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.

Friday, August 10 at 9pm. Patio at the Calumet, 54 W. Chippewa St. $10

(@ the door, New World Record, www.TicketWeb.com)