The Flaming Lips, for all their Front Range festival appearances (Monolith, Unlimited Sunshine) and co-starring gigs (Ween, Beck), have never headlined Red Rocks Amphitheatre. That changes on Sunday with the carnivalesque psych-rockers’ big gig, with Oklahoma sound-alikes Stardeath & the White Dwarfs and the mighty Explosions in the Sky. The Lips’ spectacle — confetti cannons, giant plastic balls, surreal costumes and more flashing lights than a high-speed police chase — is well- known, but that doesn’t drain an ounce of its inclusive grandeur, especially in such a gorgeous setting. $36.75-$46.50. Ticketmaster Depeche Mode has achieved everything a respectable synth-pop group could dream of: Its members are elder statesmen of the electro scene, its best songs endure as templates for the genre and, above all, it’s producing respectable (if uneven) work nearly three decades after its debut. That, and the U.K. group’s dark melodies and tinny beats are still a blast live. The group plays Thursday at Red Rocks with Swedish indie rockers Peter Bjorn and John — a surprisingly sunny, but welcome, choice for an opener. $55-$89.
John Wenzel: 303-954-1642 or jwenzel@denverpost.com
