Pop

Full reviews of recent concerts: nytimes.com/music.

AKRON/FAMILY (Tomorrow) The layered and deceptively melodic Akron/Family is a quiescent lo-fi quartet that aims to explore the dark crannies and latent explosiveness of Americana. 8 and 10 p.m., Tonic, 107 Norfolk Street, near Delancey Street, Lower East Side; (212) 358-7501, $10. (Laura Sinagra)

FIONA APPLE (Tonight) As a teenage singer-songwriter, Ms. Apple made provocative therapy pop, combining a bad girl's desire with the sad damage of a violence victim. Her recent batch of moody, wordy, at times thrilling declarations of identity and lover's recriminations languished until rough mixes produced by Jon Brion surfaced and her label finally released an album of retooled versions. 8 p.m., Nokia Theater, 1515 Broadway, at 44th Street, ticketmaster.com or (212) 307-7171; $40. (Sinagra)

BABYFACE (Tomorrow) Kenneth (Babyface) Edmonds, the crooner and hit maker for Whitney Houston and Boys II Men, returns with new, stripped-down material for an aging fan base he casts as "grown and sexy." 8 p.m., Apollo Theater, 253 West 125th Street, Harlem, (212) 749-5838 or (212) 864-0372; $45 to $55.

(Sinagra)

BETTY (Tonight and tomorrow) With increased notoriety, thanks to Showtime's "L Word," the anything-goes activist cabaret pop band Betty plays holiday fare, joined tonight by Nona Hendryx, and tomorrow by Everett Bradley. 9:30 p.m., Joe's Pub, 425 Lafayette Street, at Astor Place, East Village, (212) 239-6200; $20. (Sinagra)

BREED LOVE ODYSSEY TOUR: FEATURING TALIB KWELI, MOS DEF, JEAN GRAE, PHAROAHE MONCH, K'NAAN (Monday and Tuesday) This collection of like-minded hip-hoppers often make up in righteous spoken-word panache for tame beats. The brainy rhymer Mr. Kweli and his former partner Mos Def revisit their collaborative heyday. 8 p.m., B. B. King Blues Club and Grill, 243 West 42nd Street, Manhattan, (212) 997-4144; $45. (Sinagra)

THE COMAS, SAM CHAMPION (Wednesday) Like a lot of indie-rock bands, the Comas seem tentative about really trying. But when they do, as on the best cuts from last year's dreamy "Conductor" (Yep Roc), their portrayals of wage slavery and lolling slacker lust exude an intriguing passive-aggression. The ambling 90's slacker-rock nostalgists Sam Champion open. 9 p.m., Rothko, 116 Suffolk Street, Lower East Side, (212) 475-7088; $10. (Sinagra)

CORMEGA, KILLAH PRIEST (Tomorrow) The raw, observant Cormega is part of the Queensbridge rap crew that spawned lots of other acts, but he's never gained more than cult and critical fame. Killah Priest is a Wu Tang Clan member who has divided his time between music and cultural edification. With the D.J.'s Statik Selektah and Ready Cee. 9 p.m., Southpaw, 125 Fifth Avenue, near Sterling Place, Park Slope, Brooklyn, (718) 230-0236; $15 in advance, $20 at the door. (Sinagra)

MORRIS DAY & THE TIME (Tomorrow) In its heyday, this Minneapolis funk band played Prince's energetic rivals in the movie "Purple Rain." The "Jungle Love" hit makers are still pumping their keyboard-based grooves, with the dapperly overdone Morris Day out front and his trusty "valet" Jerome Benton by his side. 8 p.m. and 10 p.m., B. B. King's Blues Club and Grill, 243 West 42nd Street, Manhattan, (212) 997-4144; $35 in advance, $40 at the door. (Sinagra)

DISTURBED, CORROSION OF CONFORMITY (Tuesday and Wednesday) Playing nu-metal in the late 90's, the Disturbed proffered the same combination of hard-rock riffs and lyrical complaints that fueled bands like Slipknot. Corrosion of Conformity has been around since hardcore punk's 80's heyday but benefited from the rise of hard 90's metal. 8 p.m., Nokia Theater, 1515 Broadway, at 44th Street, ticketmaster.com or (212) 307-7171; $25 (sold out). (Sinagra)

