Cheap drinks are strangely delicious drinks. There's something about a 50-cent beer that tricks your brain into thinking it's colder and better than it really is.
Or maybe cans of Olympia actually are works of brewing art. There has to be a reason that "Holy Oly" nights - Tuesdays at the Lift Bar & Grill, 4091 W. State St. - are so jammed.
It's one of the cheap-drink specials I discovered while researching an article for Sunday's Idaho Statesman about local entertainment spending during skittish economic times.
Hannah's in Downtown Boise just launched "Fill 'er Up Fridays." Pay a $3 cover, and you can pound $1.50, 16-ounce PBRs or $2.50 well drinks. And Wednesdays are still huge at Hannah's - $1.25 Budweisers, $2.25 wells and no cover. Down the block, Main Street Bistro, China Blue and Dirty Little Roddy's dropped everyday draft beer prices from $3.25 to $2.75 a couple of months ago. They've also increased the number of drink specials.
The Dutch Goose, 3515 W. State St., has a long-running steal of a deal on Thursdays: Pay a $2 cover, and all drafts - including tasty brews like Sierra Nevada Pale Ale and Long Hammer IPA - are $1 from 8 to 11 p.m. Pace yourself, or you're in for a Friday-morning cranium thumping. (No, it's not the result of an errant horseshoe toss from that tipsy sorority girl in the beer garden.)
There are probably a million drink specials at area watering holes, from Downtown nightclubs to neighborhood dive bars.
What's your favorite cheap-drink deal?
E-mail it to me. Or post it as a comment online. I'll add your suggestions to my "Words & Deeds" blog July 7 in an unofficial roundup of "Treasure Valley booze bargains."
ENTERTAINMENT NOTES
• If you follow the blog, you knew days ago that Sheryl Crow is coming Aug. 27 to the Idaho Center Amphitheater in Nampa. Tickets go on sale at 10 a.m. July 11 at ICTickets and TicketWeb.
A few key details: The $30 tickets are general admission lawn, while the $45 and $55 are reserved seats. There will be an opening act, but it's undecided at this point. (So forget about it being a major name.) This outdoor concert will be all about watching Crow, having fun and singing along to hits such as "All I Wanna Do" and "If It Makes You Happy."
• One day after gigging at the Braun Brothers Reunion in Challis, singer-songwriter Robert Earl Keen will cruise down to Boise for a concert Aug. 9 at the Grizzly Rose, 1124 Front St. Tickets are $26 advance at the Record Exchange and Boise Co-op.
• Edwards 21 Cinemas in Boise and Edwards 14 in Nampa will debut a new 3D remake of "Journey to the Center of the Earth" July 11, beginning with a midnight showing.
Packed with silly, impressive, eye-popping effects, it's a digital 3D adventure based on Jules Verne's classic sci-fi novel. Brendan Fraser stars, so you sort of know what you're getting. Regal Entertainment Group, which operates Edwards, says that the 3D glasses will be "comfortable" and "lightweight." Whatever the case, you get to take the glasses home afterward.
• Some might argue that booking a band with religious influences is risky at Alive After Five. But in the case of Needtobreathe, which will perform July 23, it was smart timing. The South Carolina band has been receiving heavy airplay on 94.9 FM "The River" since February. Needtobreathe's single, "More Time," is No. 15 on the Radio & Records Triple A chart and trending upward.
Needtobreathe was nominated for a couple of Dove Awards - aka "Christian Grammys" - earlier this year. But Needtobreathe doesn't play up that angle overtly; most listeners simply will hear Southern-tinged modern rock.
• In local music news, Jeremiah James has a new CD out, and David Andrews and Equaleyes will have new albums in hand this month. Singer-guitarist Marcus Eaton is featured in the July issue of Premier Guitar magazine. Read the article at www.premierguitar.com. A whole slew of local bands will perform Aug. 2 and 3 at Garden Valley's third annual Music in the Mountains festival. As well as a music bash, it's an eco-friendly event with a solar-powered stage, a wine tasting and a Dutch oven cookoff.
Michael Deeds co-hosts "The Other Studio" at 9 p.m. Sundays on 94.9 FM "The River" - except this week. There will be no show because of the holiday weekend.
The Idaho Statesman is pleased to offer this opportunity to share information and observations about what's in the news. Some comments may be reprinted elsewhere in the site or in the newspaper. We encourage lively, open debate but ask that you remain on topic. Comments that are profane, personal attacks or otherwise inappropriate are subject to removal.
@Nyx.CommentBody@