Myth reopens

What's big, bright and loud -- but trying to be as quiet as possible? That would be Myth, the superclub in Maplewood.

The 40,000-square-foot club reopened with little advertising last Saturday. Even so, the club attracted about 1,500 people, said new owner Mike Miranowski. He attributed the numbers to the night's promoter, Chozen Ones Productions, which has a loyal following of hip-hop and dance-music fans.

Miranowski admitted there were some problems on opening night. Several fights broke out, leading to police calls and some arrests, said Karen Guilfoile, the city's director of citizen services. Miranowski said he will continue to underpromote Myth's events until he feels comfortable with the mechanics of running the club.

"I'm keeping it low-key until we can handle [the crowds]," he said. "If you can't handle 3,000 people and they all show up, then all of sudden I have a lot of problems."

While the club can hold more than 3,000 people, the city is limiting capacity until Miranowski can secure more parking spaces. After negotiating for more spots from nearby Ashley Furniture this week, he's upped the capacity to 1,900.

For now, the club's only regular dance night will be Saturdays, which has been dubbed "Surreal Saturdays." Miranowski said his in-house booker is working on scheduling more shows. The only act officially on the books is the regional cover band Hairball (April 29). Look for a mixed martial arts fight on April 9.

Stay tuned for more details.

None but Coolio. The 47-year-old's career has been all over the place during the past decade, but he still finds time to tour. He'll play a club date Thursday at the Lounge in downtown Minneapolis. Tickets are on sale now.

After becoming one of hip-hop's biggest mainstream successes in the mid-1990s with the hits "Fantastic Voyage" and "Gangsta's Paradise," Coolio almost faded into obscurity before finding a permanent home on reality television. In the 2000s, he appeared in the celebrity versions of "Fear Factor," "Boot Camp," and hung out with Mini-Me Verne Troyer on "Big Brother U.K."

The hilarious highlight of these endeavors has to be his "Cookin' With Coolio" Web series from 2008, which he followed with a cookbook. Nowadays he keeps busy dropping gems of insight on Twitter. Here's a nugget: "Never sleep with a woman whose troubles are worse than your own." Maybe a self-help book is next.

9 p.m. Thu. 411 2nd Av. N., Mpls. $12/$15. 21 and older. 612-333-8800. www.theloungempls.com.

331 Club owner eyeing St. Paul Three months after closing the 501 Club in downtown Minneapolis, owner Jarret Oulman says he's in negotiations to open another music club in downtown St. Paul. Oulman, who still runs the successful 331 Club in northeast Minneapolis, said he's working on a deal for the former Pop!! space (6 W. 6th St.) in the Lawson Commons building (which is owned by the city). With planning still in the preliminary stages, he's not sure what kind of food the bar would serve. The music, however, would fall in line with the indie vibe at the 331 and 501. Oulman said he's thinking about ways to neighborhood-ize the space, which is heavy on bright colors and slick design. "If I do something, it's not going to be upscale," Oulman said.

7:30 p.m. film, 9:30 p.m. party. 1407 Nicollet Av. S., Mpls. $25 for film, Tammy discussion and party. $15 for party. 612-353-6781. www.loringtheater.com.

Krave is back One of the GLBT club scene's most popular parties returns Friday -- and this time there's a theme. Krave: Commando will take over Karma in downtown Minneapolis with Atlanta DJ David Knapp (plus DJ Shiek). Krave promoters are encouraging partygoers to come dressed in any form of military garb. They've also mapped out Krave events for the rest of the year (May 13, June 24 and Sept. 16).

10 p.m. Fri. 301 N. 1st Av., Mpls. $10. 21 and older. 612-333-3200. www.karmampls.com.