Live Review: The Church @ Cruel World 2022 — 5/14/22

Steve Kilbey fronts The Church at Cruel World 2022 on May 14, 2022. (Photo by Nacho DelaGarza)

The inaugural Cruel World Festival was undoubtedly a smash. Fifty thousand people filed into Brookside at the Rose Bowl earlier this month to see the most impressive gathering of new wave and post-punk bands in decades thanks to a festival produced by Goldenvoice.

There are certain songs you wanted to hear and certain bands you wanted to see represented at such a thing of course. You would want to hear “Bela Lugosi’s Dead” by Bauhaus, “Whip It” by Devo, and for my money surely “Under the Milky Way” by The Church.

Preview: Cruel World Festival @ Brookside at the Rose Bowl (Pasadena, Calif.), 5/14 + 5/15/22

Posted on April 22, 2022 by Parklifer in Preview and tagged Bauhaus, Blondie, Cruel World, DEVO, Echo and the Bunnymen, Morrissey, Rose Bowl, The Church, The Psychedelic Furs, Violent Femmes.

Cruel World Festival is taking place Saturday, May 14, and Sunday, May 15, 2022 at Brookside at The Rose Bowl in Pasadena, California featuring performances by Morrissey, Bauhaus, Blondie, DEVO, Echo & The Bunnymen, The Psychedelic Furs, Violent Femmes, The Church, and many more.

The lineup repeats performances each day of the festival. The first day is sold out but limited tickets remain for Sunday, May 15!

Song of the Day: “Sheba Chiba” by Steve Kilbey

Posted on September 23, 2020 by Parklifer in Preview and tagged Australia, psychedelic, Song of the Day, Steve Kilbey, The Church.

SteveKilbeyPhoto Steve Kilbey (Photo courtesy the artist)

Steve Kilbey releases a new video today for “Sheba Chiba,” a song from his new solo album, Eleven Women, available now on all streaming platforms. A North American CD and vinyl release date will be announced soon.

Interview: Steve Kilbey of The Church

Posted on August 24, 2020 by Mickey McCarter in Uncategorized and tagged Australia, Interview, neo-psychedelic, psychedelic, Steve Kilbey, The Church.

SteveKilbeyPhoto
Steve Kilbey (Photo courtesy the artist)

The indefatigable Steve Kilbey is best known around the world as frontman for the fantastic neo-psychedelic ensemble known as The Church. And in his homeland of Australia, Steve also keeps busy with a variety of projects, releasing solo albums, collaborating with other musicians, and writing poetry, among other pursuits.

On Sept. 4, Steve is releasing a new solo album, Eleven Women, via Foghorn Records. And he’s working on a new album with The Church. He’s meanwhile collaborating with musicians like Gareth Koch and performing concerts, live and virtual, including an upcoming performance with supergroup The Winged Heels (along with Gareth, Barton Price, and Roger Mason)

Parklife DC’s Mickey McCarter had the pleasure of catching up with Steve Kilbey via email to ask him how he spent his lockdown days in Australia, what’s new with The Church, and his plans for the future.

Best of the Year: Top 10 Concerts of 2019 by Mickey

Posted on December 19, 2019 by Mickey McCarter in Live Review and tagged 9:30 Club, Air Supply, Berlin, Best of 2019, best of the year, Bryan Ferry, City Winery, Ex Hex, Fontaines DC, Metric, MGM National Harbor, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Robyn, Terri Nunn, The Anthem, The B-52s, The Birchmere, The Church, The Fillmore Silver Spring, The Fleshtones, The Struts, U Street Music Hall.

Mickey McCarter was *thrilled* to see the classic lineup of Berlin reunite. (Photo by Jason Nicholson)

Editor’s Note: This year, we asked our bloggers to name their Top 10 shows of 2019 or choose their Top 10 photos of the year. We will run them over the course of mid-December as our Best of the Year posts.

Many of our bloggers work as one-man bands. They travel to a show, shoot it, and write it up. But as Parklife DC editor, I frequently work in collaboration with others. And so I have the opportunity to travel to shows I might otherwise not see in support of bloggers who are there to shoot (usually) or write (occasionally) about the program.

Live Review: The Church @ The Birchmere — 4/18/19

Posted on April 22, 2019 by Jason Nicholson "Le Mouton Flâneur" in Live Review and tagged Australia, neo-psychedelia, new wave, psychedelic, The Birchmere, The Church.

