Blogs: Tampa Calling

Tampa Calling

Riffing on area trends, lineup changes, onstage spectacles and national buzz with local impact

Photo Review: Sunbears! and Shunda K at the Hot Dog Show

July 7th, 2009 by elawgrrl in Local Music, News, Photo review, Photos, Reviews

In three short years, the Reax/ThxMgmt Hot Dog Show has established itself as a must-attend event of the summer, providing a great opportunity to see a diverse group of bands, catch up with old friends, make some new ones, and of course, witness a hot dog-eating contest. This year, the Hot Dog Show took place on Friday, July 3, at Crowbar. I arrived just in time to see the first female victory in the hot dog eating contest (sorry – I didn’t catch her name!), which was followed by an animated performance by Bealsville/Plant City-based Shunda K of Yo Majesty! Bringing the evening to a dance party conclusion was Sunbears! (Jacksonville).

Sunbears!

The last time I saw Sunbears! in November 2008, I was impressed by their ability to deliver a complete visual experience to go along with their sugary pop, even outside at New World Brewery. Sunbears! has enhanced their candyland set to greater dayglo heights with a variety of props, including a giant red balloon, bubbles and confetti, oh my! Recorded last fall, the Sunbears! cover of Michael Jackson’s “Don’t Stop Till You Get Enough” now adds a bit of unintentional poignancy to their act … at least until the shock of Michael Jackson’s death wears off. The audience danced up a storm to the Sunbears!’ happy-go-lucky pop tunes while throwing confetti to the beat. Sunbears! is also fun to listen to on disc and their current EP, Dream Happy Dreams, is a perfect summer dance soundtrack. Really, who couldn’t use a little auditory uplifting given the state of the world? I look forward to hearing and seeing what is next for this talented duo!

Sunbears! is Jonathan Berlin (keys, guitar and vox) and Jared Bowser (drums/vox)

Shunda K!

Shunda K, moniker of Lashunda Flowers, is a talented local hip hop artist who defies expectations by incorporating both spirituality and sexuality into her lightning fast rhymes. She is currently allowing fans to download her music for free so head over and check her out!