THE DONNAS (Thursday) The brash charm of these rockers has always teetered between fabulous and prefabricated. But any feisty put-ons fall away when the guitarist Donna R. (Allison Robertson) lays into her three-chord Ramones riffs, and her more recent arena-rock solos, with single-minded verve. 9 p.m., Irving Plaza, 17 Irving Place, at 15th Street, Manhattan, (212) 777-6800, $18.50 in advance and $20 at the door. (Sinagra)

DONOVAN (Tonight) The singer-songwriter responsible for both "Season of the Witch" and the best scene in the Bob Dylan documentary "Don't Look Back" continues his hurdy-gurdy grooviness. 8 p.m., Society for Ethical Culture, 2 West 64th Street, Manhattan, www.ticketmaster.com or (212) 307-7171; $40 and $45. (Sinagra)

DWELE (Sunday) This Detroit neo-soul singer harks back to the R & B of the 70's, but unlike those artists for whom that aesthetic means keeping a distance from hip-hop, he's also working in that arena, recording with rappers like his hometown's Slum Village. Abby Dobson opens. 8 p.m., S.O.B.'s, 204 Varick Street, South Village, (212) 243-4940; $20 in advance, $22 at the door. (Sinagra)

EXPLOSIONS IN THE SKY (Sunday, Monday and Wednesday) This Midland, Tex., band makes melancholy instrumental music in the vein of Godspeed You Black Emperor, but perhaps a little more contemplative. There's an expanse to it, kind of like watching storm clouds gather from afar. 8 p.m., Bowery Ballroom, 6 Delancey Street, near the Bowery, Lower East Side, (212) 533-2111; $15 (sold out). (Sinagra)

MITCHELL FROOM (Wednesday) This producer of career-shaping albums by the likes of Los Lobos and his ex-wife Suzanne Vega makes his own music, which jumps genres. His latest solo album is centered on instrumental piano compositions, filigreed with harmoniums and pump organs. 9:30 p.m., Joe's Pub, 425 Lafayette Street, at Astor Place, East Village, (212) 239-6200; $20. (Sinagra)

GENE LOVES JEZEBEL (Tomorrow) The twin-brother call-and-response combo of Michael and Jay Aston was new wave gold in the 80's. After their split, both recorded as Gene Loves Jezebel, but now Michael's got the name and continues to make ominous goth-pop. 9:30 p.m., Albion Club at Downtime, 251 West 30th Street, (718) 260-0092, $15 in advance, $20 at the door. (Sinagra)

JOHN WESLEY HARDING (Tuesday) Mr. Harding is an author and singer-songwriter whose alt-country tunes are informed by power-pop. 12:30 p.m., Winter Garden, World Financial Center, West and Vesey Streets, Lower Manhattan, worldfinancialcenter.com, (212) 945-2600; free. (Sinagra) MARK MALLMAN (Monday) The Minneapolis keyboardist Mark Mallman would mythologize himself into relevance if he could: his day-and-a-half "marathon" shows in his hometown have set Guinness world records for "longest song." But this high-voltage showman has some glam-pop chops too. 8:30 p.m., Pianos, 158 Ludlow Street, Lower East Side, (212) 420-1466; $7. (Sinagra)

MARAH (Tonight) This Philly-bred band has, in its decade-plus of existence, pushed beyond scruffy alt-country into the realms of quirky bar rock and lo-fi 70's folk. 8 p.m., Irving Plaza, 17 Irving Place, at 15th Street, Manhattan, (212) 777-6800; $15. (Sinagra)

DAVE MATTHEWS BAND (Tonight and tomorrow) Mr. Matthews, a superstar on the jam-band circuit, embodies the bliss and torment of a regular guy whose everyday joys are at times tainted by dark moods and unruly desires. Of course, he wouldn't be so popular if he didn't have the growl-to-falsetto voice to pull it off. 7:30 p.m., Madison Square Garden, (212) 465-6741; $52.50. (Sinagra)

