The Big Gigs: 10 best concerts to see in the Twin Cities this week

1. Otoboke Beaver: There’s been a lot of talk in America of late about this Japanese noise-rock band. With song titles like “Dirty Old Fart Is Waiting for My Reaction” and “I Am Not Maternal” — plus a wild blast-attack sound that’s like a cross between Death Grips, early B-52′s and a building implosion — it’s easy to understand the fascination. The quartet from Kyoto got a leg up from Coachella, South by Southwest and mentors Shonen Knife leading into last year’s release of their first major U.S. album, “Super Champion.” Should be super fun. South Korean trio Drinking Boys & Girls Choir and local noisemakers Scrunchies open. (8 p.m. First Avenue, 701 1st Av. N., Mpls., $25, axs.com)

2. Beth Orton: The veteran British folktronica singer/guitarist wrote her latest album, 2022′s “Weather Alive,” on an old upright piano she bought at London’s Camden Market. Despite the new instrument, her first album since 2016 is equally hushed and haunting as she sings about relationships, memories and nature in an unmistakably Ortonesque way. In support of her eighth full-length, Orton opens a brief nine-concert U.S. tour in Minneapolis. (7:30 p.m. Parkway Theater, 4814 Chicago Av. S., Mpls., $44-$59, theparkwaytheater.com)

Also: California Celtic rockers Gaelic Storm, who performed as the steerage band in the movie “Titanic,” return with the High Kings (7:30 p.m., Pantages Theatre, $49-$89); Southeastern U.S. psychedelic Americana rock bands Futurebirds and the Nude Party should make a great pairing (7:30 p.m. Fine Line, $25-$45); local surf-rockers the Black Widows kick off their “Greatest Show Ever” residency series with burlesque dancers, games and music (7:30 p.m. Hook & Ladder Mission Room, $10-$15); Alan Sparhawk and Al Church’s acidic funk band Derecho Rhythm Section is back at Icehouse (8 p.m., $12-$22).

3. Jenny Lewis: After opening for Harry Styles and touring with the Postal Service, the indie darling has returned to the road for the second leg of her tour promoting 2023′s “Joy’All.” On her fifth solo album, Lewis accepts herself as middle-aged and single with a mix of resignation and pride. “My forties are kicking my ass, and handing them to me in a margarita glass,” she sings in “Puppy and a Truck.” She knows how to turn a clever phrase. “I’m not a psycho/I’m just trying to get laid,” she declares in “Psychos.” With help of Nashville producer Dave Cobb (Brandi Carlile, Chris Stapleton), Lewis coats the charming “Joy’All” with an appealing country-pop sheen. (8 p.m. Palace Theatre, 17 W. 7th Place, St. Paul, $45-$70, axs.com)

4. Minnesota Orchestra: The New York Times named South Korean conductor Eun Sun Kim a 2021 “breakout star in classical music,” the year she became music director of the San Francisco Opera. She’s making her debut with many of the world’s great orchestras this season (such as the philharmonics of Berlin and New York), and now she’ll lead the Minnesota Orchestra in Peter Tchaikovsky’s Fifth Symphony, a new work by Texu Kim and Arnold Schoenberg’s “Erwartung,” featuring soprano Heidi Melton, speaking of breakout stars. (8 p.m. Fri. & 7 p.m. Sat. Orchestra Hall, 1111 Nicollet Mall, Mpls., $31-$111, minnesotaorchestra.org)

Also: Los Angeles’ perennially hyped throwback rock band Cherry Glazerr is out touting its fourth album, “I Don’t Want You Anymore” (7 p.m. Fine Line, $29); fresh off receiving a BBC Lifetime Achievement Award on their 30th anniversary, Ireland’s Celtic folk vets Dervish are touring America ahead of America’s favorite Irish holiday (8 p.m. Parkway Theater, $39-$59). Twin Cities Americana/folk mainstay Chastity Brown is playing two sets in one night at the Dakota (6:30 & 8:30 p.m., $25-$35); Florida pop/punkers the Dollyrots are touring for their new album, “Night Owls,” with Gym Shorts and local screamers Surly Grrly (8:30 p.m. Uptown VFW, $20-$25); time has come for a a tribute show to celebrate ‘00s artists Sara Bareilles, Ingrid Michaelson and Regina Spektor with local singers Leslie Vincent, Emily Dussault and Elena Glass (6:30 p.m. Crooners, $25-$35); fun and manic rockers Loser Magnet return to White Squirrel Bar (8 p.m., free).

5. Minnesota Opera: Those who have seen the film “Maestro” have likely concluded that Leonard Bernstein’s marriage wasn’t entirely happy, and that might be reflected in his 1952 one-act opera, “Trouble in Tahiti,” about a conflicted suburban couple. Minnesota Opera pairs it with something far funnier: Christopher Weiss and John de los Santos’ “Service Provider” takes us to an anniversary dinner that’s disrupted by infidelity and bad cellphone etiquette. (7:30 p.m. Sat., 2 p.m. Sun., 7:30 p.m. Tue., through March 23,; Luminary Arts Center, 700 N. 1st St., Mpls., $75-$85, mnopera.org)

7. Ministry & Gary Numan: This cool tour with pioneering electronic rock acts comes to town just a week after Ministry released its 16th album, “Hopiumforthemasses,” and six months before Al Jourgensen and his crew are due back on tour with Rob Zombie and Alice Cooper at Xcel Energy Center. The new album is another hard-thrashing one with topical rants, including “Stupid White Boys” and “New Religion.” Numan has been steadily touring and earning new fans in recent years beyond those looking to hear his 1979 hit “Cars.” Oh, and there’s another veteran techno-rock act opening, Front Line Assembly. (7 p.m. the Fillmore, 525 5th St. N., Mpls., $56, livenation.com)

