An album release show and debut close to my heart

Saturday marks the local release of my husband’s band Watch Husky Burn’s third album, but WHB’s show at Tremont also marks the debut of a new band called Sidewalks. Sidewalks is the third incarnation (or maybe fourth or fifth) of one of my all-time favorite local bands. The group features four of the original members of the Lights, Fluorescent - a band that I still miss - as well as most of the members of the short-lived group My Captain. 

Some of its members have been playing together as long ago as Via - another defunct Charlotte band that predated the Lights. For the show Sidewalks is playing a couple My Captain songs and even digging out an old Via tune for the show in addition to its new originals.

I have high hopes for the band. I loved the juxtaposition of Lights’ singer Erika Blatnik’s furiously strummed acoustic and shout-sung post riot-grrrl singing, but bassist/co-vocalist Robby Hartis’ written contributions to the Lights’ all too small catalog were emotional highlights. Blatnik’s move to Richmond ended that band, but there was always something special about the chemistry that Hartis, guitarists Andre Francois and Craig Friday, and drummer Zach Irvin shared. The guys demonstrated this in My Captain, but that band’s early momentum seemed to quickly derail. Hartis joined Charlotte rock band Sugar Glyder, who had a new national label release to tour behind (but broke up this summer). Francois’ apartment and gear was destroyed in a fire last winter. And last Spring Hartis had to have a small cancerous tumor removed from his kidney. Sidewalks certainly has some heavy experiences to pull from.

Saturday we’ll also celebrate the long-awaited release of "Garnet". Technically it’s the first album under the Watch Husky Burn name. The previous two were recorded as Husky (pictured at the last Husky show last October). By long-awaited I don’t necessarily mean that you’ve been waiting on it (although some folks on the old Stoner Rock message board and avid followers overseas have asked about it more than once). It’s long-awaited to me because his intention was to release it right after our second son was born over three years ago. I’ve watched him spend hours, days, and weeks mixing it. We even rented a cabin in Saluda last winter. He set up his studio equipment in the living room while I worked on the final third of my book in the bedroom.

The album is called “Garnet” and was recorded using these Canadian amplifiers built by Thomas “Gar” Gillies in the `60s and `70s. A photo of one of his Garnets is the album's cover. My husband and the band's bass player, Mark Hadden, began collecting them a decade or so ago. All the bass and guitar tracks and some of the drum and keyboards were recorded using them. The record was recorded in the big room at Tremont Music Hall while the club was closed.

It’s certainly taken some time. Art has a tendency to take a back seat to work and kids once you have the latter. But I think it’s given the former Husky time to evolve. Thirteen years ago Husky started as an instrumental blues-based band. I liked to think of them as kids that grew up on metal reaching back to psychedelic classic rock. On "Garnet" it's grown into something more experimental, cinematic, and indie-rock while still firmly rooted in stoner rock. 

The arrangements are probably more fully realized than they would’ve been three years ago. Listening to it I get images of futuristic cities fit for exploration by Doctor Who and Flash Gordon, the old west, and a glorious castle made of ice. Someday I hope to have my own release party for the video for the song “Malamute” that’s been dancing around in my head (complete with kickline) since I heard the final mix. And I want to use the last track for my book trailer, when the time comes. That’s the cool thing about instrumental music. It can help foster your own creativity as can all music (but that’s another blog post).

“Garnet” will be available on garnet-colored, limited edition vinyl and on cd at Tremont Saturday, as well as digitally elsewhere.

Admission to the show is $8. And M4 Messenger - one of my husband’s favorite locals - kicks off the show. Doors at 8 p.m. Music at 9 p.m.

Review: Lisa Marie impresses second time around

I first saw Lisa Marie Presley play to a gymnasium in Anderson, SC. Nine years later watching her perform at Shelby’s Don Gibson Theatre Saturday it was apparent Elvis Presley’s only daughter has come a long way as a musician and performer.

With her fourth husband Michael Lockwood - a lankier Tom Petty-as-mad-hatter-looking guitarist and the musical director of her band - Presley has tweaked her sound, her band, and her ease on stage. When Presley released her first album, “To Whom It May Concern,” in 2003, the world looked on with curiosity. I saw her open for Chris Isaak on the tour that followed. Although her album was good and she had a strong, smoky voice like her father’s, she seemed uncomfortable with the attention in television interviews and on stage. Not to mention the sound in that gym was anything but forgiving. Nine years and two more albums later, that’s all changed.

