Gandalf Murphy and the Slambovian Circus of Dreams ~ 2013 May 10 ~ The Center for the Arts in Natick ~ Natick, MA
Band Personnel: Joziah Longo, lead vocals, guitar, mandolin, harmonica; Sharkey McEwen, lead guitar, mandolin, backing vocals; Eric Puente, drums; Tink Lloyd, accordion, ukulele, melodica, cello, tambourine, backing vocals ... also known as The Grand Slambovians
Set List
Grand Slambovians - Picture - Very Unusual Head - Pushing Up Daisies - Northern Sea - Very Happy Now - Summer's Day ... Tink (I Know It's You) ... intermission ... Sunday in the Rain - You've Got a Friend {Carole King} - Everybody Needs a Change - Yellow Submarine {Beatles} - Windmills - Box of Everything - Talkin' to the Buddha - Trans-Slambovian BiPolar Express ... encore ... The Invisible - Look Ma No Hands
Scroll down past the videos for review; click to the right for photo gallery.
Videos
"Pushing Up Daisies":
"Summer's Day":
Concert Review
Concert Going Partner and I hadn't seen the Circus since February so we were ready for a touch of that Slambovian magic. The band fulfilled expectations, big time, at this concert. The Center For the Arts in Natick (TCAN) is a very good venue, housed in a former firehouse (see photo gallery higher up on this page for the historic plaque describing the history of the building). Very good sound, an especially good set list, and a particularly inspired performance by Sharkey McEwen on guitar and mandolin all led to one of the best shows we've seen by this band, ever.
Fans of this band know that lead singer Joziah Longo has a tendency to veer off into unexpected territory. But tonight he said he "made the mistake" (his words) of mingling with fans during the intermission. In addition to the usual song requests, he received requests for songs to celebrate a birthday and to commemorate the passing of an individual to the other side. Touched by these requests, Joziah felt the urge to comply. One of the requests was for a song the band has never played, and, I suspect, has never contemplated playing: "You've Got a Friend" by Carole King. It turned into one big heartfelt singalong.
Also bringing out the singing in the crowd was an impromptu "Yellow Submarine." Joziah announced "Windmills," introducing it (as he often does) as Tink's favorite song -- she let out a charming yelp of delight when he announced the song -- but then he started the Beatles classic instead. They got to "Windmills" after.
Crowd favorites "Tink (I Know It's You)" and "Talking to the Buddha" made an appearance in the set list tonight. My own personal favorite surprise was "Summer's Day." This is a song not often performed and there were a couple of good-natured false starts (all caught on video -- scroll up) and a momentary hint by Joziah that he might do an Arlo Guthrie song instead. The concert goer who yelled out "you guys are professionals!" gets the funniest-audience-remark-of-the-night award. I think "Summer's Day" is the Circus' most purely psychedelic song.
The concert ended with a two-song encore, the lovely sissy song "The Invisible," followed by a rave-up number that allows Sharkey to show his chops, a special song for Mother's Day weekend, "Look Ma No Hands."
More Slambovians
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