The Big Gigs: Jan. 9-16

POP/ROCK A band of local vets born from the simple goal of making a lot of noise together, the 757s have been working on a second album and thankfully getting out of their houses/parental duties more in recent months. The quartet includes Seth Zimmerman (Tangletown), Jimmy Peterson (Bellwether, Missing Numbers) and Paul Pirner (Dave's bro). They're heading up a lineup with two other excellent loud bands bred on Neil Young & Crazy Horse, Uncle Tupelo and Guided by Voices, the Evening Rig and Hard Left. (10 p.m. today, Triple Rock. $8.) (C.R.)

As a picker, David Bromberg has A-list credentials, including sessions with Bob Dylan, Ringo Starr, Tom Paxton and Chubby Checker. He also has plenty of cred as a singer/songwriter/entertainer and even as a violinmaker, which kept him off the road for a while. Now that he's back on tour, his reputation has resulted in his second sold-out Twin Cities gig in five months. Opening is the Angel Band, a female trio backed by Bromberg and his band. (8 p.m. today, Cedar Cultural Center, sold out.) (J.B.)

Southern Cali ska-punk band Reel Big Fish is still at it, a decade since landing on MTV and alt-rock radio stations (remember those?!) with the doubly ironic hit "Sell Out." The fun-loving if a bit buffoonish band has a new covers album, "Fame, Fortune & Fornication," which includes not one but two Poison songs, plus cuts by the Eagles, Tom Petty and Van Morrison. Streetlight Manifesto opens. (7 p.m. Sat., Epic. All ages. $18.50-$20.) (C.R.)

Jeremy Messersmith did well enough in local music writers' year-end lists to wind up at No. 2 right behind Atmosphere in our Twin Cities Critics Tally last week with his sophomore album, "The Silver City." The disc also came in at No. 31 on the Current's Top 89. Messersmith is hardly just an underground/indie phenom, though. A soft-voiced, poetic, semi-spiritual tunesmith who uses strings and bubbly melodies to great effect (see: Sufjan Stevens, or Brian Wilson), he's also been in the rotation at Cities 97 and got Semisonic's Dan Wilson to produce his record. Sweetness all around. Girly pop/punk trio Best Friends Forever and warbly crooner Caroline Smith open. (9 p.m. Sat., 7th Street Entry. 18 & older. $8-$10.) (C.R.)

Cursive just finished its first album in three years and is taking its momentum on the road for a two-week tour that starts right here. A powerful and passionate rock quartet led by non-emo deep-thinker Tim Kasher, the band was a forerunner of the Omaha music scene and heavily influenced Bright Eyes. Fellow Nebraskans Ladyfinger and local storm-makers Story of the Sea open. (10 p.m. Wed., Triple Rock. 18 and older. $12.) (C.R.)

COUNTRY While he made a lasting impression on the short-lived "Nashville" reality series, Chuck Wicks didn't make a strong impression during a short set in front of Brad Paisley at the 2008 State Fair. The hunky Wicks offered mostly garden-variety Nashville material with only his hit, "Stealing Cinderella," standing out. This time around, he's headlining the show. (9 p.m. Sat., Cabooze, $18-$20.) (J.B.)

JAZZ Together for nearly a decade, playing the second-line street music of the Crescent City with some rock, reggae and hip-hop flourishes, the Jack Brass Band gets showcased in a Twin Cities Jazz Society afternoon concert. The septet, led by bass drummer Mike Olander, has a fine young snare drummer in Andrew Gillespie, who's become a Latin-jazz mainstay about town, and also features hot post-bop trumpeter Zack Lozier, whom club-hoppers may know from Davina & the Vagabonds. (3 p.m. Sun., Times Bar & Cafe. $10.) (T.S.)

R&B The drolly named Emerson, Lake & Lyndale is a cover band, but they don't cover what you'd expect. "Lucky Man"? "I Believe in Father Christmas"? Nah. Try "Cissy Strut" by the Meters, Taj Mahal's "Corrina" or Aretha Franklin's "Baby I Love You" instead. Funkiness is the calling card of this year-old quartet featuring jam-band refugees who've played with the likes of Kung Fu Hippies, Mango Jam, the Big Wu and Soul Farm. The express purpose of Emerson, Lake & Lyndale is to recycle classic blues, R&B and New Orleans numbers they never got to perform with their old groups. (10 p.m. Sat., Stasiu's. $5.) (T.S.)

On paper, it sounded like a can't-miss concept: George Clinton doing a covers album with an all-star cast. But even though he's joined by Sly Stone (really), Carlos Santana, El DeBarge and the Red Hot Chili Peppers, there is too little excitement on Clinton's disappointing new "Gangsters of Love." One thing missing from the new CD is the requisite Clinton funk. However, you know there will be no shortage of sass 'n' soul and funk 'n' roll when this Rock and Roll Hall of Famer and his colorful P-Funk All-Stars return to town. (9 p.m. Mon., First Avenue, $25.) (J.B.)

A great new bar band with some friendly old faces, Mister Rolls turns the spotlight on the formidable talents of singer/pianist Danny Rowles, who first made his mark around town with the beloved Explodo Boys and also hosted an MPR variety show ("First House on the Right") back when a certain Mr. Keillor briefly left the radio fold. With one Explodo buddy on board -- sax blaster Max Ray -- the band's dance-floor-filling song bag focuses mainly on groovy New Orleans R&B, plus the occasional number by Van Morrison or the Band and a supremely swingin' 1960s-style rock version of "Mona Lisa." (8 p.m. Thu., Minneapolis Eagles Club. No cover.) (T.S.)

WORLD The big Eero Saarinen exhibit may be gone but the chance to see the Finnish architect's only work in Minnesota is not. Saturday at 7:30 p.m. the stirring brass-band sounds of Ameriikan Poijat ("American Boys") will fill the sanctuary of Christ Church Lutheran in south Minneapolis, designed by his father Eliel, followed by 19th-century Finnish dance-hall music by the Finn Hall band and Kisarit dancers in the church's gymnasium, designed by Eero. Proceeds will go to preserve the church complex, recently named a national landmark. (7:30 p.m. Sat., 3244 34th Av. S. $20. Info at www.finnishconcertdance.eventbrite.com.) (L.M.)

For its annual winter concert, squeezebox master Dan Newton's Cafe Accordion Orchestra will have a new look. The Francophile band recently said au revoir to 15-year member Brian Barnes. The guitarist and vocalist headed off to Kentucky, so now versatile guitar ace Bob Ekstrand (aka Little Bobby E) will step onto the Parisian sidewalk. The CAO also welcomes back former member Diane Jarvi as a truly special guest. Jarvi has made several splendid CDs of original singer/songwriter fare and timeless Finnish folk, but before attaining cult fame on two continents she was heard singing on the combo's 1996 effort, "Dancing on the Moon." (8 p.m. Sat., Cedar Cultural Center. $12-$15.) (T.S.)