It’s the time of year when the last few big outdoor shows hit town (U2 at Soldier Field),but for the most part the action will move indoors on a smaller and more intimate scale – and there’s nothing bad about that. Here are a few of the key fall concerts:

U2: The Irish quartet launches its North American tour with an in-the-round spectacle beneath a four-legged “War of the Worlds”-style contraption. Presumably there will be music, as well, in an attempt to revive sales of its latest album, “No Line on the Horizon,” Sept. 12-13 at Soldier Field, $252, $97, $57, $32; ticketmaster.com.

Bruce Springsteen and the E Street Band: The Boss swings back into town for the second time this year, but rather than focusing on his 2009 album “Working on a Dream” he’ll be performing his 1975 masterpiece, “Born to Run,”  front to back, plus assorted songs from throughout his career, Sept. 20 at United Center, 1901 W. Madison, $98 and $65; ticketmaster.com.

Phoenix: The French quartet is one of the year’s big success stories. After three up-and-down albums, they knocked it out of the park with the anthemic electro-rock on “Wolfgang Amadeus Phoenix,” Sept. 23 at the Aragon, 1106 W. Lawrence, $21; ticketmaster.com.

Allen Toussaint: The New Orleans master songwriter and producer is also a pretty darn good piano player, as evidenced by his latest CD of jazz standards, “The Bright Mississippi,” Sept. 26 at Old Town School of Folk Music, 4544 N. Lincoln Av., $24-$28; 773-728-6000.

Riot Fest: The premier punk festival in the land? This five-night blow-out plugs dozens of bands into five clubs and theaters, including local pioneers (Naked Raygun,Screeching Weasel),underground icons (Butthole Surfers, Dead Milkmen), veteran rabblerousers from coast-to-coast (Boston’s Street Dogs to Sacramento’s 7 Seconds)  and relative newcomers (Shot Baker, the Frankl Project), Oct. 7-11 at Congress Theatre, Metro, Subterranean, Beat Kitchen and Liars Club, various prices and multi-day packages available, details at riotfest.org; tickets at ticketweb.com.

Maxwell: The R&B sensuality flows from this gifted singer, back in fine form on “BLACKsummers’night” after nearly a decade-long hiatus, Oct. 8 at the United Center, 1901 W. Madison, $20-$150; ticketmaster.com.

Califone: Singer-guitarist Tim Rutili is also an accomplished filmmaker, and he’ll roll out his feature-length debut, “All My Friends are Funeral Singers,” with his band playing the soundtrack live, Oct. 10-11 at the Museum of Contemporary Art, 220 E. Chicago Av., $20; mcachicago.org.

Wilco: It’s a long way from Lounge Ax --- the sextet steps up to the arena level in its hometown, Oct. 18-19 at the UIC Pavilion, 1150 W. Harrison, $39.50; ticketmaster.com.

Monsters of Folk: My Morning Jacket’s Jim James, Bright Eyes’ Conor Oberst and Mike Mogis, and M. Ward join forces in something of an indie-rock super group, Oct. 30 at the Auditorium Theatre, 50 E. Congress Pkwy, $51, $46, $36.00; ticketmaster.com.

The Jesus Lizard: The legendary noise-rock quartet caps off its comeback year with a couple of hometown shows. No guarantees they’ll continue after these concerts, so prepare accordingly, Nov. 27-28 at Metro, 3730 N. Clark St., $25; etix.com.

greg@gregkot.com

Fall is traditionally the season of would-be blockbuster albums. The music industry inevitably rolls out its biggest hitters in hopes of generating sales for the holidays. This year is no exception, with major releases expected from Mariah Carey, Jay-Z, Carrie Underwood and Pearl Jam, plus the Beatles (allegedly sounding better than ever in their remastered, reissued glory). Here’s a rundown of what’s in store:

Rock:

Phish, “Joy” (Tuesday): The veteran jam-band returned to the road this year after breaking up in 2004, and punctuates its reunion with its first studio album in five years. 

Vivian Girls, “Everything Goes Wrong” (Tuesday): The East Coast trio follows up its self-titled 2008 indie-rock hit with a longer, darker album steeped in punk guitar and haunting girl-group harmonies.

Beatles reissues (Wednesday): The band’s 12 original studio albums plus “Past Masters Vol. I and II” and “Magical Mystery Tour” will be remastered and tricked out with video, liner notes and photos, the catalog’s first major sonic upgrade since the start of the compact-disc era.

Muse, “The Resistance” (Sept. 14): They’re huge in Britain, not so much here. The anthem-mongering trio aims to change that with its fifth studio release. Prog-rock alert: There’s a three-part suite with the word “Exogenesis” in the title.

Pearl Jam, “Backspacer,” (Sept. 20): Hooking up with Target for an exclusive release has got some of the Seattle quintet’s fans in a lather, but the music is a throwback to the band’s grunge-coated past.

