The Best Concerts in Denver This Week

Music abounds! And there's a lot of metal.

December 6, 2021

CHVRCHES headlines the Mission Ballroom on Wednesday and the Boulder Theater on Thursday. Aaron Thackeray

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Scottish synth-pop trio CHVRCHES headlines the Mission Ballroom and Boulder Theater this week in support of its new album, Screen Violence, while the Oriental Theater brings in Turkish dark-wave band She Past Away and metal shock band GWAR. Also on tap this week are Thundercat, Atreyu and Ben Ottewell and Ian Ball of Gomez.

Here's what's happening in and around town this week:
She Past Away
Monday, December 6, 8 p.m.
Oriental Theater, 4335 West 44th Avenue
$25
Turkish dark-wave band She Past Away, which nods to ’80s acts like the Sisters of Mercy and Siouxsie & the Banshees, headlines, while Denver trio Radio Scarlet, which rides the line between goth and punk, opens.

Atreyu
Tuesday, December 7, 5 p.m.
Summit, 1902 Blake Street
$29.50
California metalcore band Atreyu stops in Denver in support of Baptize, the act's first album that doesn't feature vocalist and founding member Alex Varkatzas. Crown the Empire, Tetrarch and Saul are also on the bill.

GWAR
Tuesday, December 7, 7 p.m.
Oriental Theater, 4335 West 44th Avenue
$29.99
If you’ve never been to a GWAR show and plan to get anywhere within, say, twenty feet of the stage, it’s a good idea to bring a poncho or just wear something you’re not too attached to, because there’s a good chance there will be blood. Fake blood — and lots of it — sprayed by various outrageously costumed members of the Richmond, Virginia-based metal band rooted in bizarre sci-fi mythology. British grindcore band Napalm Death and New Orleans sludge-metal band Eyehategod are also on the bill.
Thundercat
Tuesday, December 7, 8 p.m.
Mission Ballroom, 4242 Wynkoop Street
$35.95-$79.95
Virtuoso bassist and singer Thundercat, who was one of the headliners at this year's Westword Music Showcase, has worked with punk band Suicidal Tendencies, rapper Kendrick Lamar and jazz saxophonist Kamasi Washington, which shows how far his scope goes. Thundercat won a Grammy for Best Progressive R&B Album for his 2020 album, It Is What It Is. Rapper Channel Tres opens.

CHVRCHES
Wednesday, December 8, 8 p.m.
Mission Ballroom, 4242 Wynkoop Street
$40.75-$86
Last August, Scottish synth-pop trio CHVRCHES released Screen Violence, its fourth studio album, which includes a collaboration with Cure frontman Robert Smith on "How Not to Drown." New Jersey singer-songwriter Donna Missal opens. Both bands also perform at the Boulder Theater on Thursday, December 9.

Ben Ottewell & Ian Ball of Gomez
Thursday, December 9, 8 p.m.
Soiled Dove Underground, 7401 East First Avenue
$20-$25
Ben Ottewell and Ian Ball of the British indie rock band Gomez will draw from Gomez fan favorites and highlights from their respective solo projects; they'll also road-test newer material.

Find more music events in the Westword concert calendar. Organizing a concert you'd like considered for this list? Send information to [email protected].

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