In My Philosophy:

Mad Rad, Sex Symbol, Tigerbeat, Marty Mar

(Chapel) Lemme take this time for a couple birfday wishes: First, my man Kevin, liquor rep and good dude extraordinaire is throwing himself a b-day bash at Chapel on July 11 with Mad Rad, Sportn' Life's Sex Symbol, and DJ's Tigerbeat and Marty Mar. Also, Mr. Songs for Bloggers (download that!) GMK is celebrating his own born day at Nectar on July 15, where he'll be rocking with a three-piece band. Also appearing are the State of the Artist crew and the Gem City Committee, the combo of MCs Peoples, Philly Alto, and R.O.B., who've teamed up to construct a free three-act mixtape, The Sound, which you can get on Peoples' MySpace page (/gotpaid). I'm sure in both cases that your presence is presents enough.

In West Seattle, Über Alles:

West Seattle Summer Fest: Caspar Babypants, Thee Sgt. Major III, Team Gina, more

(West Seattle Junction) This year, the West Seattle Summer Fest will celebrate its 27th year with two stages of music, hundreds of artists, food, an old-school video-game gallery, skate demos, a Rat City Rollergirls dunk tank, and more.

What makes West Seattle Summer Fest so great is that it really does feel like a neighborhood celebration.

"It's all about the community," says festival director Oliver Little. "Everything we plan is based on what West Seattle residents say they'd like to see. Our primary goal is to show off the neighborhood and get people out on the street together. Musicians and artists seem to dig this message and think of this as 'their' neighborhood festival. It's pretty incredible how many Seattle musicians live in the West Seattle area and are willing to play on the street."

In Stranger Suggests:

A Drink for the Kids: Robin Pecknold, Throw Me the Statue

(Neumos) Tonight's concert marks the culmination of the Vera Project's seventh annual "A Drink for the Kids" fundraising campaign, in which Seattle's 21+ supporters raise money for the rad all-ages venue simply by drinking. Doesn't philanthropy feel awesome? Or is that the booze? Not only less annoying than a pledge drive, tonight's is a hell of a lineup: Headlining is Robin Pecknold of beardo darlings Fleet Foxes performing a rare solo set. Opening are Throw Me the Statue, whose forthcoming Creaturesque continues their fine take on catchy, clever indie rock laid out on last year's arresting debut, Moonbeams. (Neumos, 925 E Pike St, 709-9467. 8 pm, $15, 21+.) ERIC GRANDY

Also in Up & Coming:

The Advent & Industrialyzer, Jerry Abstract, Travis Baron, 214, PotatoFinger, Greg Skidmore

(Chop Suey) British techno producer the Advent (Cisco Ferreira) has been pushing techno's hard-line since around 1994, originally in a duo with Colin McBean, then solo from 2001 onward, and now with Industrialyzer (punchy Portuguese DJ/producer Ricardo Rodrigues). His productions have been massive, will-to-power affairs, combining finesse and aggression, and constructed for the most headstrong (and legstrong) dancers. The Advent is up there with techno warlords like Surgeon, Regis, and Cristian Vogel. Local pummelers Jerry Abstract and Travis Baron are the ideal choices to support the Advent & Industrialyzer, while Seattle's PotatoFinger is the wild card of the bunch, an eclectic producer whose "Pixilated Mayhem" is too unruly to be described in the space allotted. Just see him. DAVE SEGAL

Coldplay, Kitty Daisy & Lewis, Amadou & Mariam

(Gorge Amphitheatre) What do Coldplay have to do to earn your fucking respect? Refuse million-dollar endorsements from Gatorade, Diet Coke, and the Gap? (Check.) Devote countless hours and dollars to supporting Amnesty International and international free trade? (Check.) Work with Brian Eno? (Check.) Shove Gwyneth Paltrow off a cliff? (Pending.) Whatever the case, Coldplay continue their quest to be the most imaginatively principled rock band whose music I couldn't care less about, granting a splashy opening spot on their Viva La Vida tour to world-music superstars Amadou & Mariam. Go to see "the blind couple from Mali" rock the fucking house, stay for the perfectly respectable Grammy-winning Radiohead-lite to follow. DAVID SCHMADER

No Depression Festival: Gillian Welch, Iron and Wine, Patterson Hood & the Screwtopians, Jesse Sykes & the Sweet Hereafter, Justin Townes Earle, Jessica Lea Mayfield, Seattle All-Star Revue, Zee Avi

(Marymoor Park) Holy God. I hate festivals, but are you fucking kidding me with this lineup? Gillian Welch and Jesse Sykes & the Sweet Hereafter on the same goddamn stage on the same goddamn day? Which is not to say that Iron and Wine are anything to sneeze at, but seriously: If you're going to make a sandwich with Welch and Sykes as bread, you don't need anything in the middle. But there are plenty of reasons to hang out for the whole day: Zee Avi is a cute, promising young musician, and Justin Townes Earle is definitely on the way up, too. As the kids used to say back in the frontier days of the internet, this lineup is made of win. PAUL CONSTANT

Andy Werth, Open Choir Fire, Bad Dream Good Breakfast

(High Dive) Seattle rock trio Open Choir Fire are the sore thumb on tonight's lineup. On their new record, Dirt Bathed and Quilted (released this week), the Tacoma transplants experiment with everything from sharp, post-rock rhythms ("You Should Take the Bus") to more fluid indie-rock melodies ("Get in Line"). But billmates Bad Dream Good Breakfast and Andy Werth both boast strings and piano and a vaudevillian vibe. Weird, right? Maybe OCF did that on purpose. Maybe it's like a wedding—when you choose bridesmaids' dresses, you want them to look nice and all, but they can't be at all like your dress because you're the bride—it's your night. Well, tonight, with their new record in hand, is Open Choir Fire's night, and tonight they will shine. MEGAN SELING

Emerald City Soul Club

(Crocodile) For too long, the lines to get into Emerald City Soul Club at the Lo-Fi Performance Gallery have been, well, too long. Show up at even just 10:00 or 11:00 p.m. for the well-loved dance night, and you'd frequently find fancied-up, would-be revelers lined up down the block at a standstill. With the Lo-Fi undergoing some redesign issues, the last couple of months have been especially tough, with Soul Club split between Lo-Fi's little front room and the Victory Lounge next door. So cheers to ECSC for moving the night down to the higher-capacity Crocodile starting this month. Expect all the same rare soul 45s to be spun, all the same dressed-up dancing, but maybe just a little less of a line (and pizza from Via Tribunali instead of that one guy who shows up at last call with $5 pies of dubious origin). ERIC GRANDY

For more live music and shows, check our searchable online calendar.