The Big Gigs: Live music of note July 20-26

POP/ROCK There are plenty of surf-rock revivalists floating around these days, but few featuring a grimy sheen like Portland, Ore.'s Guantanamo Baywatch. The campy, reverb-washed trio trades in by-the-numbers surf a la Dick Dale, a formula they deliciously muck up with Black Lips-ish slop and sneer. A choice collection of locals open, including Teenage Moods, Ice Rod and the Sex Rays. (10 p.m. Fri., Turf Club, $7.) Jay Boller

Nearly three years after their debut EP, Los Angeles-based pop-rockers Saint Motel -- featuring Minneapolis-reared frontman AJ Jackson -- finally have a full-length to tout on tour. A luscious guitar sound anchors the week-old "Voyeur" as it moves through effervescent toe-tappers with ornate instrumentation. A chipper swing runs throughout, bolstered by Jackson's bubbly croon. (9 p.m. Fri., 7th Street Entry, 18-plus, $8-$10.) Michael Rietmulder

It's not the big First Avenue festival originally slated this weekend (and put off until next year), but the club did book one of its most elegant regulars, Beirut, to play an outdoor gig. The Santa Fe, N.M.-reared Balkan folk-rock band turned a bit poppier and bubblier on last year's album, "The Rip Tide," which may have hurt its cred a bit in the indie-gloom realm but made its live shows more suitable to a fun summer bash. Opening act Little Scream is the stage name of Iowa native Laurel Sprengelmeyer, who's now based in Montreal and earning a buzz with her dramatic indie-folk debut for the Secretly Canadian label. (7 p.m. Sat., Cabooze Plaza. All ages. $25.) Chris Riemenschneider

Texas troubadour Lyle Lovett has performed scores of concerts in the Twin Cities since 1987, but this weekend will mark not only his first outdoor performance here as a headliner but his first in the area with His Acoustic Group. They're some of the same pickers from His Large Band but the texture, tone and harmonies will feel different. This group plays on some cuts on Lovett's current album "Release Me." (7:30 p.m. Sat., Minnesota Zoo, $56.) Jon Bream

Electric Guest has a lot of friends in high places. Omnipresent producer Danger Mouse helped steer the spacey Los Angeles pop duo's May-released debut for Downtown Records, "Mondo," and singer Asa Taccone helped create some of his brother Jorma's many musical projects with Andy Samberg for "Saturday Night Live." That's right, dude had a hand in "Dick in a Box." That may help explain Pitchfork's laughing review of "Mondo" (4.6 rating), but at least the Motown-copping, falsetto-laden single "This Head I Hold" has been taken seriously at 89.3 the Current and other hip outlets. BNLX and Crisis Line open. (9 p.m. Sat., Triple Rock. $10.) Riemenschneider

The mastermind behind many a dark, haunting tune, London's Coki has played a pivotal role in dubstep's development. A member of the Digital Mystiks and co-founder of the influential label DMZ, he no longer strictly spins dubplates but continues to craft lurking tracks attuned to DMZ's "meditate on bass weight" creed. This show serves as a pre-party for TC Dubstep's Infrasound Festival Aug. 2-4 in Houston, Minn. (9 p.m. Sat., Loft at Bar Fly, 18-plus, $15-$20.) Rietmulder

After dropping one of last year's most underrated local albums, synth-pop minimalists Claps are back with a seven-track cassette. Offering fewer danceable moments, "Glory, Glory" feels like a somber sidecar to the trio's full-length, with a pristinely bleak analog synth bed for frontman Patrick Donohoe to spread his emotive tenor across. Claps' magic lies in the synergy between the music's disaffect and Donohoe's Robert Smith-channeling vocals, which tug heartstrings with a shrug. In a nutshell, "Glory, Glory" has the mood of a post-prom breakup circa 1984. (9:30 p.m. Sat., Hexagon Bar, no cover.) Rietmulder

Los Lobos at the zoo is a sure bet any year, but it's a no-brainer this time around. For one, country-rock hero and songwriter extraordinaire Steve Earle is playing a solo set to open the show, fresh from taking part in the Woody Guthrie birthday festivities in New York. For another, the East L.A. vets are marking the 20th anniversary of their seminal album "Kiko" with an expanded-edition reissue and a few deep cuts in their set lists. Here's hoping/betting Earle joins his fellow critics' darlings for a tune or two, maybe even one by Guthrie. (7:30 p.m. Wed., Minnesota Zoo amphitheater, $47). Earle, by the way, is performing this weekend in Rochester with his band the Dukes. (9:30 p.m. Fri., Whiskey Bones Roadhouse, 3820 N. Broadway, Rochester. $25. 507-287-8017 or www.whiskeybonesroadhouse.com.) Riemenschneider

A favorite of Minnesota audiences since his brilliant 1990 U.S. debut, "Guitars and Other Cathedrals," Adrian Legg is a one-of-a-kind performer. A fingerstyle marvel -- voted "Guitarist of the Decade" by Guitarist magazine -- he plays a unique, self-devised electro-acoustic hybrid instrument. The teacher, author and frequent NPR commentator is just as captivating between songs, spinning long, droll stories about the inspiration for each tune. (7 p.m. Wed., Dakota Jazz Club, $20.) Tom Surowicz

ROOTSOne of the bar world's musical treasures, a tremendous live performer who shows no signs of slowing his "Hot Rod Lincoln" down, guitar great Bill Kirchen has been called the "Titan of the Telecaster" and the "King of Dieselbilly." Both are apt, since his fretwork is routinely dazzling and his talent for writing truck-driving anthems is second to none. A founding member of Commander Cody & the Lost Planet Airmen and a longtime associate of Nick Lowe, Kirchen is a cheerful master of all things "roots" -- honky-tonk country, rockabilly, blues, Western swing, etc. (9 p.m. Fri., Lee's Liquor Lounge, $15.) Surowicz

COUNTRYLast year when country giants Merle Haggard and Kris Kristofferson teamed up at Mystic Lake Casino, Kristofferson had a bad cold so Hag had to carry the show. He was chatty and witty, played hot guitar licks on his partner's songs and even sang one of them. It doesn't matter much if they have new albums -- Hag put out the commendable "Working in Tennessee" last fall, Kris offered "Closer to the Bone" in 2009 -- because they have enough terrific songs to fill three nights' worth of concerts. (7:30 p.m. Wed., State Theatre, $58.50-$68.50.) Bream

HIP-HOP After reiterating his lyrical prowess and gruff blue-collar charm at the Soundset festival in May, Aesop Rock is back to headline a release party for his first album in five years, "Skelethon." If it seems odd for a New York indie-rap hero now living in San Francisco to come to Minneapolis for a release party, it's all thanks to Rhymesayers Entertainment. Minneapolis' mainstay hip-hop crew put out the record and welcomed Aesop to its roster following the dissolution of Def Jux Records. Aesop hasn't lost his outlandish, freaky writing style, though, as evidenced by songs such as "ZZZ Top," "Homemade Mummy" and "Gopher Guts" and the album's guest appearances by Kimya Dawson and Hanni El Khatib. His longtime NYC pals Rob Sonic and Big Wiz will once again perform with him, and Bay Area cohort Edison opens along with Dark Time Sunshine, featuring Grayskul's Onry Ozzborn. (7 p.m. Thu., First Avenue, $17-$19.) Riemenschneider