Ahhh, the nip of Autumn is finally flirting, which turns memories of those many splendid summer outdoor concerts into thought of those cozy evenings hangin’ at the club, or huddling alongside thousands of equally rabid fans in one of our area theaters or sports arenas.

Speaking of perfect shows in perfect theaters, if you love a crooner, don’t pass up the chance to see a wonderful songstress in a room that was designed to showcase great singers. My pals at LiveDaily.com tell me KD LANG has mapped a month-long tour for early 2008 as she gets ready to release Watershed, her first album of original material in almost eight years.

With the new album marked for release in early February, the veteran singer/songwriter will kick off her support trek on February 21 in her homeland, opening in Toronto. The tour will cover 23 dates in 18 cities including neighboring Waterbury for a March 16 stop at The Palace. She also plays a Leap Year double-header at Lincoln Center in New York, February 28-29.

THE SPICE GIRLS tour has been selling briskly, so the brassy brats are boomeranging back to the region for three shows February 6-7 in Uniondale’s Nassau Veterans Memorial Coliseum, and then to the New Jersey Meadowlands on February 13 at the Continental Airlines Arena.

In advance of the tour, the band’s website reports the quintet will release a best-of set via an exclusive partnership with retailer Victoria’s Secret. Spice Girls: Greatest Hits, which features 13 of the British group’s best-selling singles, two new songs and three downloadable remixes, will be available only in Victoria’s Secret stores in the US and on the company’s website for a two-month period beginning November 13.

The album will then be available nationwide January 15, at which time Capitol Music Group will release a deluxe edition including a DVD with all of the Spice Girls’ promotional videos. The label will also offer a gift-box version with CD, DVD, karaoke disc and bracelet.

The Spice Girls — Victoria Beckham (who went by Posh Spice when the band was in its heyday), Mel B. (Scary Spice), Emma Bunton (Baby Spice), Melanie C. (Sporty Spice) and Geri Halliwell (Ginger Spice) — burst onto the scene in the mid-90s and topped radio charts with the song “Wannabe,” which broke the record for the highest debut by a British band on Billboard’s Hot 100, according to a press release.

The inspiring voice of Stevie Wonder will be heard on the Connecticut stage again as the Motown icon hits Mohegan Sun’s Arena November 14 and 16. I had a chance to sample some Stevie at a recent benefit in New York and he was as wonderful and inspiring as ever, so if you can wrangle a seat, it’s a show not to be missed.

And if the Big Apple is more your style, Mr Wonder is also headlining Madison Square Garden November 17.

Next weekend’s four band bill in Bridgeport is among an impressive list of shows billed as The Second Annual Rock For Darfur, a single-day networking of 37 pre-scheduled concerts around the world November 10, to raise money for the humanitarian crisis in Sudan.

A portion of proceeds from each show will be donated to Oxfam America and the Save Darfur Coalition. Oxfam will use its share of the proceeds to provide people in Chad and the Darfur region of Sudan with “basic supplies such as clean water, shelter, blankets, soap and disease prevention programs,” according to a press release.

While the Save Darfur Coalition “raises public awareness about the ongoing genocide in Darfur and mobilizes a unified response to the atrocities that threaten the lives of people throughout the Darfur region.” Last year’s inaugural edition of the literal banding-together effort included 22 concerts and raised about $50,000 for relief efforts, according to event sponsor, MySpace.

Fall Out Boy headlines The Young Wild Things Tour with support from Plain White T’s, Gym Class Heroes and Cute is What We Aim For. Currently, tickets are all but gonzo for this socially conscious stop at Harbor Yard Arena.

Not to be outdone by the old master KENNY ROGERS who announced his holiday show last week in this space, Clay Aiken, who began his rise to fame on the second season of the smash hit reality talent show American Idol in 2003, is embarking on his fourth annual Christmas tour this year and will be making a stop at Mohegan Sun Arena on Sunday, December 9, at 7pm.

All tickets are $35 and are available now through TicketMaster only.  TicketMaster customers may log on to TticketMaster.com, call any TicketMaster Charge By Phone number, or visit any TicketMaster outlet. 

Building upon the success of their first-ever holiday album, which debuted last year, Hall & Oates re-released Home for Christmas on September 25 to music retailers nationwide. Produced by Daryl Hall and longtime collaborators T-Bone Wolk and Greg Bieck, Home for Christmas is a soulful seasonal effort featuring the world’s best-selling musical duo giving new and original life to traditional holiday anthems and a re-recording of “Jingle Bell Rock,” a promo-only single that was a hit for the duo for many years.

You can check out one of the duo’s two holiday themed shows December 14 and 15 at Foxwoods Resort Casino. Just go to Foxwoods.com for information and ticketing.

On the local front, Band Together, a non-profit group of musicians helping local families in need, will present The Concert for Gianna - A Rock and Soul Review, on Friday, November 16, at the Fairfield Theatre Company, 70 Sanford Street in Fairfield.  Showtime is 7:30 pm and doors open at 7.