NO NECK BLUES BAND (Tomorrow) This psychedelic urban-primitivist collective continues to fetishize its own obscurity. Its new music aims for slightly more accessibility. With Excepter and Pigeons. 8 p.m., Syrup Room, 100 Ingraham Street, at Knickerbocker Street, East Williamsburg Industrial Park, Brooklyn, (917) 608-2467; $10. (Sinagra)

SINEAD O'CONNOR WITH SLY AND ROBBIE (Tonight) In the 90's, this hauntingly voiced Irish pop star attacked organized religion as an agent of political docility. As a born-again Rasta, she has found a religion more to her liking, recording a collection of classic reggae songs with the legendary producers Sly and Robbie, who join her here. 7 p.m., Webster Hall, 125 East 11th Street, East Village, (212) 353-1600; $50. (Sinagra)

RAILROAD EARTH (Tomorrow) Railroad Earth has gained a following among jam-band fans with its rock take on improvisational bluegrass and Celtic folk-jazz. 8 p.m., Bowery Ballroom, 6 Delancey Street, Lower East Side, (212) 533-2111; $18 in advance, $22 at the door. (Sinagra)

REVEREND HORTON HEAT, SUPERSUCKERS (Thursday) The psychobilly evangelist Reverend Horton Heat continues to lean hard on dirty South showmanship. He is paired here with the Supersuckers and their amiable Satanist speed-metal. 9 p.m., Southpaw, 125 Fifth Avenue, near Sterling Place, Park Slope, Brooklyn, (718) 230-0236; $20 (sold out). (Sinagra)

ROCHES (Thursday) The sisters Maggie, Terre and Suzzy have been making lovely, idiosyncratic folk-pop in various configurations for three decades, singing and writing about things like leaving home, loving Mom and begging for an old job back. Here they'll play old favorites and add some quirkiness to holiday songs with their brother Dave and the percussionist Marlon Cherry. 8 p.m., Town Hall, 123 West 43rd Street, Manhattan, (212) 840-2824; $27.50 and $37.50. (Sinagra)

GWEN STEFANI, CIARA (Thursday) Ms. Stefani, the lead singer of the pop-ska band No Doubt, was always destined for savvier collaborators. Her girl-next-door-meets-plastic-fashionista vibe is enhanced with top producers' hip-hop beats. The R & B singer Ciara tries to fill the shoes of Aaliyah, a singer who could ride hip-hop beats with a conspiratorial, low-key urgency. 8 p.m., Madison Square Garden, 33rd Street and Seventh Avenue, (212) 465-6741; $39.50 to $75.00. (Sinagra)

LAURA VEIRS, JENNIFER O'CONNOR (Sunday) Seattle's versatile-voiced Seattle singer-songwriter Laura Veirs sets her smart, introspective pop musings apart from other singer-songwriter fare with atmospheric full-band instrumental work that weaves in violas and acoustic bass without sounding precious. The singer-songwriter Jennifer O'Connor opens. 8 p.m, Mercury Lounge, 217 East Houston Street, at Ludlow Street, Lower East Side, (212) 260-4700; $12. (Sinagra)

WORLD/INFERNO FRIENDSHIP SOCIETY (Sunday) This eclectic, cacophonous indie collective creates a kind of industrial mazurka fanfare. 5 p.m., Northsix, 66 North Sixth Street, Williamsburg, Brooklyn, (718) 599-5103; $12. (Sinagra)

X, JULIANA HATFIELD (Tonight) The L.A. band X chiseled out its own niche - trashy rockabilly marriage-punk. This is the original lineup: the vocalist Exene Cervenka, the vocalist and bassist John Doe, the guitarist Billy Zoom and the drummer D. J. Bonebrake. Ms. Hatfield's voice, that of a weary but urgent ingénue, added sharp charm to the music of the Blake Babies in the 80's and her own opinionated, confessional solo projects after that. 6:45 p.m., Roseland Ballroom, 239 West 52nd Street, Manhattan, (212) 777-6800; $29.50 in advance, $34 at the door. (Sinagra)