Saturday she played for a crowd of a few hundred who hung on her every note. In a floor-length fitted white and black diamond-patterned gown (they asked no photos be taken) she started out like a classic torch singer belting “So Long” from her latest album, “Storm & Grace” followed by another one from the 2012 album (and my favorite) “Over Me.” The sheer backdrop with rows of dotted lights peeking through gave the setting a lounge feel while the band jammed like a well-oiled, modern Southern blues-rock version of the Band.

In the hands of her band - decked out like carnival barkers in top hats and vintage velvet - the songs became playful with bluesy guitar and ragtime piano elevated by rich harmonies. The set was made up mostly of material from her T. Bone Burnett-produced third album. It finds the once Melissa Etheridge-style rocker assuming a more Americana musical personality. You can tell Presley still likes to rock though. She’s got her father’s swagger, especially when she lets loose. She was happiest banging on two floor toms during the last two songs of the set. She likely wasn’t able to join marching band in high school and may have missed her calling. Her joy brought the audience to its feet.

Her song introductions gave the show a “Storytellers” feel. She was quick to credit co-writers. She and her husband live in England now and she co-wrote much of the record with songwriter Ed Harcourt and Richard Hawley (Pulp). She touched on their work with “Storm of Nails” and the intimate “Weary,” respectively. She shared that her 21-year-old son had the lyrics of the album’s title track, which she’d written for him, tattooed on his chest. She later warned the crowd before breaking into an a Cappella intro on the last song that she wasn’t sure she could pull it off. She tore it up. Plenty of children of celebrities dream of music careers (look no further than that unfortunate VH1 competition series a few years back), but Presley is a natural singer. Her low, husky voice may not allow for scale climbing, but it’s strong, unique, and gutsy. She was on her game all night.

Throughout the set Lockwood went through the craziest array of custom designed guitars I’ve ever seen. There was a white resonator with a geometric cut-out pattern, a blue acoustic with a glitter-top, an orange hollow body with intricate line patterns, and a more subdued acoustic that’s pick guard matched its Prince-like headstock. Lockwood’s bluesy playing added another layer to Presley’s work as well. He tended to serve the song instead of relying on flash. His guitars alone displayed plenty of flash on their own.

Older songs were given new arrangements to fit the style of the show. “Idiot” - the Linda Perry co-pen from her angry pop-rock second album “Now What” - got a makeover that seemed more now and less glossy than the recorded version. Her first ever single “Lights Out” stuck closest to its bluesy pop beginnings, while “S.O.B.” didn’t lose anything in its revamped rootsier state.

Those and the encore of “I’ll Figure It Out” were the only older songs she sang (I was hoping for my favorite “Sinking In”). She briefly mentioned the charity work that’s got her playing smaller cities like Shelby - sponsoring children in third world countries. By the end of the encore half the animated crowd, who’d remained seated for the bulk of the concert, gathered at the front of the stage as Presley bent to shake hands while the crowd bopped to her version of Tom Petty’s “I Need To Know.”

As for the Don Gibson Theatre, it’s worth the trip. It looks like a theater from the `50s captured in time. The décor is a bit retro. I loved the speckled black stall doors in the bathroom and red and black tile work and the circular bar. The theater is a bit smaller than say, Neighborhood Theatre, but it’s less like a club and more like a classy seated concert hall with the noise of the bar separated from the stage. From the lights behind the stage to Presley’s dress, it all felt very vintage - not old and musty, but updated and modern with retro flair. The sound was occasionally a little boomy at first, but worlds better than my prior experience in the gym where I had to strain to figure out what song she was singing. 

Shelby is only a short drive away. We weren’t the only out-of-towners for the show, which Presley said sold out in two days. We enjoyed vegan Thai at Joe's, a restaurant that specialized in Italian and Thai (what a combo!) within walking distance. The town seemed quiet, but there were a several open restaurants to choose from. My friend compared it to a smaller Asheville with its wine shop (which sponsored the concert) and yoga studio. 

The next scheduled shows are ukulele whiz Jake Shimabukuro on Saturday and Edwin McCain's annual holiday show the day after Thanksgiving before the venue's concert schedule takes a break before picking back up in January. Make the trip. I’m sure they’d be happy to have you. For more on the theater click here. 

