POP/ROCK It should be a great weekend to revisit the pre-Replacements/Hüsker Dü Twin Cities punk scene. For the Suburbs, it's the same lineup that was so spirited in February's salute to the band's late heart and soul, Bruce Allen: original members Beej Chaney, Chan Poling and Hugo Klaers, with Steve Price on bass and Steve Brantseg on guitar. And the Suicide Commandos generated uncomplicated fun in this summer's reunion gig at the Concrete and Grass festival in St. Paul. (9 p.m. Fri. & 7 p.m. Sat., First Avenue, $20.) (J.B.)

Two years ago when she came to town, Broadway star Idina Menzel wanted to show off her pop voice. She was promoting her "I Stand" album produced by Glen Ballard, who helped launch Alanis Morissette's career. Now the Tony-winning, green-faced star of "Wicked" is coming to show off her Broadway voice with the Minnesota Orchestra. For a story, see startribune.com/music. (8 p.m. Fri. Orchestra Hall, $22-$65.) (J.B.)

Named after a character in the fuzzy '80s fantasy flick "The Neverending Story," Atreyu has had something of a storybook career for an underground hard-rock band, working its way out of puny clubs to play summer fests and then opening gigs with Linkin Park and Korn. The melodic but mighty Southern California quintet spent much of 2010 on tour in support of its fifth album, "Congregation of the Dead," and will end it in Australia playing the Sleep Til Festival tour with Megadeth. Its current outing features Chiodos, Bless the Fall, Architects UK and Endless Hallway as openers. (5:30 p.m. Fri., Cabooze. All ages. $20-$22.) (C.R.)

A self-described "antique English pop musician," Wreckless Eric is best known for his 1977 two-chord classic "Whole Wide World." But he may be doing his finest work right now in a duo with American songwriting spouse Amy Rigby, who correctly calls herself "pop's sweetest cynic." This fun couple of international rock just put out an album of offbeat cover tunes ("Two-Way Family Favourites") showcasing their takes on everyone from the Turtles to Abba. (8:30 p.m. Fri., 400 Bar. $8.) (T.S.)

The rare act that fits both the Cedar's worldbeat side and its underground-rock DNA, Os Mutantes formed in Brazil way back in 1966 as a psychedelically rocky entrant in the Tropicàlia movement and issued several influential albums over the next decade before calling it quits. Egged on by such famous fans such as Kurt Cobain, David Byrne and Beck, the band burst back to life in 2006. Last year's wild album "'Haih ... or Amortecedor" was worth the wait. They're on tour with Los Angeles' young time-warped band Ariel Pink's Haunted Graffiti, last seen in town with the Flaming Lips. (10 p.m. Sat., Cedar Cultural Center. All ages. $18-$20.) (C.R.)

Brandon Flowers has occasionally lived up to the hype he often self-generated as the frontman of Las Vegas' '80s-flavored mega-band the Killers, and he similarly conjures up a few moments of greatness on his solo debut, "Flamingo." The album is lighter musically and loftier lyrically than his Killers work, but it mostly follows the same Springsteen/U2 pattern as the band's recent efforts. Which is to say, it's still charmingly grandiose. On tour, Flowers has been rounding out his set lists with a fun '80s cover and a couple Killers tunes. Opener Fran Healy is another frontman gone solo, coming out of Scottish rock band Travis. (7 p.m. Sun., First Avenue. 18 & older. $27.50.) (C.R.)

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On his first theater tour in decades, Rock Hall of Famer John Mellencamp will open his concert with "It's About You," a documentary film about his 2008 stadium tour with Bob Dylan and Willie Nelson. Then, working either solo acoustic or with a full electric band, he'll play hits, album favorites and selections from "No Better Than This," his 2010 stripped-down roots album produced by T-Bone Burnett in such historic places as Sun Studios in Memphis and a San Antonio hotel room where blues pioneer Robert Johnson recorded. Mellencamp promises that he'll play guitar more than he ever has in concert. (6:45 p.m. Mon.-Tue., Orpheum Theatre, $39.50-$121.50.) (J.B.)

Nick Cave performances in the Twin Cities are all too rare, so don't let the fact that Australia's king of gloom and doom is coming with his merciless side band Grinderman fool you into thinking this is any less a noteworthy event. For starters, the quartet is really just a whittled-down, whacked-out version of his bigger and better-known unit, the Bad Seeds, including violinist/guitarist Warren Ellis (also of Dirty Three fame). More important, Cave's unmistakable howl and soul-punching poetry are still what drive this noisemaking band -- and he drives it straight into the earth with the gory impact of a BP oil drill on the group's second album, "Grinderman 2." Highly recommended, but not for the faint-hearted. Armenian/Iranian performance artist Armen Ra opens. (8 p.m. Tue., First Avenue. 18 & older. $25.) (C.R.)

Last seen confounding about 85 percent of Pavement's crowd at Roy Wilkins Auditorium, Los Angeles' fuzz-rock experimental duo No Age -- now a trio on tour -- return to the more likely-sized Entry, where it usually goes over in a big way. The band just issued its second album for Sub Pop, "Everything in Between," offering traces of Sonic Youth, Trail of Dead and other beloved noisemakers. Haunted House and the Blind Shake open. (9 p.m. Tue., 7th Street Entry. 18 & older. $14.) (C.R.)

The Ike Reilly Assassination started the year the same way it started its semi-sordid love affair with the Twin Cities back in 2001, with a four-night local residency that intensified as the gigs wore on. It's winding down 2010 with another old and dangerous tradition, a Thanksgiving Eve concert that has become the unofficial kickoff to a series of annual year-end gigs at First Ave (see also: Doomtree, Curtiss A's Lennon tribute, Mason Jennings, Soul Asylum). Reilly's tight-knit, loose-cannon team from Libertyville, Ill., reiterated their sneering, smirking, smart punk-poet charm on this year's timely album "Hard Luck Stories." White Light Riot and John Swardson & Git Gone open. (8 p.m. Wed., First Avenue. 21 & older. $15.) (C.R.)

Twin Cities jam band favorites back when "jam band" was not a name to be dodged, the Big Wu have always billed their summer campout fests as Family Reunions, but perhaps that name should be co-opted for their Thanksgiving gig. Not only will the show follow a day of family time for most of us, but it is also one of the few times the now sporadically active Wu family can be relied on to perform. And it's one of the few offerings, period, for live music gigs on the holiday, but this band never skimps on its musical feast. (9:15 p.m. Thu., Cabooze. 18 & older. $10.) (C.R.)

BLUES/ROOTS C.J. Chenier was another mainstay of bayou music who was taken in/snatched up by the Dakota after Hurricane Katrina, but he had a pretty good Twin Cities following before that. The son of accordion king Clifton Chenier got his start playing saxophone in his dad's Red Hot Louisiana Band, which he then inherited upon Clifton's death in 1987. Since then, C.J. has kept up the family tradition while staking out his own ground. If you've never experienced the joy and boogie of zydeco music, this is a great place to start. (8 p.m. Sat., Dakota Jazz Club. $25.) (C.R.)

COUNTRY Arguably the biggest act yet to play the Twin Cities' biggest honky tonk, Joe Nichols has chalked up three No. 1 country hits -- the predictable "Brokenheartsville," the playful "Tequila Makes Her Clothes Fall Off" and last year's liberating "Gimmie That Girl." (9 p.m. Fri., Toby Keith's. $20.) (J.B.)

WORLD Celtic music fans won't want to miss this weekend's Battlefield Band show, since it's the last hurrah for founding member Alan Reid, after 40 years and more than 30 albums. The keyboardist, singer and songwriter is the only remaining original member of the pioneering Scottish group, though the band will soldier on with talented recruit Ewen Henderson, a twentysomething fellow who plays fiddle, bagpipes, whistle and piano, and also sings, including some Gaelic, a "first" for the group. (7 p.m. Sat., Cedar Cultural Center. $18-$20.) (T.S.)

CLASSICAL If you eat/sleep/breathe chamber music, this is your weekend:

The WolfGang, a locally grown period-instruments sextet, looks to Bach's sons for its season opener: Johann Christian (the "London Bach") and the endlessly fascinating Carl Philipp Emanuel share the bill with Florian Gassmann, a Bohemian admired by Wolfgang himself. (7:30 p.m. Sat. St. Christopher's Episcopal Church, 2300 N. Hamline Av., Roseville. $15. www.thewolfgang.org). (L.F.)

Next, the Imani Winds, dubbed the nation's leading wind ensemble by the New Yorker, offer a globe-spanning program, including works by Piazzolla and Stravinsky, at the Schubert Club's Music in the Park Series. (4 p.m. Sun. St. Anthony Park United Church of Christ, 2129 Commonwealth Av., St. Paul. $22, $12 student rush. 651-645-5699 or www.schubert.org). (L.F.)

Finally, the accomplished string players of Accordo, launching their second season at the Southern Theater, train their sights on Schubert's C Major Cello Quintet, my nominee for the best piece of chamber music ever. (7 p.m. Sun., 7:30 p.m. Mon., 1420 Washington Av. S., Mpls. $24-$26. 612-340-1725 or southerntheater.org) (L.F.)

JAZZ Big band hero Stan Kenton would have turned 100 in 2011. The JazzMN Orchestra is getting the jump on his centennial celebration with a "Kenton's 100th Kickoff" concert featuring vocalist Stephanie Nakasian, a terrific, swingin' singer based in Virginia who dedicated one of her best CDs to Kenton's signature singer, June Christy. The other big lures are an expanded 10-piece brass section and such enduring hits as "Artistry in Rhythm." (7:30 p.m. Sat., Hopkins High School Performing Arts Center, 2400 Lindbergh Dr., Minnetonka. $17-$29. www.jazzmn.org) (T.S.)

In a hip celebration of Dave Brubeck's 90th birthday, the Metropolitan Symphony Orchestra is putting on a free concert featuring three of Brubeck's longhair works along with jazz-influenced pieces by George Gershwin, Leonard Bernstein and Brubeck's mentor Darius Milhaud. Kudos to conductor and Brubeck pal William Schrickel for assembling the program, which features violin soloist Barbara Severeide in the U.S. premiere of Brubeck's "Sleep Holy Infant,"and a jazz quartet as part of his "Elementals." (4 p.m. Sun., Central Lutheran Church, 333 S. 12th St., Mpls.) (T.S.)

A minor Chicago jazz legend, vibraphonist, pianist and lawyer-by-day Stu Katz has played on noteworthy albums by sax great Bud Freeman and soul-jazz harpist Dorothy Ashby, and has a forthcoming live release with Ira Sullivan. The mallet man will be backed by his son Steve Katz on bass, plus dazzling pianist Tanner Taylor and drummer Jay Epstein. (7 p.m. Wed., Dakota. $5.) (T.S.)

Contributors: Staff critics Jon Bream and Chris Riemenschneider and freelancers Larry Fuchsberg and Tom Surowicz.