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OMD perform at Brooklyn Steel on April 30, 2022. (Photos by Ben Eisendrath; Thoughts by Mickey McCarter)
UK new wavers Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark are touring the United States to celebrate their storied 40-year career, and they have built the perfect setlist for the series of anniversary performances.
The quartet knocked it out of the park with their 23-song set for two highly energetic nights at Brooklyn Steel recently. Ben Eisendrath captured the action in photos!
Andy McCluskey fronts OMD at the Lincoln Theatre in DC on April 26, 2022. (Photos by Jason Nicholson; Words by Mickey McCarter)
The most extraordinary musical acts in modern pop history have emerged from groundbreaking scenes that imbue them with mythic powers. And so it was wholly satisfying to witness Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, one of the very finest UK bands, fully embrace their own mythology in a pandemic-delayed 40th-anniversary celebration of hits at DC’s Lincoln Theatre this week, when frontman Andy McCluskey and company smartly acknowledged the creative ground that forged OMD in late ’70s England.
In the concert’s most extraordinary moment, OMD reset their positions during the show’s midpoint to place the four band members at the lip of the stage in a Kraftwerk formation, whereupon Andy dedicated the live rarity “Statues” to the group’s long-departed friend Ian Curtis.
Andy McCluskey (right) with fellow OMD co-founder Paul Humphreys (Photo courtesy Tell All Your Friends PR)
English new wavers Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, aka OMD, celebrated the 40th anniversary of their self-titled debut album in 2020. Of course, they weren’t able to tour a career retrospective at that time due to pandemic lockdowns. But they are back again now to tour North America in what promises to be a thrilling show.
Celebrating hits across their career, OMD performs at the Lincoln Theatre in Washington, DC, on Tuesday, April 26, the fourth stop on what promises to be a memorable greatest hits tour. Andy McCluskey (vocals, bass), Paul Humphreys (keyboards, vocals), Martin Cooper (keyboards, saxphone, etc.), and Stuart Kershaw (drums) promise a big production — the sort of which they usually only tour in Europe. Also on display naturally will be the band’s rare genius — their combination of thoughtful and intellectual music that also truly inspires you to dance the night away.
Parklife DC’s Mickey McCarter recently chatted with OMD frontman Andy McCluskey about 40 years of OMD, his working relationship with his co-writer Paul, and his personal art collection. Oh, and Andy shared some info about a new album as well!
Matt Murphy fronts The Wombats at 9:30 Club on Jan. 20, 2022. (Photo by Mickey McCarter)
Toward the end of the main set at 9:30 Club on the first of two nights, The Wombats frontman Matt Murphy told the sold-out room, “This song is based on something my wife told me, prior to launching into “If You Ever Leave, I’m Coming with You” from the trio’s brand new album, Fix Yourself, Not the World.
The inspiration for the song surely justified Murph’s high spirits and good cheer. Happily married, he took up residence in Los Angeles and fathered two daughters with said wife in the time since the release of The Wombats’ previous album.
Whatever good life Murph is living paid off big time not only in boisterous nights at the 9:30 Club but also in the form of a No. 1 album in The Wombats’ native United Kingdom this week! The No. 1 score is a first for The Wombats, who usually broke the UK Top 5 at least with their previous three albums. (Extraordinary debut record, A Guide to Love, Loss & Desperation, hit No. 11 on the UK charts back in 2007.)
OMD (Photo courtesy Tell All Your Friends)
Editor’s Note: Originally scheduled for October 2020, this concert was rescheduled to March 27, 2021 due to COVID-19.
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) recently announced a uniquely special You Me & OMD live show from London’s Indigo at The O2 on March 27, 2021 — set to raise money and awareness for their crew, whose livelihoods have been so affected in the wake of the global Covid-19 pandemic.
Andy McCluskey and Paul Humphries of OMD (Photo by Tom Oxley)
Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark (OMD) announces “Live From Your Sofa!” — an online performance featuring never-before-seen footage of the whole of last year’s Hammersmith Apollo London show. The OMD concert film screens on YouTube on Saturday, May 9.
Helen Marnie fronts Ladytron at Brooklyn Steel on Oct. 2, 2019. (Photo by Mickey McCarter)
Ladytron opened the show with “Black Cat,” sung in Bulgarian by Mira Aroyo, and you could be excused for believing you were watching the timeless synthpop band eight years ago — when the quartet visited last visited Brooklyn.
But no, it was indeed 2019, and Ladytron also played a host of new songs from an exciting new self-titled album released in February. It was a very welcome return indeed when the band performed at Brooklyn Steel recently!
OMD performs at The Fillmore Charlotte on Aug. 31, 2019. (Photo by Mickey McCarter)
You could feel the “electricity” in the air long before you heard the song of the same name when Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, or OMD, played a headlining show at The Fillmore Charlotte recently. OMD thrilled the very full house to its core as the quintessential English synthpoppers hit the second of four solo shows in a break from opening for The B-52s.
China Crisis performs at City Winery in DC on Dec. 6, 2018.
UK new wave outfit China Crisis dropped by City Winery recently for their first DC show in more than 30 years, and the band and a small crowd shared a simply marvelous time together.
China Crisis (Photo courtesy the artist)
UK sophistipop duo China Crisis has made fantastic music, much of which I personally relate to the English New Romantics and their passionate style of forward-looking lyrics with rousing synthpop.
While they’ve been consistently active since their days on the charts, the band’s visits to the United States have been rare until recently. And now, China Crisis performs at City Winery on Thursday, Dec. 6.
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