Top bands and top singers coming to NYC music venues this fall

Check out essential live music shows this fall. Top bands like the xx and top singers such as Fiona Apple hit music venues across New York City.

By Sophie Harris, Marley Lynch, Hank Shteamer and Steve Smith Tue Aug 21 2012

Photograph: John Shearer

Animal Collective
Photograph: Travis Shinn

Morrissey
Photograph: Courtesy of the Fun Star

Fiona Apple
Photograph: Kevin Cummins

New Order
Photograph: John Engle

Bitch Magnet
Photograph: John Londono

Grimes
Photograph: Courtesy XL Recordings

The xx
Photograph: Courtesy of the artist

Citizen Cope
Photograph: Marielle Solan

Sharon Van Etten
Photograph: Ben Watts

Justin Bieber
Photograph: Tom Munro

Madonna
Photograph: Julie Gardner

Neil Young and Crazy Horse
Photograph: Chris Lopez

One Direction

Photograph: John Shearer

Animal Collective

October's best concerts

Animal Collective

Price band: 2/4
Critics choice

The avant-pop MVPs of Animal Collective bring their spacey, jammy anthems to Williamsburg Park, where they'll celebrate the release of their latest pleasantly perplexing opus, Centipede Hz.

Williamsburg Park Kent Ave, at North 12th St
Fri Oct 11

More info

Oh, this charming man! British national treasure Morrissey brings his Smiths and solo hits to Radio City Music Hall for a posh date, followed with a two-night stand at Terminal 5. Should be something pretty special.

Terminal 5 610 W 56th St, at Eleventh Ave
Sat Oct 13 - Fri Oct 12

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Fiona Apple + Blake Mills

Price band: 3/4
Critics choice

Letting her freak flag fly (for a change), wide-eyed pop enigma Fiona Apple continues to wow, touring behind her impressively-titled comeback disc, The Idler Wheel Is Wiser Than the Driver of the Screw and Whipping Cords Will Serve You More Than Ropes Will Ever Do. (We recommend customizing your own T-shirt.)

Terminal 5 610 W 56th St, at Eleventh Ave
Tue Oct 16 - Wed Oct 17

More info

New Order

Price band: 3/4
Critics choice

Here's a rare treat: Seminal English postpunk outfit New Order lands stateside for its first proper U.S. tour since 2005 (barring an appearance at Ultra Music Festival in March). Sadly, the group will be performing sans original bassist Peter Hook because of intra-band squabbles—but the opportunity to hear classics like "Ceremony" nearly makes us forget such unseemly quarreling.

Roseland Ballroom 239 W 52nd St, between Broadway and Eighth Ave
Thu Oct 18 - Fri Oct 19

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Bitch Magnet + Moss Icon

Price band: 2/4
Critics choice

Brooklyn imprint Temporary Residence Limited has worked overtime in recent years to remind the world that Slint, great as it was, wasn't the be all, end all of late-’80s/early-’90s post-hardcore. Tonight's gig brings together two stars of the TRL reissue roster: the roiling, metallic Bitch Magnet and the cryptic, unsettling Moss Icon, each making its first local live appearance in over 20 years. Translation: Gear up for one hell of an indie-rock nostalgia trip.

Le Poisson Rouge 158 Bleecker St, at Thompson St
Fri Nov 1

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Grimes + Elite Gymnastics + Myths

Price band: 2/4
Critics choice

Don't be fooled by Claire Boucher's alias, Grimes—far from sordid, her output tends toward dreamy, floaty, dancey soundscapes, especially when her sighing voice comes in. Aside from her fastidiously fractured synth-pop (check out Visions, a widely acclaimed recent effort on 4AD), this Montreal auteur is active in dance, film and visual art. Should make for an extremely au courant and compelling live show.

Bowery Ballroom 6 Delancey St, between Bowery and Chrystie St
Fri Oct 26 - Sat Oct 27

More info

The xx + Chairlift

Price band: 2/4
Critics choice

Youthful British minimalists the xx possess an uncanny ability to make stripped-down grooves that are utterly sensual and hypnotic. Reports from the road and the trio's gorgeous new single, "Angels," indicate that its forthcoming sophomore release, Coexist, is likely imbued with ominous houselike beats. Brooklyn psych-pop band Chairlift kicks things off.

Paradise Theater 2413 Grand Concourse, at 187th St
Fri Jan 25

More info

October concert schedule

November's best concerts

Citizen Cope

Price band: 2/4
Critics choice

With his mellifluous croon and warm arrangements, Basehead associate Citizen Cope is the Jack Johnson of hip-hop. Not a bad thing in our book, and at this big show, the self-proclaimed urban poet offers a taste of his latest album, One Lovely Day, alongside heart-tuggers such as "Sideways" and "Let the Drummer Kick."

Beacon Theatre 2124 Broadway, at 74th St
Until Sat Nov 24

More info

Sharon Van Etten

Price band: 2/4
Critics choice

Brooklyn's own Sharon Van Etten plays her largest headlining gig yet in support of her exceptional third album, Tramp—one of the best records of the year so far. On top of boasting ace singing, songwriting and guitar-playing skills, the lady's got some jokes up her sleeve; expect laughs squeezed in between her heart-wrenchingly raw tunes.

The Town Hall 123 W 43rd St, between Sixth Ave and Broadway
Until Thu Nov 15

More info

Justin Bieber + Carly Rae Jepsen

Price band: 3/4
Critics choice

Teen pop idol Justin Bieber hits the local arenas in support of his new one, Believe. More interesting is the opening set from his protégée Carly Rae Jepsen, whose "Call Me Maybe" is an earworm beloved of poptimists and hipsters the world over—us included.

Madison Square Garden 4 Pennsylvania Plaza (Seventh Ave), between 31st and 33rd Sts
Until Thu Nov 29

More info

Madonna

Price band: 3/4
Critics choice

Crowned "The Greatest Woman in Music" by VH1 this year, the queen of pop ascends her throne for a trio of local megagigs in support of the recent MDNA LP. Madonna has run into a spot of bother on the world tour thus far—French right wing party the National Front is trying to sue the singer for showing its leader with a swastika on her face, and anti-gay activists in Russia are also suing Madge for her criticisms of a recent law. But after nearly 30 years in the biz, we know it's just fuel to the fire for Madonna (join the queue, behind the vatican) whose Superbowl half-time show was the most watched performance in its history, drawing 114 million viewers—more than the actual game.

Yankee Stadium 1 E 161st St, between Jerome and River Aves
Until Tue Nov 13

More info

Neil Young and Crazy Horse + Patti Smith

Price band: 3/4
Critics choice

Canadian folk-rock titan Neil Young has a knack for locating weirdness in even the most well-trod territory, a skill he put to smart use on the recent Americana, a set of reworked folk tunes featuring his most rugged and reliable backing band, Crazy Horse. Young's on the the road with the group for the first time since 2004, and he's tapped a suitably heavyweight opener to help mark the occasion: beloved punk poet Patti Smith.

Barclays Center 620 Atlantic Ave, at Flatbush Ave
Until Mon Dec 3

More info

One Direction

Critics choice

What can you expect at this two show from Simon Cowell–groomed U.K. boy band One Direction? Deafening screaming, barstool serenades, a million bucks’ worth of camera phoneage and of course, the smell of cheap body spray, wafted on stifling clouds of estrogen. Not to mention "What Makes You Beautiful" and other maddeningly catchy boy-band anthems. You might even get a peak of the group's forthcoming sophomore album, due any day now. Calm down, ladies!