Deathfest 9 Downtown
Few events willingly promote themselves as “brutal,” but Las Vegas’ annual death-metal bludgeoning wears the term as a patch of honor. For three days, more than 50 acts with terrifying names like Mangled Atrocity and Psychotic Defilement—plus the unreadable, jagged-font logos to match—will pulverize fans’ eardrums for the ninth year, this time at adjacent East Fremont venues Backstage Bar & Billiards and Fremont Country Club. Polish band Vader, which has been releasing sunny tracks like “I Am Who Feasts Upon Your Soul” and “Helleluyah!!! (God Is Dead)” since the early 1980s, headlines Thursday’s action. New York’s Mortician, which debuted with 1990 single “Brutally Mutilated” before going on to record first LP Hacked Up for Barbecue, tops the bill on Friday. And Kansas City’s Angelcorpse, once described by allmusic.com as “sonically extreme beyond belief”—and recently reunited after six years apart—will cap off the final night for those still standing on Saturday. June 8-10, Bands play from 5 p.m. to 1 a.m. each day; $30-$35/day, $80/festival. -Spencer Patterson
TSTMRKT X at The 705
TSTMRKT is a performance art and video collective comprised of Ernest Hemmings and Breon Jenay. Their shows are provocative and flat-out weird, and their latest, TSTMRKT X, is headed to the Hollywood Fringe Festival. You’ll find out what it’s about at the same time we do. June 9, 8 p.m., $10, 705 Las Vegas Blvd. N. -Geoff Carter
The Orange Feathers at Velveteen Rabbit
The Vegas band—named for a bright plume it found in the Mojave desert—features two vocalists, Matt Morgan and Miles Van Blarcom, who combine for harmonies equally bright and buoyant. Using only their voices, acoustic guitars and a kick drum, The Orange Feathers create a poppy brand of singer-songwriter folk that fits right alongside artists like Angus & Julia Stone and The Lumineers—or, dare we say, former One Direction crooner and recent breakout sensation Harry Styles. The Feathers kick off their Native tour Friday in Downtown Las Vegas and will go on to play gigs across the southwest before wrapping things up at New Mexico’s Badass Mountain Music Festival. Watch the duo’s live “living room session” video for “Tear It Down” for a taste, or head to Spotify to give just-released single “Daisy” a listen before this EP release show at Velveteen Rabbit. June 9, 9 p.m., With Jessica Manalo, free. -Leslie Ventura
Chris Rock at Park Theater
He has directed and starred in movies, produced television shows, hosted the Academy Awards and voiced an animated zebra, but when all is said and done, Chris Rock is a stand-up comic, and a damned good one. See him do his thing. June 10, 7 & 10:30 p.m., $50-$254. -Geoff Carter
Three Silent Film Events
Moviegoers rarely get a chance to see silent films with an audience, so anyone interested in classic film should take advantage of three unique opportunities this week. First, the Henderson Symphony Orchestra will be performing live musical accompaniment to Ernst Lubitsch’s restored 1922 historical epic The Loves of Pharaoh (June 9, 8 p.m., $15, Henderson Pavilion). Charlie Chaplin fans who enjoyed the Henderson Symphony’s previous performances accompanying Chaplin comedies can check out A Century of Chaplin, a program of some of his early short films, dating back to 1917 (June 10, 8 p.m., free, Garehime Heights Park). And Iron Vampyr is the culmination of a collaborative process between the Sci Fi Center and local musician Steven Goldfinger, who recorded an original heavy metal score that will be played alongside F.W. Murnau’s landmark 1922 horror movie, Nosferatu (June 13, 8 p.m., $10). –Josh Bell
Phoenix at Brooklyn Bowl
If Phoenix’s newest singles, “J-Boy” and “Ti Amo,” were food, they might be a French tart mashed into an Italian gelato. Sample for yourself Wednesday at Brooklyn Bowl, where the rhythmic alt-pop act will perform, as will indie darlings The Lemon Twigs. June 14, 7:30 p.m., $35-$65. –Mike Prevatt
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