The best NYC concerts in November 2016
Consult our guide to the best must-see NYC concerts in November, from Animal Collective to Meshuggah
November offers a lot more reasons to be thankful than just Thanksgiving turkeys and the best pies. Things might be cooling down, but there are plenty of things to do in the fall—including a handful of must-see shows. Check out our list of exciting fall concerts, and you’ll see braving the autumnal cold is well worth it. Here's our list of our favorite music highlights for the month—from moshing with extreme metal heads Meshuggah to partying with up-n-coming synth stars Kero Kero Bonito.
RECOMMENDED: Full guide to the best concerts in NYC
NYC concerts in November
Animal Collective + Actress
Avant-pop MVPs Animal Collective bring their spacey, jammy anthems to town, celebrating the release of their latest album, Painting With, the group's first since 2012's pleasantly perplexing Centipede Hz.
Read more
Kero Kero Bonito
Along with their fellow U.K. denizens in the PC Music crew, Kero Kero Bonito exemplify a certain strain of giddy, hyper-digital pop that evokes a Tumblr page coming to life. With vocalist Sarah Perry rapping in both Japanese and English, their dizzying upcoming debut LP, Bonito Generation, plays like a cheerful update on Cibo Matto for an era of songs about selfies (like the band’s own “Picture This”). Perry brought out props including a stuffed crocodile during Kero Kero Bonito’s U.S. debut at SXSW last year, so while you might want to bring your dancing shoes, also keep those smartphones at the ready.
Read more
Meshuggah + High on Fire
Neck-snapping Swedish extreme-metal juggernaut Meshuggah, which recently celebrated 25 years of "musical deviance," plays in support of its eighth full-length, The Violent Sleep of Reason. Unlike previous super-polished, post-processed albums, this release was recorded live, so expect the new songs' full-throttle energy to translate well to the stage. Support comes from one of the most acclaimed metal bands of the past decade-plus, High on Fire. There’s nothing particularly surprising about the trio’s meat-and-potatoes doom-thrash, but nevertheless, it remains a headbanger’s dream.
Read more
Tegan and Sara
Canadian twins Tegan and Sara descend on the the Theater at MSG with their winning brand of indie pop—all layered vocals and tempered angst. The duo has skewed a bit more mainstream recently, but it's difficult to stay mad when we're having so much fun dancing to "Boyfriend."
Read more
Digable Planets
Considered a one-hit wonder by some, thanks to its briefly inescapable 1992 jazz-rap smash, “Rebirth of Slick (Cool Like Dat),” this trio’s commercially underperforming 1994 follow-up, Blowout Comb, has belatedly but deservedly become part of the canon of rap’s golden age.
Read more
Thee Oh Sees
A Thee Oh Sees show is a sure bet for anyone who likes their riffs big, bad, meaty and pogoworthy. The garage-rock group debuted a new four-member format, behind frontman John Dwyer, earlier last year and play behind their summer release, A Weird Exits. At the rate Dwyer churns out material, odds are good they have another in the hopper.
Read more
Mitski
Mitski Miyawaki's come far since self-releasing her first two albums and playing DIY gigs—that much is obvious considering she's sold out this Webster Hall concert, Music Hall of Williamsburg, Bowery Ballroom and basically every single other show on her national tour months in advance. Her new collection of heartrending songs, Puberty 2, continues where 2014's breathtaking Bury Me at Makeout Creek left off: veering from her previous orchestral avant-pop leanings into dreamily yearning indie rock, a successful transformation that highlights her talents for complex, emotive melody and pointed lyricism.
Read more
The Bad Plus
Alt-jazz phenomenon the Bad Plus made its name—and earned itself a few haters—interpreting favorites by Blondie, Nirvana, Black Sabbath and other rock icons, alongside its striking, inventive postbop-gone-pop originals, the latest collection of which, It's Hard, features Johnny Cash's "I Walk the Line" and the Yeah Yeah Yeahs' "Maps" among others.
Read more
Conor Oberst
Singer, songwriter, bandleader and label chief Conor Oberst (of Bright Eyes, Monsters of Folk and sundry others) plays a a special intimate gig at Carnegie Hall's Stern Auditorium. As usual, Oberst isn’t pushing any limits with his quavery-voiced indie folk, but he’s got that plainspoken-troubadour thing on lockdown.
Read more
Dinosaur Jr.
Indie extraordinaire and Dinosaur Jr. frontman J Mascis augmented his trademark Jazzmaster-scuzz with acoustic Martin strumming on his last three solo records. While the combo works wonders, we miss the straightforward indie riffage characteristic of Dinosaur Jr’s early days. Fortunately, the band’s new album, Give a Glimpse of What Yer Not, features his pivotal crew in classic form.
Read moreLooking for new music?
Listen to the best new songs out right now
Every month, we cherry pick the best new songs recently released—listen to them here
Read moreComments
- Get Livefyre
- FAQ