Tonight see a rock show worth seeing again & again

Some Deadheads saw the Grateful Dead hundreds of times. Today there are diehards that have seen Dave Matthews Band or the Avett Brothers or Widespread Panic so many times they’ve lost count (I know some of 'em). It takes a lot to inspire that sort of repetition. When I moved to Charlotte in 1994 I had seen less than 10 concerts in my entire life (unless you count my dad’s friends’ weekly bluegrass jams, which I did not). Almost 20 years later, my work and much of my life revolves around concerts. Yet after seeing hundreds, there are only a handful of acts that I’ll go see every time they come to Charlotte.

These days I have to consider the cost of a babysitter. So I have to pick and choose. There are what I call the usual suspects - Clutch, Interpol, and the National. My husband and I have seen the former upwards of 50 times - most of those before we met. The latter two we have traveled to see for years. 

There are a few newer acts that won me over with bold live shows who I’ll go see again and again. One of those plays Sunday at Tremont Music Hall - a rock duo called IAmDynamite. A publicist sent their album to me a couple years ago and said they thought I’d like it. Publicists say that all the time, but boy was he right. By the time the pair came to the Milestone six months later the album, “Supermegafantastic,” had become a fixture in my car and placed in my Top 10 albums of the year. At the Milestone my husband and I were in the front row tapping our feet with barely 30 people. The drummer Chris Phillips, who lives in the triangle area with his wife, later told me that his musical partner Chris Martin (who still lives in Michigan, where they grew up) had only just flown in and they weren’t well rehearsed. Still, they were great. I saw them again last December opening for Sum 41 at The Fillmore where I was giddy to watch them winning over others. 

In March I took my son to see IAmDynamite. It was technically his first rock show (if you don’t count daddy’s band). He knew the entire album. I introduced it to him to help teach him rhythm since he loves drums. Phillips’ drums are pretty direct - meaning you can find the beat, but also not basic. There’s just not a lot to muddle the mix; only vocal harmonies and guitar to compete with. The arrangements aren’t over complicated. It’s a duo that can duplicate it’s albums on stage without the aid of (gasp) backing tracks or laptops (at least not yet). 

At the show they signed his poster and posed for pictures with him. Tonight we’re doing it all again. We may even take our younger son - a notorious wild man who may run in circles around the room but who knows the songs too.

I would still see IAmDynamite every single time it plays here even if my kids weren’t into it. The group is that good. I got into this job to champion bands that I felt deserved it. That especially included underground, indie bands that were flying under the radar. Today that means bands like IAmDynamite, David Mayfield, and Valient Thorr - bands that I think should be drawing bigger crowds. The ones they do draw are enthusiastic. But more enthusiastic folks need to know about these bands. 

Watching these three acts in particular brings me so much joy. Bouncing my little boy to the beat and singing along with IAmDynamite ranks right up there with my wedding day and the day he was born as one of the happiest moments of my life. Sharing music with him is such a joy. I want to share that joy with other people too (but I won't bounce you on my hip).

IAmDynamite's audience is growing slowly.  It has scored high profile opening gigs with Blue October and Sum 41 and received accolades from "The Huffington Post" and "Absolute Punk." But I don’t know how its pop-rock delivered with the humor (just look at that ridiculous photo), harmony and hook-driven charm of Weezer and the ferocity of the Foo Fighters isn’t more well known. It should be the soundtrack to your drive home from work popping out of the car stereo speakers alongside whatever else the alt-rock and pop stations are playing (maybe that's a hurdle - its music doesn't fit into trendy genres really. It's not aggro, not folk-rock. It's straight up rock n' roll).

The first step is seeing it live. Take a chance. If you aren’t smiling by the end of the show, well, I won’t give you your money back. But I will wonder if you have a cold, cold heart. Or maybe I'll think you just don’t like snappy, infectious rock n’ roll. 

Tickets are $8-$10. Show starts at 9 p.m. I'll be the woman coming in late - because my kids can't be expected to sit through three bands - with one, possibly two toddlers wearing big blue ear protectors who will undoubtedly be exhausted by the end of the night. 

CLT music photographer celebrates two new books

If there’s one person I’ve chatted with at more concerts since moving to Charlotte in 1994 than anyone else I know, that person is photographer Daniel Coston. I sometimes see him at more than one show a night because Coston doesn’t stand around tapping his foot or sipping beer. He’s on to the next shot and usually the next show.

