The Ten

Don’t-miss picks for October 4 through October 10, 2017

1 Fleet Foxes

Folk:After six years away from the spotlight and the loss of drummer Josh Tillman (who now sells out venues as Father John Misty), this Seattle quintet returned in June with Crack-Up, a stunning third LP. The album earned the same plaudits as Fleet Foxes’ first two records, but it also found them experimenting—with orchestral sounds, complex song structures, and genre-defying medleys. Hear the modern-day psych-rockers (in all their four-part harmonies) in the regal Chicago Theatre.
10/4 at 7:30 p.m. $50.50. Chicago Theatre. ticketmaster.com

2 Moses Sumney

R&B:This L.A. singer gets lumped in with R&B acts for his airy voice, but his gorgeous new album, Aromanticism, defies categorization. On it, Sumney colors minimalist neo-soul with an array of vocal styles, from a soaring falsetto to a pit-deep croon. His popularity is reminiscent of a time when R&B singers were more free to take risks in the mainstream, producing a brand of experimental music that has since been relegated to the underground.
10/4 at 7 p.m. $21–$23. Old Town School of Folk Music. oldtownschool.org

3 Hard Times

Theater:Lookingglass remounts Charles Dickens’s industrial-age gem. Complete with colorful storytelling circus stunts, the plot follows plucky orphan Sissy Jupe through hard times in 19th-century London. Aerialists and acrobats make the adventure all the more delightful.
10/4–1/14. $40–$45. Lookingglass. lookingglasstheatre.org

4 Punk

Theater:Michael Allen Harris takes audiences inside a maximum security prison, where a sequestered wing houses gay, bisexual, and transgender inmates. Tension mounts when a new prisoner, sentenced to life for murdering a gay man, asks to be transferred to that same GBT block. The New Colony’s 2016 workshop of this show was as unsettling as it was compelling. With the kinks worked out, expect nothing short of genius.
10/4–11/5. $15–$20. New Colony at Den Theatre. thenewcolony.org

5 Jen Kirkman

Comedy:This veteran of Funny or Die, Drunk History, and Chelsea Lately has made a career of spotlighting the absurd challenges of adult life—and her own failures rising to them. Here, she performs on the heels of a new Netflix special, Just Keep Livin’?, a follow-up to 2015’s bonkers-popular I’m Gonna Die Alone (and I Feel Fine).
10/6 at 9 p.m. $22–$25. Thalia Hall. thaliahallchicago.com

6 Taste Talks Chicago

Food:This traveling national food fest stops in four cities: Brooklyn, L.A., Miami, and Chicago, with each iteration boasting talks, tastings, and parties hosted by local marquee chefs. This year’s Chicago roster includes Abe Conlon (Fat Rice), Mindy Segal (Mindy’s HotChocolate), Diana Dávila (Mi Tocaya Antojería), and Top Chef alum Sarah Grueneberg (Monteverde).
10/6–8. $49–$299. Various venues. tastetalks.com

7 Circuit Des Yeux

Folk:Best known for her work with the Velvet Underground, singer and model Nico has spent most of her career undervalued. Her solo debut, Chelsea Girl, which turns 50 this fall, is an oft-overlooked artifact of 1960s New York. Named for an Andy Warhol movie in which Nico starred, it features songs penned by the likes of Bob Dylan and Jackson Browne. Here, local noise-folk performer Circuit des Yeux (see “Haley Fohr Embraces the Dissonant on New Circuit Des Yeux Album” for more on her) brings those songs to life in all their orchestral grandeur—in an eerie setting.
10/7 at 7 p.m. $20. Bohemian National Cemetery. emptybottle.com

8 Visceral Dance Chicago

Dance:Chicago’s contemporary powerhouse opens its fifth season with a premiere by Danielle Agami (formerly of the Israeli company Batsheva), plus audience favorites from the fourth season: Minor Threat by Mark Godden, Ruff Celts by Marguerite Donlon, and Synapse by Nick Pupillo, Visceral’s artistic director. See “Danielle Agami Brings Raw, Animalistic Style to Visceral Dance” for more.
10/7 at 7:30 p.m. $25–$70. Harris Theater. harristheaterchicago.org

9 Dracula

Theater:Prepare to see the dark count in a whole new light. Using Bram Stoker’s gothic novel as a launching pad, the Hypocrites devise their own take on the toothy terror and his predilection for virgin blood. With any luck at all, they have the makings of a splendid Halloween horror on their hands.
10/7–11/5. $30–$55. The Hypocrites at Mercury Theater. the-hypocrites.com

10 Bill Murray and Jan Vogler

Classical:Far from wonky Wes Anderson and farther still from the goofy Caddyshack, Murray waxes serious on this tour of his songs-and-readings album, New Worlds, performing with classical cellist Jan Vogler.
10/10 at 7:30 p.m. Sold out; see resellers. Symphony Center.