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Blondie (Photo by Guy Furrow)
On Aug. 26, punk innovators Blondie release Blondie: Against the Odds, an archival box set of remastered music encapsulating the band’s career from 1974-1982.
In the dates leading up to the release, Blondie have hit the run for a North American Tour, which includes a date at The Anthem on Sunday, Aug. 21, with special guests The Damned!
DEVO steals the show at the inaugural Cruel World Festival on May 14, 2022. (Photo courtesy Cruel World)
Last weekend, California mega-festival organizer Goldenvoice finally fulfilled its pandemic-delayed vision of presenting a gala event consisting solely of alternative new wave and post-punk bands of the ’70s and ’80s coupled with younger bands who have adapted a similar sound in the 2010s and 2020s.
And so it was that an estimated 50,000 people (the capped capacity of the park) streamed into Brookside at the Rose Bowl for the first day of the newly minted, annual Cruel World Festival on Saturday, May 14.
Here is a recap of five of the best acts to play that day.
The Damned (Photo courtesy Freeman Promotions)
In 1980 and 1981, The Damned went to Rockfield for a series of sessions that eventually became The Black Album, The Friday 13th EP, and Strawberries. Their time there produced some of The Damned’s greatest musical moments and memorable stories of horses, cows, vampires, rifles, and Lemmy.
In 2019, The Damned returned to Rockfield studios to record the first new music since 2018’s Top 10 Evil Spirits album. “Keep ‘Em Alive” is the first single from that effort.
“You may ask yourself, well, how did I get here?” David Byrne ponders being my No. 1 concert in 2018. (Photo by Mickey McCarter)
Editor’s Note: This year, we asked our bloggers to name their Top 10 shows of 2018 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.
Hi, I’m Mickey, editor of Parklife DC. I’m an MTV-bred New Wave and Post-Punk kid at heart, and it will come as no surprise to you that my Top 10 concerts of 2018 mostly burst right off your television screens in 1985.
Johnny Marr slings his guitar at The Fillmore Silver Spring on Oct. 17, 2018. Jason Nicholson chose a picture from this show (but not this one) as one of his Top 10 of 2018. (Photo by Jason Nicholson)
Editor’s Note: This year, we asked our bloggers to name their Top 10 shows of 2018 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.
While sitting back in my chair and listening to a vinyl record is a favorite pastime of mine, there is nothing like going out and experiencing a performance live. For me as a concert photographer, the challenge is trying to capture the image of an artist you have spent a lifetime getting to know or at least your representation of what they mean to you. Here’s my Top 10 favorite photos of 2018 I had the pleasure of shooting for Parklife DC this year with a little commentary. Hope you enjoy seeing them again and best wishes for a great 2019!
Dave Vanian sings in The Damned at Black Cat on Oct. 20, 2018. (Photos by Jason Nicolson; Words by Mickey McCarter)
“I had a little freakout when my guitar broke last night,” said Captain Sensible during a sold-out show at Black Cat.
“Don’t you freakout now,” The Captain said to the audience. “Unless you want to freakout a little.” He paused. “Monty, dig me out of this hole, will you?”
Keyboardist Monty Oxymoron smiled and asked, “What’s a little freakout in the entire History of the World?” And without missing a beat, The Damned launched into “The History of the World (Part 1),” a single dating to The Black Album in 1980.
The Damned (Photo by Steve Gullick)
The Damned, “the greatest surviving British punk band,” have a hot new album, Evil Spirits, and they are coming to perform at the Black Cat on Saturday, Oct. 20. You can win a meet and greet with The Damned, along with tickets to the show, with Parklife DC!
The Damned (Photo by Steve Gullick)
In 1976, Dave Vanian and Captain Sensible formed The Damned, the innovative post-punk band that has rocked England now for decades. The Damned released Evil Spirits, their 11th studio album, in April via Search and Destroy and Spinefarm. The record was a smash, hitting #7 on the UK Albums chart and catapulting the always vital band back into the public eye.
While Dave and Captain Sensible have worked with a number of musicians over the years, Monty Oxymoron has been the keyboardist for The Damned since 1996, recording on their last three albums and touring globally with the band. And he will play with The Damned again in DC at Black Cat on Saturday, Oct. 20. Parklife DC chatted with Monty about the new album, his history with The Damned, and what makes the band so unique and well loved for more than 40 years.
The Damned perform at Baltimore Soundstage on Tuesday, May 9, 2017.
Inside Baltimore Soundstage on Tuesday night, people would randomly shout out to Captain Sensible, mimicking the call of his 1982 solo single “Wot.”
“He said Captain!” random members of the audience interjected at various points throughout a very crowded performance by The Damned, on tour to celebrate the group’s 40th anniversary. While The Damned did not indulge the audience with the catchy earworm from Sensible, the UK punks did however smash through more than 90 minutes of great highlights.
The Damned perform at Royal Albert Hall in London on May 20, 2016. (Photo by Dod Morrison Photography)
Dave Vanian and Captain Sensible are on a US tour to celebrate the 40th anniversary of The Damned, and tickets are still available for their show tonight, May 9, at Baltimore Soundstage.