Raiding Great Britain In 2003, a band from Las Vegas found fairer fortunes on the far side of the Atlantic, landing a record deal and radio play in England before conquering America. Eight years later, the Afghan Raiders are hoping to retrace that track to success—first traveled, of course, by The Killers.

This weekend, the Vegas-birthed electro trio will play its first three U.K. shows, hoping, vocalist Mikey Francis says, to attract industry attention. “A couple of labels have said they’re coming out to see us,” he explains some 72 hours before jetting overseas. “People seem to think our kind of music will go over well there.”

Francis says he, synthmaster Vincent “Beans” Campillo and drummer Drew Marcogliese have a five-track EP, titled Calls From the Universe, ready for release, and would consider dropping it as a U.K. or European exclusive if the opportunity arose. “We haven’t really had any big breaks in the U.S., so we’re going to try our luck there,” he says.

Afghan Raiders perform Friday night (June 10) at Club NME in London, then play a pair of fests: Saturday at London’s LED Festival, headlined by Deadmau5, and Sunday at Scotland’s RockNess festival, where they’ll share a stage with Boys Noize and Simian Mobile Disco. No matter what else happens on foreign soil, Francis says he’ll consider the trip a victory of sorts. “At the end of the day, what I’ve always wanted is to be in a band that travels and experiences different places and cultures.”

Vegas overdose Local outfit Vitamin Overdose is also preparing to leave town, but their upcoming trip won’t be a quick jaunt. Blues-rock duo/engaged couple Chandelle Gleed and Trevor Wood, who moved to Boulder City from Reno in late 2009, say they’re relocating to Nashville by way of Little Rock, Arkansas, maybe as soon as the end of the summer.

“We’re just ready for another change,” Gleed explains as she and Wood load up their van following a sparsely attended First Friday performance at the Bunkhouse. “We’re big fans of the South,” Wood says. “My mom’s family is from Little Rock.”

Before skipping town, Vitamin Overdose will release a 7-inch featuring the songs “My Own Ghost” and “Little Grave” at a June 17 Bunkhouse show. Gleed also has a solo set scheduled for July 21 at the Beauty Bar, opening for ex-Sleepy Sun singer Rachel Fannan.

Also … New local five-piece Candy Warpop played its first-ever show last Friday at the Bunkhouse, featuring a noisy rock sound and a lineup comprising three women and two men in polka-dotted dresses. The band hit the stage around 2:30 a.m. Welcome to the scene, guys … Four months after the release of debut album Best Frenzy, psychedelic-rock outfit Twin Brother’s immediate future appears fuzzy following drummer Brian Scanlan’s announcement that he’s moving to Hawaii. The group declined comment. … Punk favorites Holding Onto Sound played 2007’s eponymous debut disc, start to finish, to a primed Gypsy Den crowd on First Friday. How seriously did the quartet take its duty? HOTS brought local poet Amir Rikkah to the stage twice to re-create his spoken-word contributions to the album. … Bob Dylan. The Rolling Stones. The Smiths. And now, David Bowie. Downtown’s latest cover-night installment will feature the music of the Thin White Duke, June 24 at Beauty Bar. Scheduled to perform: A Crowd of Small Adventures, Dusty Sunshine, Halloween Town’s Ryan Pardey and more. Something tells us Megan Wingerter is rehearsing “Moonage Daydream” right now.