The big gigs

HIP-HOP After graduating from the Entry to the Triple Rock to First Ave last year, Dre Day is moving yet again to the Varsity. The seventh annual birthday tribute to the omnipresent Dr. Dre -- N.W.A. co-founder, Death Row creative mastermind, Snoop Dogg/Eminem/50 Cent producer and now maker of hi-fi headphones (no kidding) -- has thrived on a goofy concept and some of its patrons' love of goofy cigarettes. But its talent lineup has also evolved. This year, Muja Messiah and Träma -- two of the Twin Cities' best street-level, non-backpack-wearing rappers -- are heading up the festivities . Here's hoping Muja delivers the adios-Bush track he debuted at Epic's Obama party, although it might be a little too serious at an event featuring the $20 Sack Pyramid game and a "Chronic" cover-art photo booth. (9 p.m. Sat., Varsity Theater. 18 and older. $8-$10.) (C.R.)

POP/ROCK It may have been more appropriate to book Celtic Woman closer to St. Patrick's Day, but those flame-haired lasses are high-kicking in St. Paul the day before Valentine's Day. The four female vocalists and their fiddling friend Mairéad Nesbitt belt out American pop classics such as "Have I Told You Lately That I Love You" and traditional Celtic pieces in a rainbow of sparkling gowns. (8 p.m. today, Xcel Energy Center. $47-$75.) (K.N.)

After getting a little too experimental on recent albums, Sweden's über-black metal band Meshuggah went back to the basics on last year's CD "obZen." An Ozzfest favorite, the 20-year-old quintet puts on a live show that can only be called pummeling. Prog-metal band Cynic opens in support of its long-awaited followup to its heralded 1993 album, "Focus." (8 p.m. today, Station 4. 18 and older. $20-$23.) (C.R.)

Whether sounding like a Romanian village ensemble or putting a tuba-driven spin on classics by Johnny Cash, Nino Rota, Perez Prado and the Beatles, sprawling horn band the Brass Messengers creates a dance party out of bounds on its new self-titled album. If any band can upstage this sonic carnival at its own CD release bash, it's opening act Dreamland Faces, a throwback combo that features dazzling musical saw work (by Andy McCormick) and beguiling, operetta-sounding vocals (by Randall Throckmorton). (8 p.m. today, Cedar Cultural Center. $8-$10.) (T.S.)

Bombastic Israeli stoner-metal band Monotonix has been known to tear apart stages, fly through crowds and ignite pure mayhem at its gigs. It packs a mighty, Blue Cheer-meets-Unsane wallop on its debut EP for Drag City Records, "Body Language." Vampire Hands open the first show, and the Millionth Word and F--- Knights perform Saturday. Highly recommended either night. (10 p.m. today-Sat., Uptown Bar. $10.) (C.R.)

Christmas, New Year's Eve and now Valentine's Day. With their hip, lounge-y treatments of rock classics by the Replacements, OutKast and Britney Spears, the New Standards are proving to be a terrific combo for all occasions. (8 p.m. Sat., Cedar Cultural Center, $25-$28.) (J.B.)

Spokane, Wash.-raised popster Tyrone Wells has had more songs on TV ("One Tree Hill," "Numb3rs," "Ghost Whisperer") than on the radio. "Remain," his month-old second CD, suggests the lush pop earnestness of Snow Patrol. (8 p.m. Wed., Varsity Theater, $10 advance, $12 door). (J.B.)

Since its sold-out Turf Club gig in November, Blitzen Trapper's star has continued to rise. The Portland, Ore., sextet's ambitious Sub Pop debut "Furr" made many critics' and bloggers' year-end lists. It's no Band of Horses, but the hippie-ish folk-rock ensemble offers a lot of heart and innovation in a classic Neil Young-inspired guitar-rock formula. Portland neo-folkie Alela Diane opens the show. (8:30 p.m. Wed., First Avenue. All ages. $13-$15.) (C.R.)

Two dreamy California indie-pop bands, the Submarines and Morning Benders, are touring together on their way to a finale at San Francisco's Noise Pop festival. Like Mates of State, the Subs are a romantically linked boy/girl duo enjoying TV play (including an iPhone ad and "Gossip Girl") with the bouncy, bubbly single "You, Me & the Bourgeoisie." The Benders have more of a hazy, Neutral Milk Hotel kind of style. (9 p.m. Wed., Triple Rock. 18 and older. $10.) (C.R.)

