Monday

Big-ticket show: Mumford & Sons, Cadillac Sky, King Charles @ Terminal 5 (also Tuesday)

The Owl Mag recommends: Oh Land @ Mercury Lounge

Tuesday

Big-ticket show: Kings of Leon @ Madison Square Garden

Free show: Oceanographer, Minor Stars, Leslie Sisson (of Wooden Birds) @ Bruar Falls

For dream pop fans: The Joy Formidable, Grouplove, The Dig @ Bowery Ballroom

For electropop fans: Glasser, ARP, Blood Orange @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

Wednesday

Big-ticket show: Thao Nguyen @ The Bell House

Local treat: Electric Tickle Machine, Mirror Mirror, Hooray For Earth, Mon Khmer, Autre Ne Veut @ Pianos

The Owl Mag recommends: The Big Sleep, Chappo, ArpLine, Red Wire Black Wire @ Glasslands

Thursday

Big-ticket shows:
The Morning Benders, Twin Sister, Cults @ Webster Hall
Tame Impala, Stardeath And White Dwarfs, Kuroma @ Bowery Ballroom (also Friday)

Best throwback: Buffalo Tom w/Dinosaur Feathers @ Mercury Lounge

Friday

Big-ticket shows:
Kate Nash, Peggy Sue @ Terminal 5
Bear in Heaven, Twin Shadow, Sun Airway @ Music Hall of Williamsburg

Local treat: Darlings, Tough Knuckles, Sweet Bulbs, Y/Y @ Bruar Falls

The Owl Mag recommends: Light Pollution, Acrylics, Blood Orange, Unsolved Mysteries @ Glasslands

Saturday

Big-ticket show: The Frames @ Terminal 5

Local treat: Kittens Ablaze, Team B, Baby Alpaca @ Glasslands

Crazy times: Peelander-Z, Starscream, Tsu Shi Ma Mi Re @ Santos Party House

Sunday

Big-ticket show: Delorean, Lemonade, Light Pollution @ Bowery Ballroom

Hot DIY ticket: Javelin, Future Islands, Lonnie Walker @ 285 Kent Avenue

Yeah, yeah, yeah, Halloween weekend, everything’s “spooktacular” and “terrorific” – for the skinny on Hallow’s Eve in the Bay, catch The Lo Down Halloween feature. If you just want to know what’s good this weekend, check the list below…

FRIDAY, 10/29

of Montreal / Janelle Monaé – The Warfield 9:00pm $30 adv/$32 door

Oh snap, this pair is just too sweet to miss. Get your dance on to indie-prince Kevin Barnes and the of Montreal circus o’sound, promoting September’s False Prince with the quirky rock-pop for which they’re known – coupled with the future-funk of Janelle Monaé? Are you kidding? ArchAndroid is one of the best of the year. They appear on each other’s albums so fingers crossed for a live collaboration…

Lotus / Mux Mool – The Independent 9:00pm $20

If you’re sad that festival season has come to a close, check out this line-up: Mux Mool’s one-man electronica set prefaces Lotus’s self-proclaimed “instrumental dance rock” – it’s the intersection of jam-band and hip-hop that you… um, crave? Pee in the street and it’ll be Bonaroo all over again.

Built To Spill / Revolt Revolt – Fillmore 8:00pm $25

Promoting new release There Is No Enemy, Idaho quintet Built To Spill sounds comfortable and familiar – guitar driven, lyrically dense, cargo shorts… well-paired with rock trio (and Boise friends) Revolt Revolt.

8 Legged Monster – Coda Lounge 10:00pm $10

Sip a cocktail and cut a rug with 8 Legged Monster (plus six!) debuting this new (r)evolution of the big band. Special shout-out to vocalist Karina Denike (of the Dance Hall Crashers and The Cottontails), whose vocal prowess recalls traditional jazz chops with modern style, relevance, and soul. Cheers.

