Now on sale
Death Cab for Cutie fans are an intensely loyal bunch. The melody- drenched Seattle quartet hit the big leagues when it signed to Atlantic for 2004’s breakthrough, “Plans,” a huge leap up from indie label Barsuk. But the faithful have hung on through each subsequent release and tour, no matter how far the band strays from its indie roots. Most of Death Cab’s May-July dates in the States (and Europe) were sold out weeks in advance. Tickets for Aug. 23 at Red Rocks Amphitheatre, with Frightened Rabbit, on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday. ($36.75-$42.50, Ticketmaster)
Moscow Ballet returns to Denver with its famous “Great Russian Nutcracker” production for the 19th annual North American tour, which stops by Dec. 9-10 at the Paramount Theatre. Tickets are on sale. ($28- $88, TicketHorse)
Rodney Carrington straddles comedy, music and acting as a wiseguy cowboy, but he smartly blends his wisecracks with sure- fire bits honed from years of radio and club work. He returns for his second Front Range appearance in a little over a year with a Dec. 2 show at the Budweiser Events Center. Tickets are on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday. ($44-$55, )
Queensrÿche’s sticky prog-metal will always live on through the unlikely breakout hit “Silent Lucidity,” which defined the band in the pre-Nirvana early ’90s. But that earnest, unintentionally hilarious ballad is only a glimpse of the group’s prolific writing and playing. Queensrÿche stops by the Ogden Theatre on Sept. 17, with tickets on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday. ($35, Ticketmaster)
O.A.R. comes back to Red Rocks on July 29 as part of its 21-city summer tour, which will promote a new, as-yet-unreleased record on Everfine Records. Tickets for the pop-oriented jam band’s concert are on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday. ($38.50-$42.50, Ticketmaster)
Ben Folds has yet to meet a wry one-liner he doesn’t like, but the quirky piano-popster is also a legitimately gifted songwriter, regardless of his facility with cheeky lyrics. He plays the Ogden Theatre on July 13 with Kenton Chen. Tickets are on sale at 10 a.m. Saturday. ($35, Ticketmaster)
John Wenzel: 303-954-1642 or jwenzel@denverpost.com
