Tonight, Bumbershoot unoffically begins with my friends from Ear Candy's kick-off party at the High Dive. It'll be quite the party, to say the least.

The main reason I like this bill is because it combines two great rock bands (The Redwood Plan and Born Anchors) with two great hip hop acts (Victor Shade and Grynch). The headliner of the night is Victor Shade, a brand new collaboration between Common Market's RA Scion and producer MTK. This will be their first show ever, so you'll probably not want to miss that.

This is the type of show that should happen every night because it takes risks with its booking and forces the crowd to listen to something that they may not be previously exposed to. It'll open with Born Anchors, a straight-forward rock band and continue with the buzz band The Redwood Plan, who are an excellent dance-rock band that has a heavy reliance on synths and hooks. With Grynch and Victor Shade, they'll surely close the night out like the party it is.

Ear Candy's (F)unoffical Bumbershoot kick-off party is tonight (Friday, September 4) at the High Dive with Victor Shade, Grynch, Born Anchors and The Redwood Plan. $10, 21+, 9pm.

Ideally summertime is all about getting sweaty and silly at free outdoor music shows. And guess who sticks to their ideals? Our provider of independent, new music, KEXP. Their summer concert series at the Mural Amphitheater in Seattle Center is running over the next few weeks to bring you a plethora of pitch-perfect bands for free. This Saturday, the 8th happens to be their annual BBQ from 2-9 pm and you know it’s going to rock your socks off.

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Seattle three piece, Born Anchors, are set to release their first album in April. Titled Sprezzatura, meaning studied nonchalance, the word gives insight into the sound that the band creates on their debut full-length. Comprised of the standard guitar, bass and drums, Born Anchors somehow manage to boil up a sound that is booming and voluminous. Their live set is said to be rather impressive as well. Seattle Weekly's Jonathan Cunningham recently called their performance at El Corazon a "singular version of pop-punk mayhem."

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The packed to the gills five-band bill of Dear & The Headlights, Kinch, To The Waves, Born Anchors, and Martingale show tonight at El Corazon is the adrenaline shot to the heart that I need to wake up this freshly minted Monday and kick March in to high gear.

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at Neumo's

The band pulled off what I've expected since I first heard their freshman album: a punk-pop set that was one of the best I've heard in a long, long time.

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