His winter tour of colleges and universities, a deliberate downsizing of venues when he could otherwise fill arenas, was dubbed the Club Paradise Tour.

So what does it mean that Canadian sensation Drake‘s next Southern California appearance will be his largest yet, May 8 at Verizon Wireless Amphitheater in Irvine? Since his Viejas Arena gig was larger but still tied to a school (San Diego State), should this date be considered somehow tied to … UCI?

No? Too much of a stretch?

Doesn’t really matter what you call it. Bound to be a wild night all the same.

J. Cole, who made a cameo during Drake’s striking performance earlier this month at USC’s Galen Center, will deliver a proper opening set for the O.C. gig, as will Wacka Flocka Flame, Meek Mill, 2 Chainz and French Montana.

Tickets, $43.75-$93.75, go on sale Saturday, March 24, at 10 a.m., with pre-sales underway ’til Friday at 10 p.m.

That’s only one of three Verizon shows announced this week. We already learned about Kiss and Mötley Crüe teaming up for a tour that stops there in August. But also on the way is the return of Danzig Legacy, the three-set show that creative force Glenn Danzig brought to Gibson Amphitheatre last year.

The concept — which pulls together Danzig’s same-named band, a turn from his second group Samhain and a headlining performance from his version of hardcore mainstay Misfits (also featuring guitarist Doyle Wolfgang von Frankenstein) — will come to the Irvine amphitheater on May 26. It’s one of only four U.S. shows this year, and the sole West Coast date. Tickets, $13.13-$69.50, are on sale now.

And along with Jack White’s two shows in May, there’s one more at the Wiltern: a solo appearance from Glenn Frey on May 26, behind the Eagles veteran’s first album since 1995, After Hours, a collection of love songs from the ’40s to the present. Tickets, $47.50-$85, are on sale Saturday at 10 a.m.

Photo, from a January show at the Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas, by Ethan Miller, Getty Images.

More O.C.  Nightlife:

• Music News: Kiss & Motley Crue tour invades Irvine in August
• Orange Pop: Midnight Hour goes slow and steady
• Interview: Seven years later, a new Orgy returns to O.C.
• Music News: Jack White to play two shows at the Wiltern
• Slideshow: Half a century of Bob Dylan
• Review: Game goes late at the Observatory 
• Slideshow: WonderCon draws fans, artists, stars to OC
• Slideshow: St. Patrick’s Day madness
• Slideshow: Echo Echo returns to Detroit Bar
• New Batman arena show coming to O.C. and L.A.
• Video: The Get Down Boys and Ted Z and the Wrangler’s at King’s Inn

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