Steve Kilbey fronts The Church at The Birchmere on April 18, 2019. (Photos by Jason Nicholson; Words by Mickey McCarter)

Steve Kilbey paused and invited the audience to imagine flipping over a record. Of course, he told The Birchmere, you would have to walk over to it, gently lift it from the turntable, wipe the static away, turn the record over, wipe that pesky static some more, and carefully place your vinyl just so.

In this case, the reward is “Spark,” the first song on Side 2 of Starfish, the hit album by The Church, which Steve has fronted for nearly 40 years. And so, Steve, guitarist Peter Koppes, and the rest of The Church performed Starfish in its entirety for an appreciative sold-out room at The Birchmere recently.

Ticket Giveaway: The Church @ The Birchmere, 4/18/19

Posted on March 27, 2019 by Parklifer in Preview and tagged Australia, free tickets, neo-psychedelia, new wave, post-punk, The Birchmere, The Church, ticket giveaway.

The Church (Photo courtesy Erika Tooker)

The Church return for a US tour to celebrate the 30th anniversary of their seminal album Starfish. Steve Kilby and company will perform at The Birchmere on Thursday, April 18, and you can win tickets to go with Parklife DC.

Music Park: The Church @ 9:30 Club — 10/1/17

Posted on October 6, 2017 by Mickey McCarter in Live Review and tagged 9:30 Club, Australia, neo-psychedelia, new wave, post-punk, psychedelic, The Church.

The Church perform at 9:30 Club on Oct. 1, 2017. (Photo by Mickey McCarter)

Steve Kilbey was a little bit cantankerous at 9:30 Club on Sunday. He weathered numerous calls for the best-known singles by his band The Church. One enthusiastic audience member for example bellowed for “Under the Milky Way,” prompting Steve to shout, “No!” — right before playing the wonderfully forlorn hit toward the end of his main set.

Ticket Giveaway: The Church @ 9:30 Club, 10/1/17

Posted on September 20, 2017 by Mickey McCarter in Live Review and tagged 9:30 Club, Australia, free tickets, neo-psychedelia, new wave, post-punk, psychedelic, The Church, ticket giveaway.

On Oct. 6, legendary Australian psych rockers The Church will release their 26th studio album, Man Woman Life Death Infinity, via Unorthodox Recordings. To mark the occasion, The Church embarked on a 29-date North American Tour, and frontman Steve Kilbey and company will perform at 9:30 Club on Sunday, Oct. 1. You can win tickets to go with Parklife DC.

Don’t Miss: Careless Memories @ Dodge City, 9/8/16

Posted on August 30, 2016 by Mickey McCarter in Live Review and tagged Careless Memories, dj party, Dodge City, Echo and the Bunnymen, neo-psychedelia, new wave, Psychedelic Furs, The Bangles, The Church, The Teardrop Explodes, XTC.

Echo & The Bunnymen, Clapham Common, Calling Festival, London, on July 4, 2015. (Photo by Drew de F Fawkes)

Last month’s edition of Careless Memories: A New Wave Party at Dodge City was a hit! And it also had a theme: the songs of early MTV.

Well, this month I return with a fresh theme: A Salute to Psych. You see, I’m inspired that Echo & The Bunnymen perform at the 9:30 Club on Friday, Sept. 9! And so Careless Memories (A New Wave Party) salutes the neo-psychedelic artists that had great crossover hits between the parallel lines of new wave and neo-psychedelia.

Watch the official music video for “Lips Like Sugar” by Echo & The Bunnymen on YouTube:

[youtube https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9hGcJA8fXvU]

Turn up at Dodge City on Thursday, Sept. 8 (the night before The Bunnymen perform) for an extra dose of The Bunnymen, The Teardrop Explodes, The Church, The Psychedelic Furs, XTC, probably even The Bangles, and other bands that produced hazy electronic cool.

You can RSVP on Facebook or simply join us — admission is free! And let me give you an early word for reading this: We’re giving away a pair of tickets to see the sold-out Echo & The Bunnymen show at the 9:30 Club! Check back here tomorrow for details.

Careless Memories:
A New Wave Party
Dodge City
Thursday, Sept. 8
Show @8pm
Free Admission
21+