'Hawks at the zoo
Gary Louris (above at right) found his driving wheel again and steered Minneapolis' beloved Jayhawks down a fresh path on their well-received new album "Paging Mr. Proust," offering echoes of '60s flower-pop and Big Starry rock with R.E.M.'s Peter Buck as co-producer. They're playing the new tunes alongside material from all eras of the beloved Americana band, with Eels multi-instrumentalist Chet Lyster joining longtime members (pictured from left) Tim O'Reagan, Marc Perlman and Karen Grotberg. Bawdy acoustic duo Folk Uke opens, featuring Cathy Guthrie and Amy Nelson, both daughters of music icons. Chris Riemenschneider
7:30 p.m. Fri., Minnesota Zoo, Apple Valley. $47. suemclean.com
Like her ex-boyfriend Justin Bieber, Selena Gomez is celebrating her rebirth in song and in concert. The former Disney Channel star liberated her sound on last year's "Revival" album and her look on this year's Revival Tour. She gets her sexy diva on. Opening is DNCE, the Joe Jonas group behind the hit "Cake by the Ocean."
JON BREAM
7:30 p.m. Tue. Xcel Energy Center, St. Paul, $36-$101.50, ticketmaster.com
Lush realist paintings and eloquent photos converge in two shows at Duluth's Tweed Museum. In 30 portraits and still-lifes, Jeffrey T. Larson, a native of Two Harbors, Minn., deftly explores the play of light and shadow on fish, flesh and fabric, polished teapots and rusted toys. Twin Cities photographer Vance Gellert (picture above) focuses on the people and places of the Iron Range from the native Ojibwa to athletes, mine engineers, union leaders and the landscapes they've shaped over a century.
Mary Abbe
1-5 p.m. Sat.-Sun., 9 a.m.-8 p.m. Tue., 9 a.m.-4:30 p.m. Wed.-Fri. Free. d.umn.edu/tma
Lawn-chair entertainment, for those with classical hankerings, doesn't get much better than it does this week, as the Minnesota Orchestra hits bandshells in a clutch of free, hour-long concerts. Film music by John Williams and Tchaikovsky's booming 1812 Overture will suit the outdoors perfectly, while overtures by Verdi, Wagner and Rossini provide a bracing operatic element. Roderick Cox ascends the podium, marking his first year as the orchestra's assistant conductor.
TERRY BLAIN
7:30 p.m. Mon., Lakefront Park, Hudson, Wis.; 7:30 p.m. Tue., Lake Harriet, Mpls.; 8:30 p.m. Wed., Hilde PerformÂance Center, Plymouth; 8 p.m. Thu., Lake Park, Winona; 8:30 p.m. July 4, Boom Island Park, Mpls. mnorch.org
Chanhassen hosts one of Minnesota's biggest July 4th festivals. Sample local eats at Taste of Chanhassen. See taekwondo demonstrations and a classic car show. The spirit of competition features contests in chalk drawing, sand-castle building and a variety of sports. There are carnival rides, a business expo and live music by Casablanca Orchestra, Ragtown and American Bootleg.
Melissa Walker
9 a.m.-10 p.m. Sat.; 10 a.m.-11 p.m. next Sun.; 7 a.m.-10 p.m. July 4, concluding with fireworks. Lake Ann Park, Chanhassen. ci.chanhassen.mn.us.
"Le Switch," Philip Dawkins' witty play about gay marriage, gets a crackling production by director Jeremy Cohen, who elicits winning performances from a firecracker cast led by Kasey Mahaffy, as a commitment-phobic librarian with a young new lover. The play is filled with real characters — sympathetic, charming and funny — who show us with humor the nuances that attend a historic moment.
ROHAN PRESTON
7:30 p.m. Tue.-Thu., 8 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 2 and 7:30 p.m. Sun. Ends July 31. Jungle Theater, Mpls. $45-$35. jungletheater.com
Steve Miller did not take the trophy and run. Instead he blasted the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame when he was inducted this year. The veteran blues/rocker complained about the selection process in particular and sleaziness in the music biz in general. In Minneapolis, he'll try to justify why he received the honor by playing "The Joker," "Fly Like an Eagle" and "Take the Money and Run."
JON BREAM
7:30 p.m. Wed., Northrop, Mpls., $65-$100, northrop.umn.edu
Local theater stalwarts Aimee K. Bryant and James A. Williams showcase works in progress as part of the McKnight Fellowship program. Bryant will pull back the curtain on an untitled piece orbiting themes of relationship and loss, directed by Chicago's Derrick Sanders. Williams' piece, "Kenya Karibou," is about his 2004 visit to East Africa. Marion McClinton directs a cast that includes Traci Allen Shannon and Antonio Duke.
ROHAN PRESTON
7:30 p.m. Tue., Southern Theater, Mpls. Free but sign-up required at pwcenter.org
Chanhassen Dinner Theatre continues through the summer with its production of "Beauty and the Beast." Michael Brindisi has staged the popular adaptation of a Disney film with Ruthanne Heyward as Belle, the girl who finds herself trapped in the Beast's castle. Robert O. Berdahl portrays the vexed creature who needs to find someone to love. Rich Hamson's costuming makes the show pop with great imagination.
Graydon Royce
6 p.m. dinner/8 p.m. show Tue.-Sat., 4:30/6:30 p.m. Sun. Matinees Wed. & Sat. Ends Sept. 24. $49-$85, chanhassendt.com
