Saturday, Sept. 1: Journey

JOURNEY

"Don't Stop Believin'" must rival "Sweet Caroline" as the top karaoke song. The tune certainly has spiked interest in Journey. Not that the 1980s rockers ever went away. It's just that their lead singer Steve Perry did. Journey is featuring lead vocalist No. 4, Arnel Pineda, who probably sounds more like vintage Steve Perry than the now-retired Perry would these days. Opening are enduring rockers Pat Benatar and Loverboy. JON BREAM

Shellac

Even though Steve Albini produced some of the biggest and best albums of the '80s-'90s alt-rock wave ("In Utero," "Rid of Me," "Surfer Rosa"), his own sonically frayed band of the era, Shellac, never rose out of the underground -- clearly by design. The noise-rock trio followed in the freak-blasting wake of Albini's earlier band, Big Black, and featured Minneapolis' own heavy throttler Todd Trainer of Riflesport on drums. They still get together for shows every few years and are marking their 20th anniversary with dates here and in Chicago. Italian-rooted quartet Bellini and local faves the Stnnng open.CHRIS RIEMENSCHNEIDER

NORTH X NORDEAST

Noon • Spring Street Tavern, 355 NE. Monroe St. • all ages • $10

It seems any joint with a parking lot or on an easily sectioned-off street can, and for our sake, should join the block party brigade. Spring Street Tavern, an unpretentious northeast Minneapolis watering hole, is getting in on the action with its small-scale take on Austin, Texas' South by Southwest (you should have no trouble booking a hotel). The daylong fête features a hip-hop heavy lineup headed by Toki Wright, the Tribe and Big Cats!, Sean Anonymous and Maria Isa, as well as rockers Rockford Mules and Hastings 3000. MICHAEL RIETMULDER

Tiger Vs.

Electro-pop can be such a bore. How many acts reminding us that the '80s were rad do we really need? With their debut EP, local trio Tiger Vs. sidesteps the genre's stale side with a synthy sophistication that looks forward, not back. The seven-track "Lone Wolf" is a caressing debut graced with an electric cello and frontwoman Ranelle Johnson's quivering vocals. To drop a hometown reference, Tiger Vs. would pair well with the similarly uninhibited, but pop-rooted A. Wolf and Her Claws. Nice Purse, I, Colossus and Dust Buns open. M.R.