The Big Gigs

POP/ROCK Toronto electro-goth duo Crystal Castles had its local coming-out in 2008 on tour with Nine Inch Nails, and since then it has become one of the most loved/hated bands in indiedom. Frontwoman Alice Glass maintains an uncannily animated/melodramatic persona as she writhes her way across the stage, and she and partner Ethan Kath pile on a hypnotic/numbing amount of whirring synth and mesmerizing/annoying strobe lights. At least they were cool/passe enough to get the Cure's Robert Smith to guest on one single, "Not in Love." There's every reason/no chance they'll live up to the hype. Teengirl Fantasy opens. (9 p.m. Fri., First Avenue. Sold out.) (C.R.)

Two of New York's most in-demand classical-to-rock crossover players, Doveman (aka Thomas Bartlett) and Nadia Sirota are pairing up for two nights in Minneapolis. He has played with David Byrne, Laurie Anderson, Nico Muhly and members of the National while also recording his own airy, piano-led music. She is a stunning violist who has worked with Philip Glass, Meredith Monk, Jonsi and Grizzly Bear. They will play new pieces by Muhly and Daniel Felsenfeld in addition to Doveman's stuff. (8 p.m. Fri-Sat., Southern Theater. $20-$24; student rush $12.) (C.R.)

Louisianans aren't the only ones who put on a great Lent party. Guitar maestro Robert Everest's Carnaval Brasileiro 2011, the biggest Brazilian bash in town, takes over this Fine Line Music Cafe this weekend. Besides his large ensemble Beira Mar Brasil, it features a guest singer who's really from Brazil, Dandara, plus the Batucada do Norte Percussion Ensemble and professional samba dancers. (9 p.m. Fri.-Sat., 21 & older. $15-$20, plus a family friendly show at 2 p.m. Sat., $10-$15.) (C.R.)

One of the Twin Cities music scene's most unsung and resilient heroes, former Hüsker Dü co-frontman Grant Hart was hit hard by a house fire two months ago and he's still climbing out of the ashes. If you know anything of the Hüskers story, you know this guy is not getting rich off royalties. First Ave jumped at organizing a benefit concert, and a cool cross-section of fans and friends lined up to perform on it, including Soul Asylum frontman Dave Pirner, fellow pop/punk vets the Magnolias, charity-gig regulars the Alarmists, young turks Mister Fister and at least one guy with more stories than Hart, Curtiss A. Oh, and Hart is getting his old band back together for the show: Yanomamos. Which old band did you think it was? (6 p.m. Sat., First Avenue. $10.) (C.R.)

On 2009's "Acquired Taste," Texas roadhouse warrior Delbert McClinton got producer Don Was to make sure the recording wasn't bar-room sloppy or studio slick. McClinton's usual impassioned mix of blues, rock, soul and grit are on display on disc and will be in evidence in his favorite exurban Twin Cities haunt. Opening is local blues/rock piano ace Bruce McCabe & the Rich Poor Men. (8:30 p.m. Sat., Medina Entertainment Center, $28-$45.) (J.B.)

It would be enough just to have a double bill with Dawes and Deer Tick, two of the most exciting Americana/twang-rock acts of the past couple years. However, those bands are essentially touring as support for a new supergroup called Middle Brother, featuring their respective frontmen, Taylor Goldsmith and John McCauley, plus a third singer/songwriter of note, Matt Vasquez of the Delta Spirit. What could have been a throwaway, one-off project turned out a serious album, one that should fit right in with Minneapolis fans, since it sounds like an unearthed batch of mid-'90s Jayhawks tunes and includes a cover of the Replacements' rarity "Portland." Highly recommended. (8 p.m. Mon., First Avenue. $18.) (C.R.)

There's no holiday and there's not even a full-fledged band involved in the Elephant 6 Holiday Surprise Tour, but fans already know to expect the unexpected from the great Athens, Ga., psychedelic label that gave us Neutral Milk Hotel, Olivia Tremor Control, Elf Power, the Music Tapes and more. Various members of those bands -- about 15 in all -- are combining to play various songs from the E6 catalog in various musical configurations. Although he has shown up at a few of the shows, Neutral Milk Hotel's reclusive frontman Jeff Mangum is not part of the cast. (8 p.m. Mon., Varsity Theater. 18 & older. $15.) (C.R.)

Former Red House Painters frontman Mark Kozelek continues to record under the name Sun Kil Moon, including last year's album "Admiral Fell Promises" -- which was just him and a nylon-stringed acoustic guitar. That's how he's performing here, too. (8 p.m. Mon., Cedar Cultural Center. All ages. $18-$20.) (C.R.)

When Kathleen Hanna's electroclash trio Le Tigre went on hiatus in 2007, the other two members, JD Samson and Johanna Fateman, started making music together under the dubious alias MEN, another act pushing sexual liberation and punky dance beats. The side project has evolved into a full band led by Samson without Fateman but with her pal Michael O'Neill of Ladybug Transistor. The Enigmatics open. (9 p.m. Wed., Triple Rock, $10-$12.) (C.R.)

Cartoon punks Good Charlotte first gained major attention for their silly 2002 single "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous." And eventually their life imitated art as the Madden twins became rich and famous. Singer Joel Madden, 31, has settled down with two kids and fiancée Nicole Richie, and it shows on "Cardiology," Good Charlotte's 2010 release. To be sure, there's buoyant pop/punk but the words are occasionally more mature, the tunes are more polished and then there's "1979," a sweet slice of acoustic, harmony-laden pop nostalgia about the year the Madden boys were born. Opening are Forever the Sickest Kids and This Century. (6 p.m. Wed., First Avenue, all ages, $27.) (J.B.)

