Scotland

Interview: Midge Ure Chats About 40 Years of Ultravox’s “Vienna”

Posted on by in Interview and tagged , , , , , , , .

MIDGE_URE-0371A_BW
Midge Ure (Photo courtesy Erika Tooker)

The brilliantly talented Midge Ure inaugurated his Backstage Lockdown Club — a series of live performances, presentations, and chat — via his Patreon site over the last few months. The gregarious singer-songwriter takes requests, performs acoustically, shares tales, greets guests, and more several times a month for a very reasonable subscription fee! In a time of very few concerts due to the pandemic, Midge has thrown us a live music lifeline, and it’s an absolute pleasure to be greeted in song or story by his distinctive Scottish vocal.

During the concert series, Midge performs songs from his solo back catalogue as well as covers and selections from his other bands, including of course Ultravox, the influential New Romantic band he fronted from 1979-1988 (and again circa 2008-2013). Parklife DC’s Mickey McCarter caught up with Midge via Skype to chat about Backstage Lockdown Club, the 40th anniversary of Ultravox’s breakthrough album Vienna, and more.

Continue Reading

Snapshots: We Were Promised Jetpacks @ Baltimore Soundstage — 2/8/20

Posted on by in Live Review and tagged , , , , .

We Were Promised Jetpacks - Baltimore Soundstage - 02.08.20
We Were Promised Jetpacks performs at Baltimore Soundstage on Feb. 8, 2020. (Photo by Casey Vock)

We Were Promised Jetpacks, an indie rock band from Edinburgh, Scotland, recently visited the Charm City for a performance at Baltimore Soundstage as part of their current tour through the United States, and Parklife DC was on hand to capture images and take in the show. Continue Reading

Live Review: Midge Ure @ City Winery — 2/5/20

Posted on by in Live Review and tagged , , , , , , , , , .

WMmidgeure02052012 Midge Ure performs at City Winery DC on Feb. 5, 2020. (Photo by Nalinee Darmrong)

Midge Ure, the gregarious former frontman of Ultravox, answered questions and performed tunes from his solo career, Visage, Ultravox, and even the Rich Kids, in a recent evening of story and song at City Winery in Washington, DC.

Continue Reading

Snapshots: The Waterboys @ Lincoln Theatre — 9/22/19

Posted on by in Live Review and tagged , , , , , .

waterboys_3_DSC00750
The Waterboys perform at the Lincoln Theatre on Sept. 22, 2019. (Photo by Jason Nicholson)

The Waterboys, the storied UK folk rockers, released Where The Action Is, the band’s 13th studio album, via Cooking Vinyl back in May. Frontman Mike Scott and company returned to DC to perform at the Lincoln Theatre recently, and Jason Nicholson photographed the show!

Continue Reading

Snapshots: The Twilight Sad @ U Street Music Hall — 5/12/19

Posted on by in Live Review and tagged , , , , , .

TWS-20_DSC08828
The Twilight Sad performs at U Street Music Hall on May 12, 2019. (Photo by Jason Nicholson)

The Twilight Sad made a brief appearance at U Street Music Hall recently, but the post-punk quintet, fronted by James Graham, stopped the show sort when the vocalist was too ill to continue.

Continue Reading

Live Review: Teenage Fanclub @ 9:30 Club — 3/16/19

Posted on by in Live Review and tagged , , , , .

Photo by Kyle Gustafson
Teenage Fanclub performs at 9:30 Club on March 16, 2019. (Photo by Kyle Gustafson)

It seems wrong to start a concert review by mentioning the one guy that wasn’t there, but we might as well address the elephant in the room first thing. Last fall, Gerry Love, bassist and founding member of Teenage Fanclub, announced he would leave the group after their winter run of shows in the UK.

Continue Reading