8:30 p.m. TIM EASTON. Stunning alt-folk with an edge. Southpaw.
10 p.m. BEN LEE. Sing along, “My head’s a box full of nothing and that’s the way I like it.” Irving Plaza.
11:25 p.m. COLD WAR KIDS. The most engaging Britpop-blues band ever to come from Long Beach, Calif. Bowery Ballroom. (Stick around for TAPES ‘N TAPES at 12:30 a.m.)
1 a.m. GIRL TALK. His mash-ups are so great (Ciara + Elastica = magic), Gregg Gillis makes Steve Winwood’s “Valerie” sound hot. Mercury Lounge.