I first met him probably 18 years ago when I worked at Record Exchange at Cotswold. We were both getting started on this music journalism journey. He was working for “Tangents” - a local fringe indie publication. I was interviewing my first bands (Frente, Letters to Cleo) for the record store’s “Music Monitor.” Since then Daniel has become a fixture in the local music scene, working with local and regional artists both shooting them live, for album covers, and magazines. We once displayed his work at the coffee shop where I worked and a shot he took of Steve Earle during his post-Atkins diet, diet Dr. Pepper-swigging skinny period, hangs in my hallway at home.

This November Coston celebrates the release of two recently published books. Tonight he hosts “Kick Out The Garage” at Snug Harbor, which features generation spanning Charlotte garage rock from the Modern Primitives, the Mannish Boys, and Kinksmen as well as the release of “There Was a Time: Rock & Roll In The 1960s In Charlotte, and North Carolina.” Coston co-wrote "There Was a Time" with Mannish Boys’ Jacob Berger. Berger is a veteran of the Carolina rock scene who’d toyed with the idea of putting this book together for 14 years before finally talking Coston - a lover of the British Invasion and its American offshoots, as well as a growing authority on Carolina music - into co-writing it.

I didn’t grow up in Charlotte, so I didn’t have parents telling me stories about the good ole’ days shaking it down at the sock hop or anything. What I know about that era I’ve learned from talking to the musicians that played during that time, but rarely has my work taken me into the realm of underground garage rock of the `60s and `70s. Berger and Coston’s book does that with excerpts from interviews with the folks that played that music. It also touches on the other styles that were going on at the time and covers areas outside of Charlotte. It’s an interesting previously untapped history lesson (kind of like that "Carolina Funk: First in Funk" compilation that came out in 2007).

Books and music from the era will be available at the show. Tickets are $6. The show starts at 10 p.m. tonight.

Coston’s other book “North Carolina Musicians: Photographs and Conversations,” gets its own roll out Tuesday, November 19 at Evening Muse. Coston will sign copies of the book, which features his personal stories and experiences with the musicians he’s photographed since the mid `90s. Those notable names include Doc Watson, who graces the book’s cover, Tift Merritt, the Carolina Chocolate Drops, Earl Scruggs (pictured with Watson above), the Avett Brothers and countless others. Coston has recruited Charlotte favorites Temperance League, the Loudermilks, and Justin Fedor, to play the book party. All three appear in the book. That’s one thing I like about “NC Musicians.” While Charlotte has often lived in the shadow of Chapel Hill - and there are plenty triangle area musicians featured - Coston doesn’t leave out our local heroes. For instance, Lou Ford (whose Edwards Brothers now make up two fifths of the Loudermilks) had a huge impact on Charlotte during the late `90s. Like Benji Hughes’ double album a few years ago, their “Sad, But Familiar” was inescapable in local stores, restaurants, and clubs.

Coston includes a few before-they-were-stars as well. There’s a very young pre-bangs Nicole Atkins at her first photo shoot (I barely recognized her) and he mentions his early work with Ryan Adams and the Avett Brothers. The book is as up-to-date as it can be with shots of predicted Charlotte breakouts Matrimony and Paint Fumes as recent as 2012.

Coston hits a variety of genres too from old time, gospel, blues, and bluegrass oldtimers like John Dee Holeman and Chocolate Drops mentor Joe Thompson (who has since passed away) to globetrotting young metal band Valient Thorr. Like in “There Was a Time,” there is a lot of regional music history in these pages. As a photographer who was getting to know the musicians from Chapel Hill’s and Charlotte’s burgeoning scenes, he was often a lot closer to the action than I was simply selling their cds and eventually interviewing some of them. Coston’s passion for his subjects - which is evident from his willingness to take on two independent book projects so close together - comes through in both. Plus, if you need to brush up on your NC music history - new and old - they're worth a look.

 The Evening Muse show is free. Show starts at 8 p.m., doors open at 7 p.m. You can learn more about Coston here.

This week's hot concerts

Melanie Fiona

Friday  8 p.m., Amos’, 1423 S. Tryon St., $35/$65 VIP, www.amossouthend.com

The Canadian R&B singer behind hits “4AM” and “It Kills Me” is regrouping as an independent artist with a new single, “Cold Piece,” which packs plenty of attitude. She’s paired with fellow smooth crooner J. Holiday (“Bed,” “Suffocate”) and `90s R&B quintet Silk, who helped add the phrase “Freak Me” to urban slang dictionaries back in 1994.

