I've seen them so many times that we know each other, and all the other big fans are there so it's like a big happy familia... like a family reunion where people actually like each other. They put on a great show! I know it's great for bands to get to play to the hometown crowd.

The Nutt's patio is really pretty large, with lots of trees, room for kids to romp, a talking parrot, and also has a big parking lot in the back - free parking AT the venue. What a concept! They will seat you at a table if you want to order food and drinks that way, or you can even bring your own chairs. The whole experience was in stark contrast to the ACL Festival from the week before.