Yeasayer, Tanlines and Daedelus, September 12 at Central Park Rumsey Playfield, $32
Though their recent effort Fragrant World was a meh-level disappointment, Yeasayer is still one of the titans of indie's class of 2007, a psychedelic electronic pop outfit who defied the meat-and-potatoes guitar rock hegemony of the era, helping in their own way to usher in the electronic sound that's dominating the hipster set these days. Though they started out in the lineage of bands like Yeasayer and Vampire Weekend, the Brooklyn duo Tanlines have transcended from whence they came. Mixed Emotions, their newest album, is an absolute triumph of melancholy dance music, taking the beats of house and pairing them with a Talking Heads-esque interpretation of world music and whip-smart lyrics. On top of that, the band maintains perhaps the funniest twitter account in all of indie rock, so if you've ever chuckled at one of Jesse Cohen and Eric Emm's jokes, you owe it to yourself to check them out. -Drew Millard
Ben Folds Five, September 14 at Central Park Rumsey Playfield, $49.50
Some bands are great without necessarily being influential. Take Ben Folds Five, for example, the North Carolina piano power-pop trio responsible for such classics as the snotty Ben Folds Five and the more plaintive The Unauthorized Biography of Reinhold Messner. For whatever reason, they never aged particularly well -- was it the jokey songs? Folds' eventual evolution into near self-parody as a solo artist?-- but after some one-off teasings the band is in full-blown Reunion Mode, and we've a tour and a comeback album on our hands. The album, entitled The Sound of the Life of the Mind, will come out next Tuesday as a fan-supported effort. One upside to not having influenced too many people is that nobody else really does what you do, so there are still enough Folds fiends to warrant a $50 show in Central Park. -DM
The Eugene Mirman Comedy Festival, September 13-September 16, The Bell House and Union Hall, Various Prices.
Two inviolable rules of New York comedy: Eugene Mirman is the nicest guy in the world, and he knows everyone. As such the lovable Russian-born absurdist (and Bob's Burgers voice) has called in big names like Sarah Silverman, Todd Barry, John Mulaney and "special guests" to celebrate five years of getting paid to goof off with his friends. Mirman is an expert curator, so the entire event is worth your consideration, but if you can only hit up one, perhaps try "Comedians Two To Five Years Away From Their Own TV Shows" at Union Hall. I personally saw Reggie Watts at the Festival in a similar bill three years ago and…yeah. Mirman wouldn't lie to you. He's too nice of a guy. -Michael Tedder
Tortoise, Future Island, Matmos, Liturgy, D. Charles Speer And The Helix, September 15 at Webster Hall, $20
Let me be clear that I'm complimenting the taste and eclectic vision of Thrill Jockey's patrons when I declare that the 20th anniversary celebration party for the beloved independent label makes no sense. I know indie fans have broad taste, but is there really anybody out there that likes the jazzy, slow-building instrumentals of Tortoise, the clicks-and-whirr laptop funk of Matmos, the uplifting face melting of Liturgy, the "watch your accountant have a nervous breakdown over Devo-house" routine of Future Islands and the dusky country of D. Charles Speer And The Helix and wants to see all of them in one night? Well, head jockey Bettina Richards does, and that's good enough for the rest of us. -MT
