This week’s 5 best bets for music in Las Vegas
VNV Nation
Ensuring that dance floors stay mine-shaft dark for more than two decades now, these European electro-goth mainstays pair body-rockin’ beats with more lyrical uplift than one might expect. “In darkness, be the sound and light,” frontman Ronan Harris instructs on VNV Nation’s latest album, “Noire,” leading by example. See them at 9 p.m. Saturday at Backstage Bar & Billiards. Tickets are $25 in advance, $30 day of show; call 702-382-2227.
Doyle
The last time that Doyle — or Doyle Wolfgang Von Frankenstein, if you’re not into the whole brevity thing — was in town, he was playing guitar with horror punk forebears the Misfits at the MGM Grand Garden Arena a year ago. He returns fronting his own band, though the hooks and hellfire remain. “Learn to Bleed” with Doyle at 7 p.m. Saturday at Beauty Bar. Tickets are $20; call 702-598-3757.
Magic Sword
This color-coded electronic music trio sports cloaks and masks befitting a medieval-themed heavy metal troupe, and it’s just as well: Their hammering beats and outsize synth lines enable them to go over with headbangers whose dance moves are normally confined to the mosh pit. See them at 9:30 p.m. Dec. 20 at 172 at the Rio. Tickets are $18; call 702-998-4499.
The Midnight Hour
Dim the lights when this pairing of A Tribe Called Quest DJ/producer/rapper Ali Shaheed Muhammad and producer Adrian Younge gets jazzy, soulful and orchestral on its dusky self-titled debut, released earlier this year. See the Midnight Hour at 9 p.m. Tuesday at The Bunkhouse Saloon. Tickets are $12 in advance, $15 day of show; call 702-982-1764.
T.S.O.L.
As if their goal was to counter the sunshine of their native California in song, these punk lifers brought a dark, gothy edge to the scene beginning 40 years ago. Join them in the shadows at 8 p.m. Friday at Beauty Bar. Tickets are $20 in advance, $25 day of show; call 702-598-3757.