One hundred percent of the proceeds will go directly to support the medical needs of 10-year-old Gianna Sarica of Fairfield, who was recently diagnosed with a rare form of brain cancer. Scheduled to perform at the Band Together benefit event are Jen Durkin, Gerald Goode, Christine Tambakis, Renard Boissiere, Butch Taylor, Chris Coogan, Tyger MacNeal, Joe Meo, Rob Fried, Jerry Vigorito and Master Illusionist David Martin.

Tickets are $37 for FTC members and $47 to the general public.  Admission also includes entry to an exciting after-party at the Theatre, featuring the live music of Trippyphonics, a cash bar and delicious food generously donated by local businesses.  Tickets for the after-party only are available for $22.

To order tickets, make a donation or to get more information, call 203-259-1036 or visit FairfieldTheatre.org.

Lewis Black is one of the most prolific and popular performers working today. He executes a brilliant trifecta as stand-up comedian, actor and author. His live performances, most of all, provide a cathartic release of anger and disillusionment for his audience.

A passionate performer who is more pissed-off optimist than mean-spirited curmudgeon, he has perfected expressing what the rest of us cannot say in polite company. See him live Thursday, March 27, and Friday, March 28, at 8 at The Palace Theatre, 61 Atlantic Street, Stamford. Order tickets now at scaLIVE.org.

Jann Klose will be playing the Reality Cafe, 2385 Main Street, in the Courtyard of the Stratford Hotel in Stratford on November 17, at 8 pm.  He will be playing two sets, and there’s a suggested donation of $5. 

Jann is finishing his new album, Reverie, for a late November release. Part of the record, including the single “Beautiful Dream/Hold Me Down,” was produced by Stewart Lerman who has collaborated with Dar Williams, Loudon Wainwright III, and contributed to film music including The Aviator. The album is available for downloads on eMusic.com and iTunes.com, and also for sale at Jann’s shows. The venue’s phone number is 203-375-5565, and its web site is www.reality-cafe.com.

Upcoming Shows

November 2 — Clint Black at The Ridgefield Playhouse, Ridgefield; Dar Williams plays Fairfield University, Fairfield; Rain – The Beatles Experience plays a multimedia show at The Palace Theater, Waterbury; Novus Dae and Vespera at The Webster Theatre/Underground, Hartford.

November 3 — Jars of Clay headlining Rock on the Sound, Arena at Harbor Yard, Bridgeport; The Cast of Beatlemania, New Milford High School; Chris Berardo & The DesBerardos at the Redding Roadhouse, Redding; David Bromberg at the Stamford Center For The Arts, Stamford; Automatic Love Letter with Between The Trees at the Trackside Teen Center, Wilton; Clint Black rolls into Foxwoods Resort Casino in Mashantucket; The Ten Tenors grace the Palace Theater, Waterbury; Silverstein with support from Dance Gavin Dance and From Autumn To Ashes at Toad’s Place, New Haven.

November 4 — Corinne West playing Ridgefield’s Acoustic Celebration; Cajun king Allen Toussaint plays the Ridgefield Playhouse; Dar Williams is headlining the Towne Crier Cafe in Pawling, N.Y.; United States Marine Band at Southern Connecticut State University, New Haven;  Trapt  with Endeverafter and Submersed at Toad’s Place, New Haven.

November 6 — Blues Traveler with support from Lisa Bouchelle at the Ridgefield Playhouse.

November 8 — Dark Star Orchestra plays a replica Grateful Dead set at the Ridgefield Playhouse, Ridgefield; Tally Hall with Via Audio headline Toquet Hall, Westport.

November 9 — Playhouse Disney Live! is at the Chevrolet Theatre in Wallingford; Dark Star Orchestra plays a second replica Grateful Dead set at the Ridgefield Playhouse, Ridgefield; Colin Mochrie & Brad Sherwood headline the Stamford Center For The Arts; Popa Chubby rocks the Towne Crier Cafe in Pawling, N.Y.; Jim Weider’s Project Percolator percolates FTC Stage One in Fairfield; Travis Tritt headlines Foxwoods Resort Casino, Mashantucket.

November 10 — “Rock For Darfur”  starring Cute Is What We Aim For, Fall Out Boy, Gym Class Heroes and Plain White T’s at Bridgeport’s Arena at Harbor Yard; Playhouse Disney Live! Plays day two at the Chevrolet Theatre in Wallingford; Melt Banana with Vaz at the Heirloom Arts Theatre in Danbury; Loudon Wainwright III headlines the FTC Stage One, Fairfield;  Deborah Harry performs at Foxwoods Resort Casino, Mashantucket; The Nields play the Sounding Board, West Hartford; The Breakfast are at Sully’s Pub, Hartford; The Debbie Davies Band play Ziggy’s, Fairfield.

November 11 — Playhouse Disney Live! Plays day three at the Chevrolet Theatre in Wallingford; Lucy Kaplansky plays the Ridgefield Library, Ridgefield; Julia Sweeney headlines the Ridgefield Playhouse, Ridgefield; Cheryl Wheeler appears at the Towne Crier Cafe, Pawling, NY.