The Hipster’s Guide to Fall Concerts

Summer is over. As the weather quickly turns cold and the wind chills the bodies of New York, the elegant scarves, leather jackets, beanies, combat boots and fingerless gloves iconic to the hipster community have retaken their reign upon New York’s frigid Autumn. People now rush indoors to stay warm, and what a better place to stay warm this fall than with a group of fellow hipsters listening to indie rock bands give live performances?

In celebration of the cold’s return and the obvious hipster fashion with it, here is a short list of concerts around the New York area, containing indie and hipster rock bands, both underground and mainstream.

1. Fiction Plane, Oct. 14

Fiction Plane is an indie/alternative rock band, originally from London, England. The son of Sting from The Police, Joe Sumner, serves as lead vocalist, along with playing guitar and bass.

The band has been around since 2001, when they were originally named Santa’s Boyfriend, and released their first album in 2003. Though still fairly underground, the band has also performed before hundreds of thousands in North America, Europe and Asia.

With songs such as “Out of My Face” and “Two Sisters,” they have a likeness found somewhere between classic Maroon 5 and Death Cab for Cutie.

Fiction Plane will be coming on Oct. 14, 7 p.m., to Asbury Park, NJ. Tickets are now on sale for $10.

2. Glass Animals, Oct. 15

Glass Animals, though fairly new, are a quickly rising band within the world of alternative rock. Though popular, the band is extremely elusive. They are an English band from Oxford who grew up together, but other than that, little is known.

Their first gig was in a venue across the street their house called “Jericho’s Tavern.” According to the band, this is also where the electropop band Radiohead had their first gig.

The music is an obscure mix, from electronic pop to indie rock to R&B, drawing inspirations from all music. When asked about how they would describe their music, the band said;

“Like the sound of unicorns whispering, but with no cowbell. Probably not actually… We take inspiration from lots of different places. Dance music to R&B and also more traditional bands, which means we’ve ended up with a weird, psychedelic cocktail of electronic and organic sound. It’s probably easier to just have a listen really.”

Glass Animals will be performing on Oct. 15, 7 p.m. at Terminal 5 in New York, NY. Tickets cost about $55.

3. Cold War Kids, Oct. 24

Cold War Kids is an American indie rock band from Long Beach, CA. They started out in 2004 with independent record label Monarchy Music. They changed label companies in 2006, when they released their debut album.

The band’s blues rock-induced indie music was inspired by artists such as Bob Dylan, Billie Holliday, Jeff Buckley and The Velvet Underground, creating rock-styled songs such as “Hang Me Up to Dry” and “First.”

Cold War Kids will be performing on Oct. 24, 7 p.m., at Terminal 5 in New York, NY. Currently, the event costs $30 per ticket.

4. The Royal Concept with Parade of Lights, Nov. 10

Though an indie rock band in many aspects, The Royal Concept dabbles in the worlds of indie-pop, synthpop, alternative dance, dance-pop and pop-rock. They’re a fairly new band, having only debuted within the last five years; however, that has not stopped them from releasing two albums, one Extended Plays (EP) and seven singles.

The band they will be playing with, Parade of Lights, is an American electronic band from Los Angeles, CA. Birthed from an older band, Polus, that was formed in 2006 but fell apart shortly after, Parade of Lights has been around since 2010, releasing music and opening for more popular bands such as Imagine Dragons around Southern California, Utah and Nevada.

The two bands will be playing on Nov. 10, 7:30 p.m., at The Studio at Webster Hall in New York, NY. Doors open at 7 p.m.

5. The 1975, Dec. 4

The 1975 are an English rock band from Manchester. They have released on album, self-titled, and four EPs since their start in 2002. In 2013, their album debuted at number one on the U.K. Album Charts.

The band’s music has been described as “equal parts ethereal and synth pop” by Paste, an entertainment and music magazine. They have also been described as mellow and been praised for their lack of “attention-grabbing production theatrics.”

The 1975 will be playing on Dec. 4, 8 p.m., at Terminal 5 in New York, NY.

6. San Fermin, Dec. 18

San Fermin is a baroque pop (a pop rock subgenre) American band, started by Brooklyn-based composer and songwriter Ellis Ludwig-Leone. Since their start in 2011, they have released two albums: one self-titled and the other called Jackrabbit.

San Fermin took form after Ludwig-Leone graduated from Yale with a degree in composition. He worked on several film scores and operas during his time at Yale and did not decide to focus on pop music until graduating college.

Unlike most bands, San Fermin’s artists are a bit more ambiguous, with some members touring while others do most of their performances on the albums, the only consistency being Ludwig-Leone himself. The band’s first album contains performances by 22 musicians.

San Fermin will be performing on Dec. 18, 9 p.m., at The Bowery Ballroom in New York, NY. Doors open at 8 p.m. and the performance is 18 plus.