Also: Bespectacled Nashville warbler Chase Matthew is following the latest country trend by packing 25 songs into his new album, “Come Get Your Memory” (7 p.m. Uptown Theater, $45-$180); indie-rock vet Mary Timony of Helium, Ex Hex and the Carrie Brownstein collaboration White Flag is touring for her first solo album in 15 years (9 p.m. 7th St. Entry, $22); 2008 “American Idol” champ David Cook has been dropping a series of singles, including “TABOS,” an acronym for “this’ll all be over soon” (7 p.m. Dakota, $50-$55); 20-year-old Mexican rapper Tornillo, a protégé of Santa Fe Klein, is on his first U.S. headlining tour with (7 p.m. Varsity Theater, $48); Shabby Road Orchestra, the 12-piece Twin Cities all-star ensemble featuring Adam Levy, John Eller and a string section, interprets the great Beatles songbook (5 & 8 p.m. Crooners, $40-$50); artful local rocker Lyla Abukhodair and her band Baharat top an eclectic three-band bill (8 p.m. Cedar Cultural Center, $20); just a week after his old band Dokken played there, metal guitar hero George Lynch and his group Lynch Mob rock Medina Entertainment Center on a double-bill with Jack Russell’s Great White (8 p.m., $36-$54); Twin Cities drum king Dave King of the Bad Plus and Happy Apple is making his debut at the new jazz hub Berlin (8 p.m., $25); Brit-rocky locals Two Harbors have been recording a new album and are stepping out for an intimate gig (9 p.m. Aster Cafe, $10); the Scarlet Goodbye with Jeff Arundel and ex-Soul Asylum co-leader Dan Murphy hit the western ’burbs (8 p.m. 318 Cafe, $15).

8. Mary Gauthier: A songwriter’s songwriter, this Nashville vet is offering a retrospective of her music career, which began in mid-life after she helmed a Cajun restaurant in Boston. Known for writing sad songs about addiction and recovery, the Louisiana-drawling Gauthier delivers what she calls “happy sad songs” on her latest, 2022′s “Dark Enough to See the Stars,” her first album of new material since 2014. This collection about love and loss features “About Time” with its sweet fingerpicking guitar, the positively Dylanesque “Til I See You Again” and the striking title track, cowritten with Beth Nielsen Chapman, declaring “Dark enough to see the stars/ dark enough to see the light.” With rising Americana singer/songwriter Jaimee Harris, who harmonizes on Gauthier’s latest album. (7:30 p.m. Cedar Cultural Center, 416 Cedar Av. S., Mpls., $27-$32, thecedar.org)

Well-traveled Louisiana bluesman Tab Benoit settles in for two nights in downtown Minneapolis (7 p.m. Sun. & Mon. the Dakota, $60-$75); hello, he’s Johnny Cash, Sherwin Linton that is, a longtime friend of Cash and a country star in his own right and a standout tribute performer, along with his wife Pam Linton (7 p.m. Parkway Theater, $25-$45); Twin Cities jazz pianist Tanner Taylor celebrates 20 years of his trio (4 p.m. Dunsmore Room at Crooners, $20-$30); Cornbread Harris is gearing up for his 97th birthday with another Church of Cornbread afternoon gig (5-7 p.m. Palmer’s Bar, free).

Vintage Texas honky-tonker Wayne Hancock is in town again playing an acoustic gig (7:30 p.m. Hook & Ladder, $22-$32); Stereolab co-founder Laetitia Sadier is earning good press for her first solo album in seven years, “Rooting for Love” (8 p.m. Turf Club, $15-$18); Trampled by Turtles frontman Dave Simonett’s ambient/drone project More Lights plays a rare gig (7 p.m. Berlin, free).

9. Bombay Bicycle Club: Since reuniting in 2019 after a three-year hiatus, this London indie-rock quartet has delivered two albums, including last fall’s “My Big Day " featuring Damon Albarn, Chaka Khan, Jay Som and Holly Humberstone, and two EPs, including last month’s “Fantasies.” With guests Lucy Rose, Rae Morris, Liz Lawrence and Matilda Mann, the new EP is very peppy and poppy. It’s actually leftovers from “My Big Day” that didn’t quite fit. (8 p.m. First Avenue, 701 1st Av. N., Mpls., $35-$40, axs.com)

10. Luna: After staging a tribute to Lou Reed at San Francisco’s Fillmore on New Year’s Eve — here’s hoping we get to taste some leftovers — Dean Wareham and his lush and sophisticated ’90s guitar-pop band are kicking off what seems like a just-because tour in Minneapolis, with no new album and thus probably lots of oldies to play beyond fan faves such as “Tiger Lily” and “23 Minutes in Brussels.” Their last show in town was right after they ended a decade-long hiatus, and it featured then-unknown Soccer Mommy as the opener, which tells you how long ago it was (2017). Sam Blasucci of the band Mapache opens with local psychedelicats Chatham Rise. (8 p.m. Fine Line, 318 1st Av. N., Mpls., $35-$50, axs.com)

Also: Blues-rock guitar star Tinsley Ellis has gone all-acoustic (including resonator) with his 21st album, “Naked Truth,” and his current solo tour (7 p.m. the Dakota, $35-$45); Florida R&B singer Destin Conrad collaborated with his friend Kehlani on her hit, “It Was Good Until It Wasn’t,” and now he’s earning lots of streams for his debut album “Colorway” (6:30 p.m. Varsity Theater, all ages, $44); French composer Jean-François Alcoléa is touring with score music he set to works by pioneering filmmaker Georges Méliès (7:30 p.m. Cedar Cultural Center, $22-$27); local roots-rock tunesmith Molly Maher and Her Disbelievers play their monthly gig at White Squirrel Bar (6-8 p.m., free).