Song of the Day: “Keep ‘Em Alive” by The Damned

Posted on 08/14/2020 by Parklifer in Preview and tagged England, London, new wave, punk, Song of the Day, The Damned.

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.

Best of the Year: Top 10 Concerts of 2018 by Mickey

Posted on 12/19/2018 by Mickey McCarter in Live Review and tagged 9:30 Club, Best of 2018, best of the year, Black Cat, David Byrne, DC9, Franz Ferdinand, Lincoln Theatre, Merriweather Post Pavilion, MGM National Harbor, Mundy, New Order, Nicole Atkins, OMD, Orchestral Manoeuvres in the Dark, Pat Benatar, Simple Minds, The Anthem, The Birchmere, The Damned, The Kills, Thomas Dolby, Wolf Trap.

“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.

Best of the Year: Top 10 Photos of 2018 by Jason

Posted on 12/17/2018 by Jason Nicholson "Le Mouton Flâneur" in Live Review and tagged 9:30 Club, Belly, Best of 2018, best of the year, Black Cat, Daniel Ash, Dave Vanian, Gail Greenwood, Gary Numan, johnny marr, Lisa Stansfield, Peter Hook, Peter Hook and The Light, Poptone, Psychedelic Furs, Richard Butler, Robert E. Parilla Performing Arts Center, Roger Daltrey, The Birchmere, The Charlatans, The Charlatans UK, The Damned, The Fillmore Silver Spring, The Who, U Street Music Hall, Union Transfer, Wolf Trap.

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)

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!

Music Park: The Damned @ Black Cat — 10/20/18

Posted on 10/26/2018 by Jason Nicholson "Le Mouton Flâneur" in Live Review and tagged Black Cat, Captain Sensible, Dave Vanian, England, goth, London, new wave, punk, The Damned.

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.

Ticket Giveaway: The Damned @ Black Cat, 10/20/18

Posted on 10/03/2018 by Mickey McCarter in Live Review and tagged Black Cat, Captain Sensible, Dave Vanian, England, free tickets, goth, Monty Oxymoron, new wave, post-punk, punk, The Damned, ticket giveaway.

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!

Interview: Monty Oxymoron (of The Damned @ Black Cat, 10/20/18)

Posted on 09/27/2018 by Mickey McCarter in Interview, Live Review and tagged Black Cat, Captain Sensible, Dave Vanian, England, goth, Interview, Monty Oxymoron, new wave, post-punk, punk, The Damned.

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.

Music Park: The Damned @ Baltimore Soundstage — 5/9/17

Posted on 05/12/2017 by Mickey McCarter in Live Review and tagged anniversary show, Baltimore, Baltimore Soundstage, Captain Sensible, Dave Vanian, London, new wave, post-punk, punk, The Damned.

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.

Don’t Miss: The Damned @ Baltimore Soundstage, 5/9/17

Posted on 05/09/2017 by Mickey McCarter in Live Review and tagged anniversary show, Baltimore Soundstage, London, post-punk, punk, The Bell Rays, The Damned.

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.

Around Town: THE DAMNED: Don’t You Wish That We Were Dead @ Angelika Pop-Up, 8/12/15

Posted on 07/20/2015 by Mickey McCarter in Around Town and tagged Angelika Pop-Up, documentary, England, punk, rockumentary, The Damned.

The Damned bassist Stu West and Captain Sensible in Japan, 2012. (Photo by Shiego Kikuchi)

Perennial U.K. punk rock favorites The Damned come by DC regularly to perform at the Black Cat. Well, now you can review nearly 40 years of the band’s history in an authorized documentary, “THE DAMNED: Don’t You Wish That We Were Dead,” which screens at the Angelika Pop-Up (Union Market, 550 Penn St. NE, DC) on Wednesday, August 12.

Anchored by vocalist Dave Vanian and guitarist Captain Sensible, The Damned certainly have weathered quite a bit since their first show on July 6, 1977, as they race toward their official 40th anniversary show at The Royal Albert Hall in May 2016. U.S. film screenings of the documentary officially begin July 28 in Southern California, and then the movie travels across the country, much like the band would were they on a tour. Continue Reading