After signing a major label deal at 15 with his bubblegum-grunge band Radish, Ben Kweller has gone through a number of musical phases -- indie rock, antifolk, alt-country and now straight-ahead country on "Changing Horses." The 27-year-old becomes an Elton-like honky cat on "Sawdust Man" and a vulnerable crooner on the heartbreaking "Ballad of Wendy Baker." Opening are the Watson Twins, former sidekicks to Jenny Lewis who specialize in humble, sisterly harmonies. (8:30 p.m. Tue., Varsity Theater, $20.) (J.B.)

ROOTS Bayouland accordion king Buckwheat Zydeco has made the Dakota a biannual stop on his never-ending party caravan, and bless him for not chickening out on us during the winter. The 61-year-old vet once rocked the Minnesota Zoo in 45-degree weather in a light dress shirt, so we're sure he can provide some heat at these intimate club gigs. (7 and 9:30 p.m. Sun., Dakota Jazz Club. $17-$28.) (C.R.)

WORLD The most famous singer from turbulent Zimbabwe, Thomas Mapfumo is known for pioneering chimurenga music, which translates as "struggle." While he and his Blacks Unlimited band serve up undulating dance beats, his lyrics are often radical, and nearly always political, earning him a brief jail stay when the country was under white rule. He now lives in Oregon after a predictable falling-out with Robert Mugabe's government. (7:30 p.m. Sun., Cedar Cultural Center. $20-$22.) (T.S.)

ELECTRONIC Call them innovators, wizards, geniuses or just plain geeks, but the artists performing at the seventh annual Spark Festival of Electronic Music & Arts are coming from around the globe to show off their one-of-a-kind gadgets, grooves, shows and stories. They include Japanese inventor Kanta Horio, Swedish/Danish beat maestro Puzzleweasel and Iraqi author/multimedia artist Wafaa Bilal. The six-day event kicks off with an all-local showcase Tuesday at the Whole Music Club and continues through next weekend with daily and nightly concerts. (7 p.m. Tue.-Feb. 22. Mostly free and all ages. Schedule at Spark.cla.umn.edu) (C.R.)

COUNTRY Metalheads aren't the only ones who drink Jagermeister, or so it seems as the liquormaker extends its music sponsorship to a country tour headlined by one of Texas' rowdiest bar vets, Pat Green. A mix of Jimmy Buffett, Robert Earl Keen and Bon Jovi, Green is out promoting a new disc, "What I'm For." He'll be joined by Florida-reared "Honky-Tonk Road Tripper" Rick Monroe and Randy Houser. (9 p.m. Thu., Cabooze. 21 and older. $18.) (C.R.)

JAZZ In a classic case of counter-programming, the JazzMN Big Band eschews love songs in a Valentine's Day program that's long on brass, featuring New Orleans trumpet king Nicholas Payton and a mini-set by the Hornheads, known for their work with Prince. Payton will play two of his own tunes, salute the recently departed Freddie Hubbard with "Hub Tones" and star in Duke Ellington and Billy Strayhorn's fond "Portrait of Louis Armstrong." (7:30 p.m. Sat., Hopkins High School Performing Arts Center, 2400 Lindbergh Dr., Minnetonka. $25-$29.) (T.S.)

Like many young jazz singers, Sophie Milman shows an affinity for both the Great American Songbook and the Great American Jukebox, with tunes by Paul Simon, Bonnie Raitt and Bruce Springsteen on her third album, due this spring. The Russian-born, Israel-raised, Canadian-based singer brings a cool, ethereal vibe whether she's doing "Tenderly" or "It's Not Easy Being Green." (7 and 9:30 p.m. Mon.-Tue., Dakota Jazz Club, $16-$25.) (J.B.)

Sax man Gary Berg has had a long and fertile career playing with bands big and small. In daylight hours, you may have also gotten a ride from the longtime MTC bus driver. The fun-loving Berg is still driving hard on the bandstand, and he should be especially energized while starring in his own 70th-birthday bash. (9 p.m. Wed., Artists' Quarter. $5.) (T.S.)

Two Beethoven piano concertos, Nos. 1 and 2, enfolding a piece by contemporary English composer (and former Messiaen pupil) George Benjamin? Sounds like the sort of program we've come to expect from pianist/conductor Pierre-Laurent Aimard, who wraps up his three-year stint as an artistic partner of the St. Paul Chamber Orchestra. Always his own man, Aimard will be succeeded, but not replaced. (10:30 a.m. and 8 p.m. today, Wooddale Church, 6630 Shady Oak Rd., Eden Prairie. 8 p.m. Sat., Ordway Center, St. Paul. 2 p.m. Sun., Benson Great Hall, Bethel University, Arden Hills. $5-$59. 651-291-1144 or thespco.org.) (L.F.)

Contributors: Jon Bream, Chris Riemenschneider, Kara Nesvig, Tom Surowicz, William Randall Beard and Larry Fuchsberg.