MUSIC LISTINGS

Wednesday, September 6

Joan of Arc, Owen

A night of post-Cap’n Jazz. Stop being nostalgic and just enjoy the music.

Knitting Factory, 74 Leonard St. (betw. B'way & Church St.), 212-219-3132; 8, $10/$12.

Thursday, September 7

Chromeo, The Rub

Electronic music without excess is like hipster culture without the irony. 

Cake Shop, 152 Ludlow St. (betw. Stanton & Rivington Sts.), 212-253-0036; 7, $7.

Kaki King, Christine Baze

King is a guitar virtuoso. Throw on the stereo when you invite someone back to your place kind of way.

Knitting Factory, 74 Leonard St. (betw. B'way & Church St.), 212-219-3132; 8, $15.

Shakira 

She’s second only to Elvis (OK, and maybe the guy who invented the hula hoop), when it comes to people who have built their empire upon hip swivels. 

Madison Square Garden, 4 Pennsylvania Plaza, 212-307-7171; 8, $15.00-$129.50.

Friday, September 8

Comets on Fire, Soldiers of Fortune, Blues Control

It’s not easy being Jello Biafra’s favorite Blue Cheer-influenced heavy psych rock band, but if Comets on Fire hadn’t stepped on the plate, who would have?

Knitting Factory, 74 Leonard St. (betw. B'way & Church St.), 212-219-3132; 11, $14.

Snow Patrol, Augustana, The Duke Spirit

Some time around the late-’90s, introspective indie rock surpassed whisky as Scotland’s major export.

Roseland Ballroom, 239 W. 52nd St. (betw. 7th & 8th Aves.); 6:45, $26.

The Avengers, Midnight Creeps, The Sleazies

Not to be confused with the Marvel Comics supergroup, San Francisco’s The Avengers adhered to the punk rock ethos far better than most of their peers, having stayed together for couple of years before self-destructing, waiting a couple of decades, and ultimately cashing in their posthumous success. 

CBGB's, 315 Bowery (betw. 1st & 2nd Sts.), 212-982-4052; 8, $15.

Four Original Members of Asia 

One would be hard-pressed to think up a better musical representation for the self-indulgence of the early ’80s than the supergroup Asia. Reunited and playing a venue named after a cell phone manufacturer with tickets at $40 a pop.

Nokia Theater Times Square, 1515 Broadway (at W. 44th St.), 212-930-1950; 8, $40.

Hello Nurse

If being a pop-punk band boils down to playing distorted bar chords and saying, ‘whoa-oh’ a lot, then NYC’s Hello Nurse may just be the quintessential one.

Knitting Factory (Tap Bar), 74 Leonard St. (betw. B'way & Church St.), 212-219-3132; 8, $10.

Saturday, September 9

The Pink Spiders

Can the term “garage rock” and the phrase “produced by Ric Ocasek” peacefully coexist? The Pink Spiders seem to think so.

Knitting Factory, 74 Leonard St. (betw. B'way & Church St.), 212-219-3132; 6, $8/$10.

Angry Samoans, Dirty Tactics, The Krays

A first-wave punk act, who’ve continued in some form or another for the past 30 years, The Angry Samoans come from L.A., and after all these years, they’re most likely slightly disgruntled at best. When will the lies end?

CBGB's, 315 Bowery (betw. 1st & 2nd Sts.), 212-982-4052; 8, $25.

Gov't Mule, Wolfmother, Two Gallants

Two members of Southern blues-rock band, Gov’t Mule, did time with The Allman Brothers band. Wolfmother come from Australia and sound an awful lot like early Sabbath. Two Gallants are from San Francisco and they play stripped-down, hard-edged indie folk rock. The lineup doesn’t seem to make sense, but who are we to judge?

McCarren Park Pool, Lorimer St. & Bedford Ave., Brooklyn; 4, $38.50.

Bling Kong

Bling Kong has 11 members (including three cheerleaders) and an album called Do the Awesome. Money may not be able to buy happiness, but the admission fee should get you halfway there.

Union Hall, 702 Union St. (at 5th Ave.), Park Slope, B’klyn, 718-638-4400; 8, $12.

Oxford Collapse, The Victoria Lucas, Centipede D'Est 

The Oxford Collapse come from Brooklyn where the terms “angular post-punk” and “new wave” are as common as high rent prices and 99 cent stores. Unlike the outrageous pizza claims, however, The Oxford Collapse’s live show rarely fails to deliver.

Cake Shop, 152 Ludlow St. (betw. Stanton & Rivington Sts.), 212-253-0036; 8, $7.

Sunday, September 10

Band of Horses, Chad Van Gaalen, Fred Armisen

First there’s the whole Angry Samoans thing, and then it turns out that Band of Horses is actually just a bunch of dudes. Oh well, at least we have the band’s ethereal pop to console us as we reconcile the sad lack of hooves.

Webster Hall, 125 E. 11th St. (betw. 3rd & 4th Aves.), 212-353-1600; 7:30, $17/$18.

Cat Power

A live Cat Power show is a mixed proposition. By the end of the night, you’ll either experience a set of folksie indie stylings, or a heartfelt breakdown from Chan Marshall’s stage fright. Either way, it’s a full evening’s worth of entertainment. If she shows up.

Irving Plaza, 17 Irving Pl. (at 15th St.), 212-777-1224; 5:30, $27.50/$30.

George Clinton & The P-Funk All-Stars

George Clinton’s on-again, off-again Parliament-Funkadelic collective (née P-Funk) has turned the art of being freaky into a way of life. Beginning life as a mid-’50s doo-wop group, growing to the size of a small town and eventually settling in as the propagators of some of the most weirdly subversive songs ever co-opted as sports anthems.

B.B. King's, 237 W. 42 St. (betw. 7th & 8th Aves.), 212-997-4144; 8, $37.50/$42.

Monday, September 11

Boris, Pearls & Brass

Japanese group, Boris, play Melvins-influenced drone rock, and mix it up a little bit with psych rock and speed metal, you know, for the kids.

Northsix, 66 N. 6th St. (betw. Kent & Wythe Ave.), Brooklyn, 718-599-5103; 8, $12/$14.

Tuesday, September 12

The Dears, The Grates

Up until a couple of years ago, Rush was the only rock band ever to exist within the Canadian boarders, and now this. Thanks to Montreal-based groups like The Dears, it’s actually cool to be from the Great White North. 

Bowery Ballroom, 6 Delancey St. (betw. Bowery & Chrystie Sts.), 212-533-2111; 9, $17.