Best 9: Top events for the week ahead in Santa Cruz County arts & entertainment, Aug. 14-21

Here they are, nine necessary know-abouts for the week ahead. It’s the dog days B9:

➤ Sure, now everybody’s doing sputtering rage, but let’s not forget the OG of sputtering rage, the great Lewis Black. An icon of the classical era of “The Daily Show,” Black has turned get-off-my-lawn misanthropy into a comfortable comic niche. But if you’ve seen him only through his sit-down segments on “TDS,” you should know that Black has more on the ball than snarls and finger waggles. In his live show, the man reveals more of himself, exposing more compassion and even wisdom that TV allows him. Local audiences have a chance this weekend to see that version of Lewis Black when he performs at the Rio Theatre on Sunday. The sad part is that he’s claiming that this tour is his last. See him while you can, and don’t let your sputtering rage turn to melancholy. 

➤ The Australian trio Glass Beams does a thing you don’t see every day. They each perform in bejeweled masks that look like a doily you might find on your grandma’s end table. The group’s music is unique as well, a trippy blend of Western psychedelia and Indian ragas. Wear your own doily if you’d like, but check them out at The Catalyst next Tuesday. 

➤ The performance group Puppeteers for Fears has a simple but very effective tagline: “Horror. Comedy. Puppets.” That about captures it, as the Oregon-based comedy troupe drops into Felton Music Hall to present its unholy mix of sci-fi, stage musicals and absurdist comedy, titled “Robopocalypse: The Musical.” It all goes down Aug. 21. Will the world ever be the same?

➤ Three of the things that make life worth living come together just a bit up Highway 17 at the Scotts Valley Art, Wine & Beer Festival on Saturday and Sunday in sunny Skypark. Of course, there’s also great food, live music and even a classic car show — three more things that make life worth living. 

➤ It should go without saying that beauty is not the same as youth but our culture continually fuses them together, especially when it comes to women. Photographer Jana Marcus is, however, doing her part in exposing the beauty of older women with a pop-up show of her luminous photos called “50 Over 40,” featuring portraits of women over 40. The quickie show comes to The Radius Gallery at The Tannery on Saturday afternoon. 

➤ It’s a big weekend for the Santa Cruz-based Christian Youth Theater (CYT), celebrating its 15th anniversary with an “Alumni Cabaret” at the Kuumbwa Jazz Center on Saturday. The show will feature a variety of acts from CYT alums over the years and a big finale open to all who’ve participated in CYT programs. The energy should be electric.

➤ Most singer-songwriters ply their art with the help of a trusty guitar. But rarely do you meet an artist like Ben Sollee, who pursues an Appalachia-style Americana vibe as a cellist. First emerging as a member of the Sparrow Quartet alongside Bela Fleck, Sollee has proved that whatever you can do with a fiddle, you can also do with a cello. Check him out at The Crepe Place on Saturday. 

➤ No one without a time machine can experience the thrill of seeing The Doors in concert these days. But we can get a pretty good simulacrum with the tribute act Strange Days, which has actually had Doors guitarist Robby Krieger on stage to perform with them. For a brief moment Saturday night, Moe’s Alley will be the Whisky A Go Go circa 1968.

➤ Lacy J. Dalton, the famous “Hillbilly Girl with the Blues,” is one of the greats of old-school country, first emerging in the 1980s and embraced for her bluesy style. Little-known fact: Before her country stardom, she was a Santa Cruzan, hanging out on the music scene as folkie Jill Croston. The commanding Lacy J. returns to her old haunts when she performs live at El Vaquero in Corralitos on Saturday.