BLUES/ROOTSNathan & the Zydeco Cha Chas are a Louisiana Creole family affair, with Nathan Williams leading the charge on accordion, his brother Dennis Paul Williams adding jazz-influenced guitar licks, his cousin Mark Williams keeping dancers happy with his rubboard workouts, and his college-age son Nathan Williams Jr. ably playing keyboards. That ain't all. The band's manager is another brother, Sid Williams, who's a big wheel on the Big Bayou -- a club owner and record label boss better known as "El Sid O." When this family gets together, they sweat together. (7:30 p.m. Fri., Wilebski's Blues Saloon. $10.) (T.S.)

The new CD "Nobody's Fault" may be Pat Donohue's best, most well-rounded album. Certainly it's a terrific showcase for his many strengths: acoustic and electric blues guitar, finger-picking, reworked traditional material and splendid comic songs and parodies. His "Irish Blues" should become a St. Patrick's Day standard, "Exercise Blues" will appeal to La-Z-Boy owners everywhere, and his rewrite of "Swing on a Star" is as hip as the Johnny Burke original, no mean feat. Pick up a copy at this special show with impressive co-stars: jazz piano master Butch Thompson, folky charmers Roma di Luna, Nashville bluegrass great Stuart Duncan, harmonica all-pro Noah Hoehn and steel guitar boss Joe Savage. (8 p.m. Sat., Fitzgerald Theater. $28-$32.) (T.S.)

JAZZBest-known for his 1980s tenure with Miles Davis and a string of Grammy-nominated albums, Mike Stern is typecast as a jazz fusion/jazz-rock guitar hero. But his bebop chops are quite strong, and Stern has ample experience as a big-band soloist, as JazzMN Big Band fans will discover this weekend. Debbie Duncan is a salty guest vocalist. (7:30 p.m. Sat., Hopkins High School Performing Arts Center, 2400 Lindbergh Dr., Minnetonka. $17-$29.) (T.S.)

An intrepid and thought-provoking world music combo from Colorado, the Aakash Mittal Quartet released one of 2009's most ambitious and compelling CDs, "Videsh." Saxophonist Mittal traveled to his parents' homeland of India for inspiration, seemingly finding it on every corner, and even in his sick bed. It's a stunning disc and a great band, worth staying up late to see. (11 p.m. Sat., Dakota Jazz Club, $5.) (T.S.)

Bass giant Stanley Clarke must have a fondness for the Dakota. In 2009, he performed there with Hiromi and his Return to Forever bandmate Lenny White, and then with Chick Corea and White. This time around, it's the Stanley Clarke Band -- which just won a Grammy for best contemporary jazz album -- paired with the Victor Wooten Band. Like jazz-fusion avatar Clarke, Wooten is a bass monster, a member of Béla Fleck & the Flecktones as well as the leader of his own wondrously inventive group, which has been a favorite on the jam-band circuit. The month-long Clarke/Wooten tour just started Wednesday. (7 & 10 p.m. Tue., Dakota, $40-$70.) (J.B.)

WORLDThe second edition of the "Acoustic Africa" tour once again features Malian charmer and world music superstar Habib Koite. The supple singer and guitar ace is teamed this time with Oliver Mtukudzi of Zimbabwe, and fellow Malian Afel Bocoum, an Afro-bluesman who was mentored by Ali Farka Toure, collaborated with Blur singer Damon Albarn on his "Mali Music" album, and has a day job as an agricultural adviser. (8 p.m. Sun., Cedar Cultural Center. $30-$35.) (T.S.)

Irish-American fiddle queen Eileen Ivers excels at playing traditional music in unexpected ways. She might bow a jig over a Zulu beat from Africa, mash up Celtic airs and flamenco rhythms, or make Christmas songs sound like Chieftains romps. A founding member of the popular all-female band Cherish the Ladies, Ivers has gone on to play with a big list of musical celebs of all stripes -- from rockers Sting and Patti Smith, to jazzmen Randy Brecker and Steve Gadd, to fellow violinists Nadja Salerno-Sonnenberg and Regina Carter (in the group Fiddlers Three). Her current quintet, Immigrant Soul, should be an ear-opener. (7 & 9 p.m. Wed., Dakota, $28-$45.) (T.S.)

CLASSICALA glance at Leila Josefowicz's Schubert Club recital program will convince you that this Canadian-born, American-trained violinist is no cookie-cutter virtuoso. Music by Brahms and Schubert frames pieces by three 20th-century heavyweights: Shostakovich, Messiaen and the Hungarian master György Kurtag (alive and well and living near Bordeaux). Josefowicz plays this repertory with missionary zeal; let her and pianist Tamara Stefanovich convert you. (8 p.m. Tue., Ordway Center. $25-$50.) (L.F.)

ST. PATRICK'S DAY Mainstays of local March 17 gigs since the mid-1980s, Celtic folk-rock ensemble Boiled in Lead has moved its annual show to the Cedar, where its members -- including percussionist Marc Anderson, guitarist Dean Magraw and singer/mandolinist Todd Menton -- are at home playing with other world-music, jazz and rock ensembles. The Brass Kings open (7:30 p.m. Thu., Cedar Cultural Center. All ages. $12-$15).

Filling in for BiL at First Avenue are popular cover bands E.L.nO. and Hookers & Blow. Not sure what "Evil Woman" and "Shining Star" have to do with Ireland, but at least the Minnesota Pipe Band opens. (7 p.m., First Avenue. 21 & older. $5-$8.)

The biggest Irish bar in Minneapolis will boast the large, horn-buoyed version of Terry Walsh's Van Morrison tribute group the Belfast Cowboys. (10 p.m., Kieran's Pub in Block E. Free.) (C.R.)

Contributors: Chris Riemenschneider, Jon Bream, Tom Surowicz and Larry Fuchsberg.