Music Park: Lost ’80s Live @ Warner Theatre — 9/21/18

Posted on 09/25/2018 by Mickey McCarter in Live Review and tagged '80s music, A Flock of Seagulls, Animotion, Annabella Lwin, Bow Wow Wow, Cutting Crew, Farrington+Mann, Gene Loves Jezebel, Lost '80s Live, Mike Score, music festival, Naked Eyes, new wave, synthpop, Wang Chung, Warner Theatre, When in Rome.

Farrington + Mann impressed as a standout act during Lost ’80s Live at Warner Theatre on Sept. 21, 2018. (Photo by Mickey McCarter)

If a theater full of people singing their hearts out to “I Ran (So Far Away)” by A Flock of Seagulls doesn’t move you, I don’t know what else to say! If it sounds pretty exciting, read on for a recap of Lost ’80s Live, the hit-a-minute machine that brought Gene Loves Jezebel, Annabella Lwin of Bow Wow Wow, Farrington+Mann of When in Rome, Animotion, Naked Eyes, Wang Chung, and A Flock of Seagulls to the Warner Theatre on Friday.

Don’t Miss: Careless Memories @ Dodge City, 9/13/18

Posted on 09/10/2018 by Mickey McCarter in Live Review and tagged A Flock of Seagulls, Animotion, Berlin, Bow Wow Wow, Careless Memories, dj party, Dodge City, Farrington and Mann, Gene Loves Jezebel, Missing Persons, Naked Eyes, new wave, Wang Chung, When in Rome.

Careless Memories celebrates Animotion and other artists on Sept. 13 at Dodge City!

Ever yearn to hear that one song by that one artist over a beer? We’ve got you covered with our next edition of Careless Memories, as we celebrate “Lost ‘80s” hits at Dodge City on Thursday, Sept. 13.

Inspired by the Lost ‘80s tour coming to Warner Theatre later this month, Careless Memories will explore the timeless of a crop of new wave artists that crafted irresistible earworms for which they will forever be known with the likes of A Flock of Seagulls and “I Ran (So Far Away),” Animotion and “Obsession,” Wang Chung and “Everybody Have Fun Tonight,” and more more more.

Don’t Miss: Lost ‘80s Live @ Warner Theatre, 9/21/18

Posted on 09/06/2018 by Mickey McCarter in Live Review and tagged A Flock of Seagulls, Animotion, Annabella Lwin, Bow Wow Wow, Farrington and Mann, Gene Loves Jezebel, Lost '80s Live, Mike Score, music festival, Naked Eyes, new wave, Wang Chung, Warner Theatre, When in Rome.

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Annabella Lwin with Bow Wow Wow at Dreamland in San Francisco on Sept. 28, 1981. (Photo by Chester Simpson)

Lost ‘80s Live, the long-running traveling retro music festival, celebrates 15 years in 2018. Lost ‘80s Live is coming to DC on Friday, Sept. 21, with a show at Warner Theatre that includes A Flock of Seagulls, Wang Chung, Annabella Lwin of Bow Wow Wow, Farrington and Mann (the original vocalists of When in Rome), Naked Eyes, Animotion, and Gene Loves Jezebel.

Don’t Miss: Retro Futura Feat. Belinda Carlisle and ABC @ Bergen Performing Arts Center, 7/14/18

Posted on 07/03/2018 by Mickey McCarter in Live Review and tagged ABC, Annabella Lwin, Belinda Carlisle, Bow Wow Wow, Kajagoogoo, Limahl, Martin Fry, Modern English, new romantic, new wave, post-punk, sophistipop, The Outfield, Tony Lewis.

Belinda Carlisle (Photo courtesy Paradise Artists)

If like me, you miss the days of sitting in front of MTV and soaking up all of the good music that came your way, then Retro Futura has a deal for you.

Retro Futura, the long-running traveling ‘80s music festival, comes around for another summer with the beautiful Belinda Carlisle, ABC (featuring the ever-dashing Martin Fry), post-punk masters Modern English, Tony Lewis of The Outfield, Limahl (of chart-toppers Kajagoogoo), and Annabella Lwin of Bow Wow Wow. Check out tickets for their performance at the Bergen Performing Arts Center in Bergen, New Jersey, on July 14!

Don’t Miss: Careless Memories @ Dodge City, 6/8/17

Posted on 06/08/2017 by Mickey McCarter in Live Review and tagged Bow Wow Wow, Careless Memories, dj party, Dodge City, Howard Jones, Katrina, Men Without Hats, Midge Ure, Modern English, new wave, The English Beat, Thompson Twins.

Howard Jones performs at The Hamilton on Sept. 3, 2016.

Tonight — don’t crack up, bend your brain, see both sides, and throw off your mental chains with Careless Memories! And dance the evening away as if we were at a summer music festival. Starting at 8pm at Dodge City, I’ll play artists like Howard Jones, The English Beat, Modern English, Men Without Hats, Bow Wow Wow, Katrina and The Waves, Thompson Twins, Midge Ure, and others, inspired by the summer Retro Futura Tour.

To get ready for all of it, I chatted with Howard Jones himself last week! Revisit our Parklife DC interview with Howard, and then join our listening party at Careless Memories tonight.

Interview: Howard Jones (on Retro Futura Tour @ Pier Six Pavilion [Baltimore, Md.], 7/30/17)

Posted on 06/01/2017 by Mickey McCarter in Interview, Live Review and tagged '80s music, Annabella Lwin, Baltimore, Bow Wow Wow, England, Howard Jones, Interview, Katrina, Men Without Hats, Modern English, music festival, new wave, Paul Young, Pier Six Pavilion, Retro Futura Tour, synthpop, The English Beat.

Howard Jones (Photo by David Conn)

“Do you feel scared? I do, but I won’t stop and falter.”

So, sang Howard Jones in his smashing 1985 hit “Things Can Only Get Better,” which in my opinion perfectly framed Howard’s ethos. The Englishman is unflappably upbeat and optimistic, and he makes fantastically irresistible music still today.

Snapshots: Annabella Lwin of Bow Wow Wow (@ Retro Futura Tour [Pier Six Pavilion, Baltimore, Md.], 7/30/17)

Posted on 04/12/2017 by Mickey McCarter in Live Review and tagged Annabella Lwin, Baltimore, Bow Wow Wow, Chester Simpson, Howard Jones, Katrina, Men Without Hats, Modern English, new romantic, new wave, Pier Six Pavilion, Retro Futura Tour, The English Beat.

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Annabella Lwin at Dreamland in San Francisco on Sept. 28, 1981. (Photo by Chester Simpson)

The fascinating thing about hitting pop stardom in 1980 when you’re aged 13 — like Annabella Lwin, former lead singer of Bow Wow Wow — is that some 37 years later you might still have energy and creativity yet to tour anew. In the case of Annabella, Baltimore receives a treat when she appears on the bill of the Retro Futura Tour, replacing Paul Young on one of the dates for the traveling ’80s festival, on Sunday, July 30.