Mipso & David Holt

Saturday  8 p.m., Neighorhood Theatre, 511 E. 36^th St., $17-$20, www.visulite.com

Titling its second album, “Dark Holler Pop,” gives this harmony-driven Chapel Hill trio a built-in calling card. There’s no better description for a record that’s a who’s who of the triangle’s music scene. The innovative group keeps good company in Grammy winning PBS’ “Folkways” host and NC music historian Holt.

Michael Franti & Spearhead

Sunday  7:30 p.m., The Fillmore, 1000 NC Music Factory Blvd., $33, www.livenation.com

On his eighth studio album, “All People,” the veteran California activist/musician continues to seamlessly blend rock, reggae, hip-hop, folk and funk into hook-laden pop songs while sticking with the positive messages of unity and tolerance that have long been at the forefront of his music. Canadian it-girl Serena Ryder opens the show.

IAmDynamite

Sunday  9 p.m., Tremont, 400 W. Tremont Ave., $8-$10, www.tremontmusichall.com

This rock duo is likely the best band you haven’t heard. As an opening act it’s converted Sum 41 and Blue October fans with catchy song after catchy song. You’ll doubt whether the pair - out on its “Hey Girl” tour before its second album is released next year - is capable of writing a dud.

Joe Bonamassa

Tuesday  8 p.m., Ovens Auditorium, 2700 E. Independence Blvd., $97.30-$147, www.ticketmaster.com

While other young blues guitarists were copping classic licks, this now 36-year-old wunderkind was carving out his own style, which he delivers to audiences with an acoustic opening set and a show-stopping electric set for a show that clocks in at nearly three hours. Both are filled with eclectic covers from “Jelly Roll” to “Sloe Gin.”

Big Bad Voodoo Daddy

Wednesday  8 p.m., Neighborhood Theatre, 511 E. 36^th St., $27-$32, www.neighborhoodtheatre.com

Hard to believe it’s been 17 years since the movie “Swingers” gave this California swing revivalist and actor Vince Vaughn a kick in the career. BBVD was already steeped in the swing tradition before the swing craze took hold. It celebrates 20 years with a signature dancefloor-igniting set.

Kevin Devine

Thursday  8 p.m., Evening Muse, 3227 N. Davidson St., $13-$16, www.eveningmuse.com

Don’t let the singer-songwriter tag fool you. Like Ted Leo, the Brooklyn band leader is as capable of rocking out to charging guitar as he is delving into folkier acoustic pop. He does both with two recently released Kickstarter-funded albums, “Bulldozer” and “Bubblegum.” With Now Now.

Trombone Shorty

Thursday  8 p.m., Neighborhood Theatre, 511 E. 36^th. St., $25-$27, www.neighborhoodtheatre.com

The legacy musician’s place was destined as a band leader parading brass bands through the streets of New Orleans at age 6. The now 27-year-old, Treme-raised horn player continues to push the boundaries of jazz, funk, and hip-hop with rock and R&B thrown in, often collaborating with an eclectic mix of his peers and industry legends.

Papadosio

Thursday  9:30 p.m., Chop Shop, 399 E. 35^th St., $10-$12, www.chopshopnoda.com

This Asheville based outfit merges the no longer so dissimilar worlds of electronic music and jam rock pinning matter-of-fact, everyman-style harmonies and the occasional flicker of bluegrass and folk music on trippy psychedelic atmospherics and dance-music bloops and bleeps - making it a favorite on the festival circuit.

Plaza-Midwood Radio releases local music comp

In 2003 one local musician and college radio host (Andrew Webster) put together an eight disc compilation of Charlotte music. I was just thinking the other day what a great tool that was as an introduction to Charlotte's local music scene as well as a reference tool for people like me. That was before an endless amount of local music was available online. But I still appreciate someone taking the effort to sort through it all.

Plaza-Midwood Community Radio is revisiting that idea, releasing a handful of songs by local artists every Tuesday in November. The four EPs will be compiled at the end of the month as "Don't Touch That Dial!" - an 18-track compilation. The first installment features Bo White (which you can preview above), Your Fuzzy Friends, It Looks Sad, Replicas, and Modern Primitives.