SATURDAY, 10/30

Mr. Symarip (Roy Ellis) / The Impalers / Boss 501 – Oakland Metro 8:00pm $20-25

The recent death of Gregory Issacs makes seeing a reggae legend like Roy Ellis all the more timely. After a 20-year departure from Jamaican music, Ellis returns to his ska roots infusing two decades of gospel and soul with a lifetime of reggae hits – fans of the genre can’t miss it. And Bay staples The Impalers and Boss 501 to boot? Get on it, rudies…

Kate Nash / Peggy Sue – The Warfield 9:00pm $22.50

Flirty, fun, and oh-so-British – Kate Nash makes her much-anticipated SF return so that she can sass us in person. Yes, please. Arrive early enough for Brighton trio Peggy Sue, who combine pop sensibilities with a folk blues undertow. Britain: so hot right now.

Deerhunter / Real Estate / Casino Versus Japan – Slim’s 9:00pm $17

I want to listen to Deerhunter’s alternative garage rock on a (road) trip through New Mexico, but I’ll settle for Slim’s (or Great American Music Hall on Friday). Bass driven Real Estate and the ambient Casino Versus Japan make for a friendly psychedelic showdown. Prop 19 fans, unite.

Gov’t Mule – Fox Theater 8:00pm $35

“Southern rock jam band formed in 1994” – Wikipedia. In short, Gov’t Mule + Oakland = hilarious.

Photos by Jessica Mejia

Saturday night was blustery, but a crowd was already a block deep to get into Bottom of the Hill to see British pop songstress Kate Nash.

NYC’s Supercute, a bubblegum trio who looked like little confections with candy bows, were introduced by Nash, who was seen sitting side-stage during the set singing along to the girls’ infectious ditties. With sweet and earnest harmonies as well as a rather mischievous sense of humor, Supercute more than lived up to their moniker. They reminded me of my little sisters, which wasn’t surprising, considering they ranged in age from 13 (June Lei on keys) to 16 (Rachel Trachtenberg on uke).

Wait a minute, wait a minute! Cue intense jealousy: opening for a kind-of-a-big-thing artist like internet sensation Kate Nash at the age of 13? Gosh, I hope the rest of her teenage years aren’t a let-down. But anyway, Supercute — who explained that they came up with their name because they like to say that they’re supercute on stage — sang original songs about candy (“Candy City”) and pigeons. The “Hula Hoop Song,” which had Trachtenberg and guitarist Julie Cumming twisting on stage with hula hoops as they sang, was especially adorable. Especially when they told us that the airline wouldn’t allow them to bring their hoops on the plane. Probably the best moment of Supercute’s set was a stripped down cover of Pink Floyd’s “Pigs,” a song they dubbed one of their favorites. What’s their age again? Their last song of the evening was “Not to Write About Boys,” a way-better-than that fantastic Brandy/Monica collaboration “The Boy Is Mine”: in Supercute’s version they fall in love with the same boy and and almost break up. And then they realize that it’s not worth it. Ah, friends 4 eva! Let’s read Baby-Sitters Club books together, girls!

A cup of tea preceded Kate Nash on stage. Nash, garbed in a short motorcycle jacket and smeared red, red lipstick, spoke softly as she greeted the audience. She opened with “Paris,” her wailing a slap in the face after her light banter with the audience. Nash mouthed the ba-dum-ba-dums right along with her keyboard, reminiscent of the energy that Tori Amos or Amanda Palmer has behind the piano, launching into a set that included magical moments like “Mouthwash” and “Don’t You Want to Share the Guilt?” Easily moving between the keys (amazing) and the guitar (slightly less so), 22-year-old Nash sang songs a little like your middle school diary set to music, but with all of that angst coloring her voice.

When Nash introduced a song about homophobia, the audience booed, and she congratulated us for not cheering. “If you’re homophobic, you’re a prick,” said Nash, and we heartily agreed. Supercute took to the stage once more when Nash sang her hit “Foundations.” The girls were dressed in matching sequined hot pink dresses and danced behind Nash, who said that she never wanted to play “Foundations” without them. Nash easily became my favorite of the musicians of her type that have come out of the U.K., like Lily Allen or Adele, thanks to her ability to make you feel as if you both are laying on the floor of her bedroom listening to some pretty intense secrets shared between best friends.