Next best thing to a live show

Friday, Nov. 10, 2006 | 6:56 a.m.

Can't make it to the Rolling Stones concert Saturday at MGM Grand Arena? How about something a little more, well, intimate?

Stones guitarist Ronnie Wood is showing his artwork at Jack Gallery in Mandalay Bay. A formally trained artist, Wood studied at Ealing College of Art in London before taking a music job with some British rock 'n' rollers (the Creation, Jeff Beck Group and Faces before joining the Stones in 1976). But over the years, he has continued his art.

Expect to see paintings, drawings, monoprints and screenprints at the exhibit, which opens to a private reception with the artist tonight and continues through Nov. 26. Wood's original "B-Stage," a lively rendition of a Stones concert, is on display through the weekend.

For more information, call 632-4770.

Trombone man

Ken Hanlon is knee-deep in trombones. You might expect that from a man whose license plate reads "trmbone," who heads the International Trombone Association and organizes the annual 76 Trombones + 4 concert.

Having landed in Las Vegas in 1968 with Si Zentner, "Folies Bergere" orchestra conductor, Hanlon is old-school. He played various Strip casinos, including a backup gig for legendary Sarah Vaughan. But like other musicians working the live band heyday, Hanlon watched as recorded music replaced most musicians.

By then the trombonists had learned something: Go it alone. Take out the trumpets and saxophones, add about 80 trombones and you've got an ensemble. What began as a one-time event to honor the late Las Vegas trombonist Abe Nole became an annual performance. The concert drew 84 trombonists, including musicians from up and down the California coast, most of whom knew Nole from the road. When it was over, "everybody looked around and said, 'We should do it again,' " Hanlon says.

That brings us to this weekend, when 76 Trombones + 4 (about 100 trombonists from around the country) will perform its annual scholarship fundraising concert at Artemus Ham Hall. The concert features the music of Art Sares, Dorsey arrangements and solo artists Frank McCallum, Andy Martin and classical soloist Nathaniel Brickens.

So if you're wondering what 100 trombones sounds like, this would be the chance to find out. It's an all-star reunion. "Every year somebody says, 'Hey, I got three more guys I've been talking to and they're interested,' " says Hanlon, who heads to England next month to sway the British Trombone Society into becoming an affiliate of the 5,000-member ITA. Sunday's concert will also feature four of the group's scholarship recipients.

Details: 76 Trombones + 4; 2 p.m. Sunday; Artemus Ham Hall, UNLV; $10-$12; 895-2787

Bookfest draws a crowd

Nevada Humanities was so satisfied by its pairing of the Vegas Valley Bookfest with First Friday that they have no reservations about doing it again next year.

"We haven't had our debriefing yet, but everyone was pleased," says Kris Darnall, who estimates that the book fair drew 5,000 people over its two days. "It was definitely our top attendance."

While a Friday night reading at G-C Arts brought in a couple dozen listeners, Darnall says 500 people attended Chuck Palahniuk's keynote address, which closed the festival.

"We will determine what people liked best, and we won't repeat the things that did poorly," she says.

Most intriguing, she says, were the audiences that stuck around for the "Rotating Heads" poetry readings. Poet Beau Sia was energetic and comedic, then turned into a businessman post-performance, selling his CDs from a box. Whitney Pastorek and Sarah Balcomb's Phil Collins operetta was well-scripted and a perfect blend of poetry, music, camp and satire.

Titillating the crowd at the first reading was Mayor Oscar Goodman's performances of haiku written last-minute by an informal literary collective.

After admitting, "I've never performed haiku in my life. I've done just about everything in my life," the mayor broke into his reading with Mayor Pro Tem Gary Reese cheering him on: