The Big Gigs: Our critics' music picks

POP/ROCK Hard to believe it, but Minnesota music siblings Matt and Dan Wilson have not performed onstage together in more than seven years, and their collaborations have been sparse and sporadic since their old band Trip Shakespeare parted ways in the early '90s. Even they aren't too sure what to expect of their first show as an acoustic duo. Read a feature on the brothers at startribune.com/music. (8 p.m. Fri., Pantages Theatre. Sold out.) (C.R.)

After changing labels and drummers, Black Rebel Motorcycle Club co-founders Robert Levon Been and Peter Hayes seemed to remember what happened to their rock 'n' roll (to paraphrase one of their best songs). The San Francisco rockers' new album, "Beat the Devil's Tattoo," revisits the dark roar and wall-of-fuzz psychedelia of earlier albums, not really covering any new territory but digging into the old ground pretty deeply. Buzzing London trio Band of Skulls open. (7 p.m. Sat., First Avenue. 18 & older. $18-$20.) (C.R.)

It's been three years since Red House Records darling Lucy Kaplansky released an album (the motherhood-loving "Over the Hills") but the literate New York singer-songwriter does have a new single, "Life Threads," commissioned to help launch a fragrance line, and she's working on a trio album with labelmates John Gorka and Eliza Gilkyson. Opening is Catie Curtis, who sings about the joys of parenthood on her latest CD, "Sweet Life." (8 p.m. Sat., Cedar Cultural Center, $25.) (J.B.)

Now a full-time member of the Shins -- when James Mercer isn't out jamming with Danger Mouse, that is -- Chicago-reared strummer Eric Johnson has always maintained his own band, the Fruit Bats, on the side. At times Byrdsy and Fleet Foxy, the folk-rock quintet is touring behind its fourth album on Sub Pop, "The Ruminant Band." Portland, Ore., psychedelic-twangers Blue Giant and local duo Red Pens open. (10 p.m. Sat., 7th Street Entry. 18 & older. $10-$12.) (C.R.)

Veteran Cincinnati rocker Chuck Cleaver, formerly of the poorly named but seriously butt-kicking Ass Ponys, has spent the last half-decade making music with Wussy, co-led by his romantic partner, Lisa Walker. The blistering songs on their self-titled 2009 album suggest they have quite a tumultuous relationship, but their musical connection is full of love. They're opening for a local band half their age, Gospel Gossip. (9:30 p.m. Sat., Sauce Spirits & Soundbar. 21 & older. $5.) C.R.

Hammy, romantic crooner Michael Bublé charmed crowds at the Winter Olympics closing ceremonies and in Madison Square Garden, where he recorded a Grammy-winning live album in 2008. But can the hockey-loving Canadian make the jump in the Twin Cities from the Orpheum Theatre (where his last local performance took place in 2007) to our biggest hockey rink? Read an interview at startribune.com/music. (8 p.m. Sun., Xcel Energy Center, $49.50-$89.50.) (J.B.)

Despite breaking his left hand skiing in Canada in January, San Diego songwriting ace Steve Poltz didn't cancel a single show on his busy calendar -- he just played guitar on his lap, utilizing a glass slide bar and open tunings, and told even longer between-song stories. Since the former Rugburns leader is a notoriously entertaining raconteur, the concerts went off without a hitch, including a gala 50th birthday gig with the reunited Rugburns and special guest Mojo Nixon, and a slew of South by Southwest appearances. Poltz has a brand-new CD, "Dreamhouse," which you can stream at his website for a preview of this week's gig. (8 p.m. Mon., Fine Line Music Café. $12.) (T.S.)

HIP-HOP Already a rapper who heavily examines social issues, Toki Wright delves especially deep into the stereotypes, machismo and violence that surround African American men with his new digital EP, "Black Male," a project funded by the Minnesota State Arts Board Cultural Community Partnership. Between his touring duties with Brother Ali, Wright is hosting a party for the thought-provoking collection. He's offering it free as a download but asking for donations to Haiti relief in return. Details at rhymesayers.com/tokiwright. Openers include M.anifest, Illuminous 3 and Des Moines' Maxilla Blue. (9 p.m. Fri., 7th Street Entry. 18 & older. $7.) (C.R.)

