Jim Brickman opened his holiday concert tour in Sacramento at the Crest Theater on Friday evening. Brickman, a Grammy nominee with several gold and platinum albums, delivered on his promise to play a lot of hits, joking, "When you have hits, you should play them in your concert."

His song selections ranged from his first hit, "Rocket to the Moon," through medleys of patriotic and Disney songs, featured guest singers as well as his own voice, and culminated in a powerful romantic rendition of "My Valentine."

Joining Brickman on stage during the performance were vocal guests Anne Cochran and Ben Utecht. Cochran first sang with Brickman in high school, together winning a talent competition for "Best Band in Cleveland" in the 1970's. Cochran opened by singing "The Gift" with Brickman and followed up with "Wishing Well," a song she co-wrote with Brickman about Anne's youngest son leaving for college.

Utecht, a Super Bowl winner and popular singer, also served as the straight man for many of the jokes thrown about on stage. Utecht sang "La Luna" with Cochran and continued with a solo of "I Pray." As he sang, his Super Bowl ring sparkled in the stage lights.

A surprise guest performance featured local singers, Jenny and Scott Guemmer, of Citrus Heights. The Guemmer's earned their stage appearance by winning one of the "Star for a Day" entries on Brickman's website. Scott is a pastor at Christ the King Lutheran Church and said he was encouraged to enter the contest by a parishioner. Jenny is a music teacher in the Lincoln area. Jenny and Scott sang "Hear Me", a spiritual ballad from Brickman's "Grace" album and received a rousing response from the audience.

Describing the time before taking the stage, Scott said, "It was very nerve-wracking and exciting at the same time." They had very little time to practice with Brickman before the show. He said, "A couple hours before the show, we had about five minutes or so."

The evening offered more than romantic piano music. Throughout the show Brickman told humorous stories about growing up in Cleveland, and hearing his music played on telephone systems and in airport restrooms. As a young boy, he had little inspiration for songwriting material, saying, "When you're 11 there's not that much to write about, so you have to write about what's around you. When you live in Cleveland, that's the weather." He explained that many of his song titles were rain songs and snow songs, following up by playing "Night Rain."

In the second half of the show, Brickman, Cochran and Utecht joked with the audience, responding to questions submitted during the intermission. The banter was quick and light, and often self-deprecating, adding variety to the evening's performance.

The Crest Theater provided an intimate setting for the estimated 700 in attendance. Brickman's Yamaha piano sat alone on a simply decorated stage. The acoustics were excellent with a good balance between Brickman's solid piano strikes and the vocals of Cochran and Utecht.