PHOTOS: Soberanes Fire Benefit Concert raised $40,000.

Back when Madonna was reminding us "Papa Don't Preach" and Lionel Richie was "Dancing on the Ceiling," Magnus Toren got his start in the concert business.

Three decades later, the performer and director of Henry Miller Memorial Library has never seen a concert success like the one that materialized Friday, Aug. 12.

HMML just announced it raised $40,000 for Soberanes Fire relief.

"It was amazing...unprecedented, really," Toren said. "We had a very small window in which to promote the show, and everybody rallied and got the word out in a way I've never seen in my 30 years in the concert business."

Big names helped, and brought on some amazing moments, with help from headliner Sharon Van Etten, Library Board members Jesse Goodman and ((folkYEAH's)) Britt Govea and the last-minute participation of Carmel Valley's Mike Nesmith (of the Monkees), Big Sur's Al Jardine (of the Beach Boys) and Johnny Rivers, plus Meg Baird and Tara Jane O'Neil.

Here's a peek at several from the sold-out show, gathered by HMML program director Mike Scutari and the Weekly's Nic Coury:

* An off-the-cuff rendition of "God Only Knows" by Al Jardine along with Sharon Van Etten and Meg Baird, who agreed to the performance a few hours prior to taking the stage.

* An unnamed volunteer printing out lyrics to "Sloop John B" in the theatre office minutes before showtime.

* Magnus entering the stage donning a chainsaw and a fireman's jacket.

* Mike Nesmith performing the elliptical and pensive "Rays," a deep cut from his 1992 album "Tropical Campfires," before directly addressing the fire into the microphone. (Yes, he was actually talking to the fire.)

* Johnny Rivers hesitating until last minute and then, after deciding to perform, heading to his car and racing back to Big Sur to make sure his house was safe.

Torn adds this: "The concert and the run up to it represented the best of Big Sur and Monterey County: local, heartfelt, and positive action.

"It was also a very emotional event—57 homes have been destroyed—but I think it gave all of us all a much-needed opportunity to take a deep breath and re-connect and even, for some of us, escape some of the sadness and trauma of the past weeks, if only for a couple of hours."