ANDREW BIRD
8 p.m. • State Theatre • $32.50-$40
As if being a whistling, violin-playing singer/songwriter who records most of his music in a western Illinois barn weren't abnormal enough, Bird stepped outside his norm this year with not one but two impressive albums. The March release "Break It Yourself" was a feistier and more frazzled collection of new songs from the willowy voiced bard, while last month's "Hands of Glory" featured rootsy and often damn elegant covers by the likes of Townes Van Zandt, the Handsome Family and Minneapolis' own Alpha Consumer. The latter band's leader, Jeremy Ylvisaker, plays guitar in Bird's band alongside local drummer/keyboardist Martin Dosh, giving this show something of a home-for-the-holidays feeling. Another of his local collaborators, Michael Lewis, will open the show with his beloved jazz group Fat Kid Wednesdays. CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER
TOWER OF POWER
7 & 9 p.m. Mon.-Wed. • Dakota Jazz Club • $45-$70
It'll be the funkiest, horn-fueled party of the holiday season as all the players in Tower of Power squeeze onto the Dakota stage. Co-founder Emilio Castillo and crew deliver greasy East Bay soul with verve and style. Singer Larry Braggs, who is masterful on ballads, may be superior to Lenny Williams from ToP's hitmaking "So Very Hard to Go" and "Don't Change Horses" heyday. Forty-five years into their career, Tower of Power are still a must-see for funk fans. JON BREAM
SOUNDS OF BLACKNESS
7:30 p.m. • Guthrie Theater • sold out
Always slightly retooled, the Sounds of Blackness' 33rd annual African-American-flavored presentation of "The Night Before Christmas -- A Musical Fantasy" was better than ever last year. Director Gary Hines devised spot-on new send-ups of Beyoncé, Charlie Sheen and President Obama. As always, the full choir harmonized soulfully, and there were star solo vocal turns for Jamecia Bennett, David Hurst and especially Coré Cotton. Expect another spirited, uplifting evening with this 34th annual celebration. J.B.
