Bruising Philadelphia hard-rock outfitSheer Magand chilled-out dance trioThe xxare our picks for the best shows around Denver this week. See you there, and if you don’t make it out, follow our music musings onand our selfies on. If you do, mind where.
Sheer Mag
The crunch of Philadelphia hard rock group Sheer Mag smarts like a fist to the stomach and sounds like the second coming of T Rex. Front womanTina Halladay orchestrates jags of fuzzed-out riffs and tight drum rhythms, screaming mottos of the young and restless: “Make a plan and demand what the damage pays / Fan the flames.” The band is as fiercely independent as it is rock ’em, sock ’em, refusing to touch social media (“It’s just kinda silly to be like, ‘OK, first thing’s first:Gotta make a Facebook page,” Halladay told Rolling Stone) and cobbling together a smashing debut album and tour with little help from the music industry’s powers that be. Catch these can’t-miss upstarts at the Larimer Lounge on Oct. 7. Tickets are $13-$15 via .
The xx
Sure, some millennials just want to have fun. But the rest of them just want to chill. Perhaps no band epitomized this first and more resolutely than fashionable down-tempo dance trio The xx. The band’s 2009 debut album establish its signature sound, a cross between a rave on barbiturates and a night at the house of your saddest friend. Whether that mash-up seems like it’d scan, it’s a winning combo, one that coalesces on “I See You,” the band’s latest album. The time the band has spent crafting its sound in the last 8 years is paying dividends, as it headlines Red Rocks Amphitheatre on Oct. 9. The opener, Perfume Genius, is just as essential in this fascinating, measured double-bill. Tickets are$50.95-$56 via .
