Best concert of the week: Snoop Dogg at Myth, a Beyoncé tribute at First Avenue

Your guide to the Twin Cities' must-see shows this week.

December 28, 2016 at 9:33PM
First Avenue hosts a Beyoncé dance party on Friday night.
First Avenue hosts a Beyoncé dance party on Friday night. (Associated Press/The Minnesota Star Tribune)

Snoop Dogg: Not to play into the stereotypes of weed smokers being slackers, but oil' Snoop got in just under the wire fitting his 2016 Puff Puff Pass Tour into 2016, didn't he? The legendary California rapper is bringing along a stocking-stuffer of a lineup for old-school hip-hop lovers, with Cleveland's "Tha Crossroads"-hitmaking quintet Bone Thugs-N-Harmony and his longtime cohorts Warren G of "Regulate" fame the Dogg Pound. Snoop is touting a new album, "Coolaid," but usually breezes through his many classics, too. (7 p.m. Fri., Myth, 3090 Southlawn Dr., Maplewood, sold out except VIP, $150-$299, eTix.com.)

Bey Ball: While First Ave rightfully spent a lot of the year honoring Prince, it's ending the year with a tribute to the artist that truly reigned in 2016 with her landmark album "Lemonade" and accompanying movie and mega-tour, Beyoncé. The party starters of Flip Phone — known for their GLBT-friendly dance parties around town — are throwing this one. They're asking for formal attire and promising five hours of Queen Bey, including sets by DJ Fancy Restaurant and Bey-inspired performances by Kamaree Williams, Genevee Ramona Love and Sasha Carter Richards. (9 p.m. Fri., First Avenue, $12-$14, First-Avenue.com.)

Heiruspecs: Don't expect St. Paul's pioneering live hip-hop band to rap up classic holiday songs at their so-called Heiruspecs Holiday Classic. Not even "Christmas at Hollis." Instead, look for tunes from the group's electrified and terrifically jammy new EP, "theskyisfalling," and maybe "5ves" and other staples from the great 2004 album "A Tiger Dancing," to which they just got back the rights. Alpha Consumer, Destiny Roberts and DJ Keezy also perform. (9 p.m. Fri., Amsterdam Bar & Hall, St. Paul, $13-$15.)

George Winston: The veteran laidback New Age-y pianist has three not-so-obvious keyboard heroes: New Orleans boogie-woogie king Professor Longhair, "Charlie Brown" jazzman Vince Guaraldi and the Doors' blues-rock organ grinder Ray Manzarek. Winston will be collecting canned food at his concert and donating all proceeds from merchandise sales to Hunger Solutions Minnesota. (8 p.m. Fri. Orchestra Hall, $30-$60, minnesotaorchestra.org)

Rio Nido: The Twin Cities trio, which made retro vocal jazz cool nearly 40 years ago, reunited last year after a three-decade absence. In the interim, Tim Sparks established himself as a world-class guitarist, Prudence Johnson became one of the most versatile vocalists in town and Tom Lieberman made a splash as a composer/producer for radio, TV, stage and screen. The go-to group for special events back in the day, Rio Nido is a perfect between-holidays attraction nowadays. (7 p.m. Tue.-7 & 9 p.m. Wed. Dakota, Mpls., $25-$35, dakotacooks.com)

Colin Campbell & the Shackletons: This band of three teenage Stillwater brothers made a big impression at the Replacements tribute last month and are now dropping their debut EP, "The Horizon Lines," produced by Ed Ackerson and featuring spazzy, catchy, stop-n-go guitar-rock. (8 p.m. Tue., 7th Street Entry, $10.)

Hardcore Crayons: The experimental, mostly instrumental Twin Cities rock band has been tearing through its Primus-meets-Morphine tunes in a monthlong residency that winds down with special guests Martin Dosh and LOTT, featuring violinist Leah Ottmann. (8:30 p.m., Triple Rock, $5.)

Leonard Cohen Tribute: One of the finer Cohen tribute albums in recent years was a 2012 collection by the 10-women vocal ensemble Anonymous Choir, which is heading up this concert along with Throwing Muses-like rock ensemble Tabah and singer/songwriters J.E. Sunde, Dan Israel and Brent Colbert. (8 p.m. Wed., Turf Club, $7-$10.)

LazyLightning420: Trampled by Turtles mandolinist Erik Berry and picker Marc Gartman of Two Many Banjos are ambitiously pledging to perform the Grateful Dead's entire "Live at Winterland 12/29/77" concert. Yes, as an acoustic duo. You gotta love those kooky Duluthians. (9 p.m. Thu., Turf Club, $5.)

New Standards: Don't expect a horn section, string quartet or any special guest singers. This isn't the New Standards' annual holiday show. This is the Twin Cities jazz trio's annual Preener's Eve shows — that's pre-New Year's Eve. Chan Poling, John Munson and Steve Roehm, the silent weapon with his killer vibraphones, interpret well-known pop and rock songs in their own lounge-y style, which will make you completely rethink the songs. (7 & 9 p.m. Thu.-Fri., the Dakota, Mpls., $30-$40, dakotacooks.com)

The Jayhawks: It was a transformative year for Minneapolis's veteran Americana band, but it's ending under typical circumstances with another in a long line of holiday-week gigs at First Ave. With Gary Louris as the sole frontman again, the group set aside the twang for sprinklings of '60s psychedelia and flower-pop and '70s groove-rock on their first new album in five years, "Paging Mr. Proust," coproduced with longtime cohort Peter Buck of R.E.M. Local Anglophile rockers Two Harbors open fresh of releasing a new EP of covers by the Verve, Stone Roses and Replacements. (8:30 p.m. Thu., First Avenue, 701 1st Av., Mpls., $32.50, eTix.com.)

Chris Riemenschneider • 612-673-4658

@ChrisRstrib

Heiruspecs performs on home turf Friday at the Amsterdam Bar in St. Paul.
Heiruspecs performs on home turf Friday at the Amsterdam Bar in St. Paul. (Erik Thompson/The Minnesota Star Tribune)
The members of King
The members of King (The Minnesota Star Tribune)
The band Iffy. Provided ORG XMIT: IKQAACphXTsMmXnoQt9f
The band Iffy. Provided ORG XMIT: IKQAACphXTsMmXnoQt9f (The Minnesota Star Tribune)
about the writer

about the writer

Chris Riemenschneider

Critic / Reporter

Chris Riemenschneider has been covering the Twin Cities music scene since 2001, long enough for Prince to shout him out during "Play That Funky Music (White Boy)." The St. Paul native authored the book "First Avenue: Minnesota's Mainroom" and previously worked as a music critic at the Austin American-Statesman in Texas.

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