Since moving his namesake bar to Block E, Kieran Folliard has mostly kept its former home -- the aptly titled Old Pub -- as a no-frills daytime operation. That spot, at the corner of 4th Street and 2nd Avenue S. in Minneapolis, was home to Kieran's Irish Pub for 16 years. Folliard had planned to keep the Old Pub chugging along to fulfill his lease obligations -- he has 19 months left on the lease -- but he's changed his mind. The Old Pub closed its doors for good this week. Folliard said he will continue to pay rent, using the space for private parties and possibly for Green Ox dinners (featuring his new artisan meats operation headed by former Craftsman chef Mike Phillips). Folliard said he decided against creating a full-blown pub concept in the space. "We're in the Irish pub business, so we don't want to cannibalize what we're doing at Kieran's," he said.

X-Mas Eve Forget presents. Maybe you just want to dance on Christmas Eve. With few clubs open Friday night, you'll have slim pickings. Luckily, we can always count on First Avenue. While the main room will be dark, the 7th St. Entry has "Stocking Stuffers: The Christmas Eve Dance Party" with DJs Mike 2600 and Espada (of Wants Vs. Needs). So there's that, or you could travel out to GB Leighton's Pickle Park for the Nickelback tribute band. Eek.

9 p.m. Fri. 701 1st Av. N., Mpls. $3. 18 and older.

612-332-1775. www.first-avenue.com.

Miami to Minneapolis A familiar face is returning to the Twin Cities club scene for one night only. After making a name for himself as one of our top club DJs, Joe Maz packed his bags last year and left for the big leagues in Miami. Our local-boy-made-good spent the year holding down two DJ residencies on South Beach (at Rokbar and Mokai) and playing around the country, most recently at Opera in Atlanta. He even played the esteemed M1nt nightclub in Shanghai. Maz is home for the holidays and will spin Saturday at his old club, Aqua. What's the major difference between Miami and Minneapolis? "The whole trick to being a DJ in Miami is keeping the crowd in the club," Maz said. "My night gets started at midnight and goes 'til 5 a.m. In Minneapolis, people are trained to go out and stay 'til 2 a.m. But trying to keep them out 'til 5 a.m. is a big task." In 2011, Maz said he'll continue to play around the country and hopes to do more production work. He recently released the song "Outta My Mind" on the New York label Nervous Records. Listen to it: www.djjoemaz.com.

10 p.m. Sat. 400 1st Av. N., Mpls.

612-232-3232 www.aquampls.com.

TOM HORGEN