AFI, “Crash Love” (Sept. 29): The eighth album from these California Goth-rockers and first since 2006 is reported to be less about subtlety and more about straight-up rock.

Alice in Chains, “Black Gives Way to Blue” (Sept. 29): The Seattle grunge-metal band releases its first album since 1995; relative newcomer William DuVall shares lead vocals with guitarist Jerry Cantrell. The title track, with Elton John on piano, salutes founding singer Layne Staley, who died in 2002.

Weezer, “Raditude” (Oct. 27): As suggested by the presumably tongue-in-cheek  title, singer Rivers Cuomo is promising a “fun” pop-rock record, in a further move away from the emotional blood-letting of his ‘90s albums.

Hip-hop

Jay-Z, “The Blueprint 3” (Sept. 11): Exactly eight years after the release of the first “Blueprint” album, the master MC drops the third in the series with Kanye West production and numerous guest stars, including Alicia Keys, Rihanna, Young Jeezy and Pharrell Williams.

Kid Cudi, “Man on The Moon: The End of Day” (Sept. 15): The Kanye West protégé follows up his hit single “Day ‘n’ Nite” with a five-part concept album, with production by West and “narration” by Common.

Missy Elliott, “Block Party” (Sept. 22): Production by longtime collaborator Timbaland, plus Pharrell Williams, Swizz Beatz and T-Pain, and a cameo appearance by (who else?) Lil Wayne.

Sean "Diddy" Combs, “Last Train to Paris” (Nov. 24): The hip-hop mogul’s fifth studio album will trace the journey of a character from London to Paris in pursuit of an elusive femme fatale.

Lil Wayne, “Rebirth” (Nov. 24): Is the world ready for Lil Wayne’s guitar solo? The frequently delayed seventh studio album from the prolific New Orleans MC will reportedly feature a more rock-oriented sound and collaborations with Fall Out Boy and Lenny Kravitz.

Pop

Nelly Furtado, “Mi Plan” (Sept. 15): The Portuguese-Canadian singer follows the pop breakthrough of her 2006 release “Loose” with an album sung exclusively in Spanish.

Mariah Carey, “Memoirs of an Imperfect Angel” (Sept. 29): The singer has been working with producer Timbaland for the first time, and has recorded a cover of Foreigner’s “I Want to Know What Love Is” for her 12th studio album.

Barbra Streisand, “Love is the Answer” (Sept. 29): Babs digs into some classic ballads and cabaret standards (“In the Wee Small Hours,” “Smoke Gets in Your Eyes”) with Diana Krall producing and Johnny Mandel handling orchestral arrangements.

Swell Season, “Strict Joy” (Oct. 27): The third album from Glen Hansard and Markéta Irglová, the charming if unlikely couple that melted hearts in the hit indie movie “Once.”

Sting, “If on a Winter's Night …” (Oct. 27): With the Police put to bed, Gordon Sumner furrows his brow and explores the frosty beauty of traditional carols and lullabies from the British isles.

Country

Brooks & Dunn, “#1's And Then Some” (Tuesday): Kix Brooks snd Ronnie Dunn, one of the biggest-selling duos of all time, announced in August that they were breaking up. But not before releasing a two-disc compilation of 28 hits and two new songs, to be followed by a 2010 farewell tour.

Rosanne Cash, “The List” (Oct. 6): The title refers to a list of the 100 greatest songs that the singer’s father, country icon Johnny Cash, once gave to her. She interprets 12 of them, including tracks by Hank Williams, the Carter Family and Merle Haggard, with a helping hand from Bruce Springsteen.

Toby Keith, “American Ride” (Oct. 6): Most country artists don’t want to risk losing sales by getting political. Not so with Keith, who lets his views fly on everything from immigration to global warming on the title song.

Tim McGraw, “Southern Voice” (Oct. 20): His 12th studio release is part of a busy season from Faith Hill’s main squeeze; he’s also scheduled to star in the football movie “The Blind Side.” The first single, "It's a Business Doing Pleasure with You," was cowritten by Nickelback’s Chad Kroeger.

Carrie Underwood, title to be announced (Nov. 3): Whatever it’s called, the former “American Idol” winner’s third studio album is certain to be a big deal as it follows two multimillion-selling releases.

greg@gregkot.com

    The next few months offer a little bit of everything for the music fan, including an end-of-summer festival and few big arena shows. But the real action, as is usually the case once autumn arrives, is in the clubs and theaters, where some master performers get to strut their stuff in relatively intimate spaces. Here’s a rundown of some of the season’s must-see concerts:

    Hideout Block Party: There is no better way to wind up the festival season. This is one of the best and friendliest, with the beloved hole-in-the-wall club expanding with outdoor stages and a lineup that includes indie-rockers New Pornographers and Neko Case, Czech punk pioneers Plastic People of the Universe and Israeli metal-heads Monotonix, Sept. 20-21 at the Hideout, 1354 W. Wabansia, $25 or two-day pass $45; ticketweb.com.