The release also serves as a fundraising tool for the fledgling internet radio station which focuses a lot of its airtime on local music, local artists, and local hosts. The EPs are free for one week - until the next one is released. Then the entire 18-track collection will be available for a small donation to the station. Donations are also encouraged for the weekly installments as the station is entirely non-profit and community funded. Download and donate here and listen to PMCR online here. .

This week's hot concerts

Reeve Coobs

Friday  7:30 p.m., Neighborhood Theatre, 511 E. 36^th St., $10-$12. www.neighborhoodtheatre.com  

As a singer-songwriter she’s been a fixture (and one time Near Miss) in Charlotte for years, so it’s surprising that her new album is also her debut. If you’ve seen her folky solo acoustic performances and think you know what to expect, “What Love is All About” is a fully-realized collection that weaves a remarkable voice through a number of subtle genre changes.

Black Lips

Friday  9 p.m., Chop Shop, 399 E. 35^th St., $15. www.chopshopnoda.com   

Leave it to the Atlanta garage rock foursome, whose reputation was sullied and stoked by on stage vomiting (and worse) in its infancy, to document its rare tour of the Middle East in the film “Kids Like You and Me.” The live show follows Wednesday’s screening of the film.  

Drake

Saturday  8 p.m., Time Warner Cable Arena, 333 E. Trade St., $40.95-$117.40. www.ticketmaster.com

On one hand hip-hop’s hottest solo artist is on fire with his thirteenth No. 1 single and new album that - like his live show - focuses almost solely on the rapper/singer. But his tour with Miguel and Future has been plagued with cancellations (including Raleigh) and rumors of Future’s exit after boastful, anti-Drake comments about the opening act's aptly titled “Honest.”

Todd Snider’s What the Folk

Saturday  8 p.m., Visulite, 1615 Elizabeth Ave., $22-$25. www.visulite.com

You really couldn’t ask for a better caliber of songwriters than the group Snider’s put together with fellow Americana/left of Nashville songwriters Hayes Carl, Elizabeth Cook, and Bobby Bare, Jr. The foursome is only doing a handful of shows together, so consider this a rare treat.

Taking Back Sunday

Sunday   7 p.m., The Fillmore, 1000 NC Music Factory Blvd., $37.50. www.livenation.com  

Having finished recording a new album (set for Spring release) earlier this month, the longrunning post-hardcore/emo outfit is back on the road unveiling some of its new material. Two-fifths of this long-running post-hardcore, emo outfit calls Charlotte home now, so consider this a homecoming.

Tim Kasher

Monday   8 p.m., Tremont, 400 W. Tremont Ave., $12-$15. www.tremontmusichall.com 

The Cursive frontman’s second solo album, “Adult Film,” tackles aging, maturity, and adult relationships with creative carnival-like musical gusto and grabbing, introspective lyrics that mark his band’s best work. Laura Stevenson, who appears on the album, is among the show’s openers.

Nik Turner’s Hawkwind/Spindrift

Tuesday   8 p.m., Tremont, 400 W. Tremont Ave., $12. www.tremontmusichall.com  

If you’re looking to visit the Wild West or outer space then this bill provides a soundtrack. Hawkwind founder Turner’s set of trippy psychedelia includes tracks from his former band’s “Space Ritual” album. Spaghetti-Western aficionado Spindrift revisits its recent ghost town tour and 2014 film on the new disc “Ghost of the West.”

New Found Glory/Alkaline Trio

Wednesday  7:30 p.m., The Fillmore, 1000 NC Music Factory Blvd., $32. www.livenation.com

Pop-punk’s apparently not dead with NFG, who has a new live album out, still in rotation on MTVU (the new clip for “Connect the Dots”). Its paired with the horror punk trio who still manage to mine fresh ideas out of the dark imagery, lyrical twists, and chiseled guitar riffs that it’s long stocked its arsenal with on the 2013 album “My Shame is True.”

The Royal Concept

Thursday  8 p.m., Visulite, 1615 Elizabeth Ave., $12-$15. www.visulite.com 

The show stealer on last year’s tour with Atlas Genius and Wolfgang - this Swedish alternative pop combo is breaking at radio in the US with the new track, “On Our Way.” The live juggernaut headlines the Three of Clubs Tour with the curiously named NYC bands American Authors and Misterwives - the last of which sound like the Bee Gees meet Martha Wainwright.