A half-dozen cool things in music, from two points of view:

Dana Litman of Golden Valley:

1 Wu-Tang Clan, Nas and De La Soul, Target Center. We really enjoyed these three highly energetic acts who celebrated 50 years of hip-hop through a New York lens. The crowd was on their feet most of the evening, enjoying the hits that these groups made famous.

2 Joni Mitchell, “Archives Vol. 3: Asylum Year 1972-1975.” The third volume of her popular archives series includes live performances, never released songs and demos. I wasted no time in listening to the glorious, newly remastered four-LP set, highlighted by sessions with icons Neil Young and James Taylor.

3 Bruno Mars in Tel Aviv. He was set to become only the third American artist (after Michael Jackson and Madonna) to sell out two concerts at the 70,000-capacity HaYarkon Park. Mars’ Friday night set list included a very cool children’s song that he performed completely in Hebrew before he was forced to cancel his Saturday concert after news of the horrific terror attacks shook Israel.

Jon Bream, Star Tribune critic:

1 Dee Dee Bridgewater and Bill Charlap, the Dakota. As vocalist extraordinaire Bridgewater (loved her scatting so many instruments) and piano savant Charlap looked into each other’s eyes, they carried on a fascinating extemporaneous (his word) musical conversation for 75 minutes. Highlights: “Caravan,” “Fine & Mellow” and “‘S Wonderful.”

2 “Girl From the North Country,” Orpheum Theatre. Set in a Duluth boardinghouse in 1934, this is a Depression Era play with music by Bob Dylan to augment the story lines. While the narrative is soap opera-like with some unpredictable turns (rare for a Broadway musical), the singing is very good, changing the tempos and arrangements but making Dylan’s lyrics crystal clear (which he doesn’t necessarily do). The ending — with the full cast singing the gospel-y “Pressing On,” the show’s theme, after the stage goes dark — is awkward. Like Dylan’s music, this intriguing show isn’t for everyone.

3 Roy Rogers, State Theatre. Bonnie Raitt’s opening act showed that he is not only a slide guitar master but, like her, has Minnesota connections. His 1976 debut album was released on the Minneapolis label Waterhouse Records, and Rogers recalled getting a review in the now-defunct Twin Cities Reader, saying he was the Roy Rogers with chops, not chaps.

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