JAZZ Somebody at Macalester College had the brilliant idea of bringing pianist, composer and educator Geri Allen and her trio to perform an excerpt from "Mary Lou's Mass" by Mary Lou Williams with the Macalester Concert Choir and the Mac Jazz Big Band. Not only did Williams blaze the trail for black female jazz pianists such as Allen, but the two share a multifaceted approach that resists pigeonholing and thus reduces the recognition their talents deserve. If we're lucky, Allen, who parsed Ornette Coleman's avant garde "harmolodics" better than any other pianist, will also perform selections from her ambitious new CD "Flying Toward the Sound," a solo piano tribute to Cecil Taylor, McCoy Tyner and Herbie Hancock. (8 p.m. Sat., Janet Wallace Fine Arts Center, Macalester College, 1600 Grand Av., St. Paul. Free.) (B.R.)

Whether tackling bossa nova classics or the canon of piano hero Bill Evans, Brazilian-born Eliane Elias impresses with her world-class keyboard chops and intimate, romantic vocals. Over the course of 20-plus albums, Elias also has played fusion with Steps Ahead, duetted with Herbie Hancock and collaborated with opera sensation Denyce Graves. Her touring band includes bass great Marc Johnson, who's both a direct link to Bill Evans, and her spouse. (7 & 9:30 p.m. Mon.-Tue., Dakota Jazz Club. $20-$35.) (T.S.)

A legend among jazz vocal arrangers and teachers, now living quietly in St. Paul, Phil Mattson has written charts for Manhattan Transfer, the Four Freshmen and the Dale Warland Singers, among many others, and annually conducts the Carnegie Hall Jazz Vocal Festival. The two-time Grammy nominee presents his latest batch of young harmonizing hopefuls, the two-year-old Phil Mattson Singers, with at least one familiar face/voice -- Jennifer Grimm, veteran of three solo CDs. Next week's bar show is a tune-up for the group's Carnegie Hall visit April 9. (8 p.m. Wed., Artists' Quarter. $10.) (T.S.)

FOLK Plenty of Minnesota artists record albums in their basement now, but singer/violinist/banjo-picker Eliza Blue went the other direction. Her second CD, "The Road Home," was largely recorded in her attic on one microphone, with audible house creaks and bird cheeps seeping into the recording. The setting seems appropriate for her vintage, rustic Americana folk music, with traces of Alison Krauss and Gillian Welch in her voice, and lyrics that sound like they reflect faded family photos and dusty cocktail dresses. Her release party will feature Aby Wolf as an opener and other guests. (8 p.m. Fri., Cedar Cultural Center. All ages. $8-$10.) (C.R.)

Long a star in his native Mali, guitarist/singer Habib Koité has gained recognition in the States in the past decade, thanks to recording with Bonnie Raitt and performing on David Letterman. He's a soulful, politicized singer whose Western-friendly acoustic guitar style is where blues, flamenco and Afro-pop intersect. His band, Bamada, finds easy rhythmic grooves with an array of instruments, including the 21-string kora and a balafon, sort of a wooden xylophone. (7:30 p.m. Tue., Cedar Cultural Center, $25-$30.) (J.B.)

BLUES/R&B The Cash Box Kings' new CD, "I-94 Blues," includes a song that will ring painfully true to local 12-bar music fans: "St. Paul Wintertime Blues." A savvy young band dedicated to the classic Chicago blues sounds of the 1950s, the quartet is greatly enhanced each night by Chi-town elder Oscar Wilson, offering 300-plus pounds of Windy City vocal grit. And for this tour they have a guest guitar hero, Billy Flynn from the Legendary Blues Band. (9 p.m. Sat., Wilebski's Blues Saloon, $10.) (T.S.)

With a perfect blend of grit and smoothness, Bobby (Blue) Bland stormed the R&B charts in the 1950s and '60s. Some of his hits -- including "Turn on Your Love Light" -- had such impact on the pop charts in the '60s that the Memphis singer was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 1992 and received a Grammy for lifetime achievement in '97. Even though he hasn't released an album since the late 1990s, Bland, 80, remains a live R&B force to be reckoned with, as he proved in 2007 at the Dakota. (7 p.m. Wed.-Thu., Dakota Jazz Club, $30-$60.) (J.B.)