Get Cryphy gets big

In a club scene dominated by Top 40 hip-hop, the Get Cryphy dance night at First Avenue is a bass-thumping breath of fresh air every month. Held in the club's upstairs Record Room, Get Cryphy prides itself on playing niche hip-hop genres seldom heard in the Twin Cities (such as Baltimore club, Detroit ghetto tech, as well as cryphy and crunk).

This weekend marks the third anniversary of the often-sold-out night. To celebrate, the Brothers Cryphy will move their party into First Ave's much larger main room.

The night will feature original founders Plain Ole Bill and Jimmy 2 Times, plus crew members DJ Fundo and Last Word. The rapper Prof will perform, as well. And that's not all. In the Record Room, Cryphy affiliate Mike 2600 will host his Extra Large dance night with a guest set by DJ King Otto.

9 p.m. Fri. 701 1st Av. N., Mpls. $5 advance/$7 door. 18 and older. 612-332-1775. www.first-avenue.com.

Burlesque: the V-Day edition Looking to stretch out your Valentine's Day festivities all weekend long? The newly christened Loring Theater (formerly Music Box Theatre) has you covered. First, the theater will host two days of shows by Le Cirque Rouge, one of the Twin Cities' favorite burlesque troupes. For its "I Love You" performance, the group is promising renditions of "the greatest love songs ever written" with burlesque accompaniment, of course. There will also be a silent auction to benefit Reclaim, a Twin Cities nonprofit that provides mental-health support for GLBT youths. The theater also is offering a V-Day package, dubbed the "Longest Date of Your Life." For a total of $275 (plus fees), you'll get two tickets to Saturday's show, plus a "superior" room at the Hotel Ivy, a $65 food credit at Porter & Frye and two tickets to the Loring Theater's Mimosa Movies screening on Sunday (the movie is "Some Like It Hot").

8 p.m. Fri. and Sat. 1407 Nicollet Av. S., Mpls. Just the show: $12. 612-353-6781. www.loringtheater.com.

Gastro Non Grata: the V-Day edition Here's another pre-Valentine's Day soirée, but a little more casual. The beer-food-bands extravaganza known as Gastro Non Grata returns to the Triple Rock on Sunday with "Pre-Valentine Fricassee III." The line-up: beer by Southern Tier, food by the Chowgirls, desserts by Christian Aldrich of Haute Dish and music by blues rockers 4onthefloor, Running Scared and more. As always, "dead meat door prizes" by Clancy's Meat and Fish.