Mike Posner
10/22 at 11:30 p.m.; S.O.B.'s, 204 Varick St., at W. Houston St.; 212-243-4940
Posner's an unlikely candidate for the title of "mellifluous R&B crooner": He dresses like a skateboard punk; he's still in college (at Duke University, no less); he's white. But mellifluous R&B crooner he is, and one with a major-label deal (with J Records/RCA) and a sense of humor (check out his underground hit "Drug Dealer Girl"), to boot.

Cymbals Eat Guitars
10/23 at 8 p.m.; (Le) Poisson Rouge, 158 Bleecker St., nr. Thompson St.; 212-505-3474
Staten Island's most notable musical export since the Wu-Tang Clan, Cymbals Eat Guitars broke out with this year's self-released debut Why There Are Mountains and are in the middle of a modest hype storm. Are they another Pitchfork-endorsed burnout, or the real deal? You decide!

School of Seven Bells
10/23 at 11:45 p.m.; Music Hall of Williamsburg, 66 N. Sixth St., nr. Wythe Ave., Williamsburg, Brooklyn; 718-486-5400
It’s appropriate that the atmospheric electronica group named themselves after a mythical South American school for pickpockets, as they built themselves by nabbing members from groups On! Air! Library! and Secret Machines. Last year at CMJ their smoke machine broke, flooding the stage and making for one of the more memorable moments of the festival. This year, look for them to step up their game.

Dum Dum Girls.    (Photo: Courtesy of Sub Pop)

Dum Dum Girls
10/24 at 8 p.m.; Mercury Lounge, 217 E. Houston St., nr. Ludlow St.; 212-260-4700
The lo-fi act is really just one dum-dum girl, the enigmatic Dee Dee. She played her first show this summer, and has already jumped from local standout Captured Tracks to indie stalwart Sub Pop. Check her out before she leaps again.

The New Collisions
10/24 at 8 p.m.; The Bowery Poetry Club, 308 Bowery, nr. Bleecker St.; 212-614-0505
The New Wave–indebted Boston pop-rock act has been together for less than a year, but has already logged tours of duty with the B-52's and Blondie, and you can see why in their ultraenergetic live show. Make sure to check them out them if you like fun.

Related:

• Archive: “Bar Buzz”
• Articles by Amos Barshad