Much the way the Eiffel Tower or the Spanish Steps in Europe draw in a crowd, compare our very own Elmwood Strip to that type of cultural epicenter: There are always people walking along the sunny side of the street—either window-shopping, people watching or simply enjoying what’s left of these summer days. To that end, the Neighborhood Collective is hosting a Block Party on the part of Elmwood between Auburn and Lafayette. The merchants of those shops have organized a fun, neighborly evening of great discounts and sales, refreshments and live music. Specialty store Spoiled Rotten is living up to its name by overindulging partyers with an indoor honey tasting party and a concert with band Blazin’ Halo on the rooftop. Block Club Magazine and men’s clothing store Stache will celebrate their respective grand openings, while ShoeFly has one of its summer sales out front. At the Collective, Insite Gallery will be having a reception for its Summer: Small Works group show; Annie Adams Jewelry will be having a special sale; Tru-Teas will be serving summer-themed cocktails and housing a tee-shirt sale by Michael Margulis; the Science Spot will offer hands-on kids’ activities and there will be Latin American and West African music in the driveway by La Marimba. Come feel like part of the crowd on this small but happening stretch of the city. And if, by chance, you come late or miss some of the festivities, check out the Neighborhood Collective’s weekly event “Wednesday in the Driveway,” a free music series that begins at 6:30pm.

Awesome party band King Sunshine was at first challenged in bringing its 10-piece “live house” ensemble to the downtown club scene, whose members might have been less than receptive to live music by real musicians (and less than willing to share the dance floor with those musicians). King Sunshine’s remarkable ability to emulate a DJ’s sound and formula while emanating the energy of a full band soon won over Toronto’s clubbing community, and the group is now crossing genres and borders with an easily delivered buildup-to-breakdown flow. Sets are tailored to maximize the overall experience, so that concert attendees can retreat into a raver’s isolation or engage in the more traditional audience/performer dynamic. With around ten musicians in the band at any given time, King Sunshine has to be careful not to get pegged as a “jam band,” and founder and keyboardist Dave Austin has taken pains to differentiate his band by refusing to get caught up in grooves that last too long or, in his words, “have five musicians just wanking.” The “Second Movement Tour” brings King Sunshine through Buffalo to promote their CD of the same name (2006’s Second Movement, the band’s second album). Support comes from Lazlo Hollyfeld and DJ Zuk.

The sound that comes out of Austin, TX’s Scott H. Biram could be described as this: One man, one guitar, too much blues and equally good measures of heaven and hell fighting to get out. Biram’s wholly unique brand of swampy, outsider country-punk-gospel-metal-blues puts him squarely in his own genre. Along with his ‘59 Gibson hollow-body electric and his stomping foot to keep the beat, Biram has most recently crafted Graveyeard Shift (Bloodshot), a torn up hymnal of tales marked by a dusty underbelly coated in sin, temptation, alcohol and a little bit of Jesus. It’s pretty clear that this is what this feller was put on earth to do. While he’s been fortunate enough to share tours with folks like Kris Kristofferson, Hank Williams III, Th’Legendary Shack Shakers and Nashville Pussy, Biram’s self-proclaimed “dirty old one man band” nature often puts him out on the road to fend for himself. This current run is one of those deals. Scott H. Biram pulls his Lone Star state plates up to Mohawk Place on Monday for a stop on his “Texas As Fuck” tour, joined by Low Road Revival. Prepare to testify!

The enigmatic leader of Portugal. The Man, John Baldwin Gourley, was raised in rural Alaska among a family of Alaskan Iditarod dog-sled mushers. This was a rustic upbringing (power-generated home, no phone) that has clearly influenced Gourley’s unique and artistic music—which has much in common with the ambient sound of Mars Volta, yet recalls easy, timeless pop/rock (Beatles, White Stripes) with the addition of a bit of groove-laden retro funk (Santana). The name, too, with its abstract grammar (unnecessary punctuation?) is an indication of the esotericism that distinguishes Portugal. The Man from the others. The release of 2006’s Waiter: You Vultures! (Fearless Records) put the band “on the map”—a cliche which is actually meaningful given that the group hails from remotest Alaska—with its top track “Elephants” catching the ear of rock journalists and, consequently, mainland American listeners too. The sophomore follow-up, Church Mouth, was just released by Fearless at the end of July, occasioning a tour wherein Potugal. The Man played a handful of special preview shows in the homeland before descending upon what Alaskans call the “lower 48.” Also on the evening’s bill are bands This Will Destroy You, the Photo Atlas and the Only Children