Gigs of the week

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Indie rock meets futuristic R&B: Romy Madley Croft and Oliver Sim of The XX

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Big Wheel Sundays: British Sea Power
Losing out to Somerset House in the outdoor London gig stakes, the theatre in Regent's Park is still worth a visit to catch nature-loving indie rockers British Sea Power, playing with characteristically eccentric support in the shape of London Bulgarian Choir. Alabama 3 play the same venue next Sunday.
Sunday, Regent's Park Open Air Theatre, NW1 (0870 264 3333, openairtheatre.org)

The XX
The Putney quartet have a skeletal guitar sound and muted boy-girl vocals that end up as part of a sound somewhere between dark indie rock and futuristic R&B on fine debut album xx.
Mon 17, Tue 18 Aug, Hoxton Hall,
N1 (020 7684 0060, www.hoxtonhall.co.uk)

Erik Hassle
The extravagantly coiffed Swede plays two shows in Hoxton a week before his debut UK single is released. Don't Bring Flowers is a funky slice of electropop that perfectly showcases his slick vocals and a typically Swedish ear for a pop tune.
Wed 19 Aug, Hoxton Square Bar and Kitchen, N1 (020 7419 4696, www.plummusic.com)
Thurs 20 Aug, Queen of Hoxton, EC2 (020 7422 0958; www.thequeenofhoxton.co.uk)

Grizzly Bear
The Brooklyn band's recent third album, Veckatimest, was tipped to do a Fleet Foxes. It's not so accessible, more complex in its constantly shifting styles and structures, but the folky harmonies and bucolic lyrics still hit the spot.
Tue 18 Aug, Koko, NW1 (0870 432 5527; www.koko.uk.com)

U2
Concert spectacles don't come bigger than U2's “Claw”, the four-legged stage that is twice as high as the previous biggest stadium set-up, built by The Rolling Stones. Besides that, expect a mix of hits, tracks from the latest album, No Line on the Horizon, and Bono's political posturing.
Tonight, tomorrow, Wembley (0844 980 8001, www.wembleystadium.com)

 

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