Just because Depeche Mode’s first big hit came out in 1985 doesn’t mean the group is getting old.
No, instead the synthesizer- loving Brits, who play Seattle on Monday, have kept their fingers on the pulse, something evident in the startling video for “Wrong.”
The suspenseful clip, directed by Patrick Daughters, shows a bound and gagged man trapped in a car that careens backward through a city at night. The video drew more than 4 million views on YouTube in five months.
Viral clips like that have helped Depeche Mode maintain a devout following and kept the brooding pop group in stadium-sized venues. The three-piece will play KeyArena three days after a headlining performance at Lollapalooza in Chicago.
Swedish indie pop band Peter Bjorn and John opens the show. The group turned heads in 2007 by whistling its way through the single “Young Folks.”
8 p.m. Monday, KeyArena, 305 Harrison St., Seattle; $37.50 to $77.50; ticketmaster.com or 800-745-3000.
Rod Stewart: For his show at the White River Amphitheatre tonight, Rod Stewart plans to play the hits, but that begs the question, which ones?
Based on recent performances, it looks like Stewart won’t fill his set with songs from his chart-topping series of standards albums, “The Great American Songbook.”
Instead, he has been playing the songs he made famous in the 1970s and 1980s, stuff like “Maggie May,” “Hot Legs” and “The First Cut Is the Deepest.”
8 tonight, White River Amphitheatre, 40601 Auburn Enumclaw Road, Auburn; $45.50 to $105.50; livenation.com or 877-598-6659.
KEXP Summer BBQ: Seattle’s indie rock station, KEXP 90.3 FM, will celebrate the summer with a free show at Seattle Center on Saturday.
Dinosaur Jr. headlines. The group broke into the mainstream during the grunge era, nibbling at the big time thanks to blasts of guitar such as “Feel the Pain.” But then it looked as if the band had gone extinct.
Like the Pixies, Dinosaur Jr.’s stature rose during its hiatus, and fans embraced its reunion. The group’s June album “Farm,” debuted at No. 29 on the Billboard 200, and Rolling Stone said the band “hasn’t lost a thunderous step.”
The free show also features Viva Voce, Cymbals Eat Guitars and Japandroids, among others.
2 to 9 p.m. Saturday, Seattle Center Concerts at the Mural, 305 Harrison St., Seattle; free; www.kexp.org.
Heaven &Hell: When Ozzy Osbourne left Black Sabbath, the metal pioneers turned to Ronnie James Dio to take the place of their departed vocalist.
After releasing two albums, however, Dio left the band, too.
Fifteen years later, the four men have reunited to play together as Heaven &Hell, taking the band’s name from their first collaboration with Dio as Sabbath’s frontman.
Heaven &Hell’s first album, “The Devil You Know,” came out in April.
7 p.m. Saturday, WaMu Theater, 800 Occidental Ave. S., Seattle; $39.50 to $79.50; ticketmaster.com or 800-745-3000.
Bela Fleck and Toumani Diabate: If the world has a premiere banjo player, it might just be Bela Fleck.
The man has won nine Grammys for his take on a diverse range of genres: classical, pop, jazz and country.
Fleck will be joined for four club dates in Seattle by Diabate, a Mali-born musician known for his mastery of the kora, a 21-string African harp.
7:30 and 9:30 p.m. Monday and Tuesday, Dimitriou’s Jazz Alley, 2033 Sixth Ave., Seattle; $35; ticketmaster.com or 800-745-3000.
Down and the Melvins: Heavy metal supergroup Down headline a show that also features opener the Melvins, a sludge-rock group founded in Aberdeen.
Down, fronted by Pantera’s Phil Anselom, draws on influences such as Black Sabbath to turn out its own gothic take on power metal.
8:30 p.m. Tuesday, Showbox SoDo, 1700 First Ave. S., Seattle; $25; ticketmaster.com or 800-745-3000.
Andy Rathbun: 425-339-3455, arathbun@heraldnet.com.
Talk to us
> Give us your news tips.
> Send us a letter to the editor.
> More Herald contact information.
