Over and Under

One big show, one smaller If hip-hop is the genre of self-reliance — MCs need only a nimble tongue and maybe a microphone to make their mark — San Francisco Bay-area indie hip-hop collective Living Legends has earned its name. The group formed in the pre-Napster ’90s, a time when label cosign was necessary to succeed in the music industry. Helmed by MCs Luckyiam and Sunspot Jonz, the group concentrated on growing a grassroots fanbase instead, selling mixtapes on the sidewalk. That hustle grew exponentially easier with the advent of digital music, and Living Legends prospered. Catch the group with Hieroglyphics — another living legend — on Dec. 23, its final date of 2017, at the Ogden Theatre. Tickets are $39.50 via axs.com. It’ll be a few days before Christmas, but you can open a handful of Denver music scene presents on Friday. A Colfax Christmas rounds up five local rock bands under one roof, Lost Lake Lounge, for less than the cost of a roll of wrapping paper. That gift shaped like The Hives is The Patient Zeros, your headliner; the one under them is the Born Readies, who sounds a bit like Van Halen; the one with spikes poking out of the gift wrap is To Be Astronauts. Crimson Days and Dead Pay Rent serve as sturdy anchors to this assemblage. Even if you don’t know these bands, your presence would be a present to our music scene. And if you need a last-minute gift, this merch table could save your butt. Tickets: $8-$10 via ticketfly.com.