Slambovian Circus of Dreams ~ 2018 February 23 ~ Greenwich Odeum ~ East Greenwich, RI
Band Personnel: Joziah Longo, lead vocals, guitar, mandolin, harmonica; Tink Lloyd, accordion, recorder, cello, ukulele, melodica, sitar, flute, tambourine, cowbell, bell, hand claps, backing vocals; Sharkey McEwen, guitar, mandolin, vocals; Felipe Torres, drums, percussion; Bob Torsello, bass, backing vocals; Tristan Tadin, keyboards, vocals; Dio Tadin, guitar, vocals.
Set List
Grand Slambovians - Look Around - Lost Highway - Solve It All Daily - Beautiful Friggin' Day - The Never Was - Bees - Step Outta Time ... intermission ... Tink (I Know It's You) - California {Dio Tadin} - Very Happy Now/Epistle to Dippy/I Wanna Be Sedated - A Good Thief Tips His Hat - Birthday {Beatles} - Let It Go {Tristan Tadin} - Good To Be King {Tom Petty} - Freight Train Blues - Trans-Slambovian BiPolar Express ... encore ... Golden Slumbers intro / The Invisible
Videos
Absolutely Beautiful Friggin' Day
Tink (I Know It's You)
Review
Six musicians and sometimes a seventh presented a wall of sound version of the Slambovian Circus of Dreams. Sharkey McEwen was there, raising the question of whether his absence from the band for much of 2017 was just a bad dream. It does seem, however, that some of Sharkey's former jobs have been ceded to others: Bob Torsello, bass player, now constructs the set list; and two musical friends of Joziah and Co., Dio and Tristan Tadin, evidently are producing the new recordings, as well as playing in the band.
The youthful Tristan Tadin played keyboards for the entire show, although sometimes I was at a loss to hear what he was doing, which seemed odd since otherwise the sound was excellent. (I could hear all of Tink's instruments, even the ukulele she played on "The Never Was," a new song that contains strong musical echoes of "Windmills." Poor Tink had a bad cold and sometimes squeaked while she talked to the audience, but she hung in there.) Dio Tadin, Tristan's father, played guitar and sang on a few songs.
When the Circus played at this venue about a year ago, they played an inspired set list including some real classics ("Baby Jane," "I Wish," "Genius"). By contrast, tonight's set list was heavily weighted toward the "new" songs. I put "new" in quotes, since they first performed some of these songs years ago, but they have never been recorded, and now, apparently due to the helpful intervention of the Tadins, they are going to finally be committed to wax cylinders. These "new" songs included "Look Around," "Friggin' Day," "The Never Was," and "Bees."
Another interesting addition to the show was the performance of the Tadins themselves. Inserted into the second set, Dio and Tristan each were given space to perform an original song of their own, accompanied by the rest of the Slambovians. Dio's song was a contemplative folkie number, and Tristan's echoed the style of the later John Lennon. The audience received the songs politely, but were a little taken aback by the abrupt shift in tone, especially since Dio's song followed on the heels of the Sharkey tour-de-force "Tink (I Know It's You)," a song clearly meant as a welcome-back to Sharkey. A better way to present these songs by the Tadins would be to give them a short opening set, or a short set to open the second half, accompanied by Sharkey, Bob, and Felipe. This would work better for both Tadins and audience, I think.
The entire show was accompanied by an evocative video projection on the screen behind the band. This video show was run by another Tadin sibling. The video varied from images matching the lyrics (see my photo gallery, above, for some images of trains accompanying "BiPolar Express") to abstract images relating to the emotion of the song. The video was very professionally done and enhanced the mood of many of the songs.
It was a cold and somewhat rainy night in this upscale and tourist-attracting east Rhode Island town. Parking was readily available just a block away. This venue itself is very nice. Good light, good sound, comfy seats, a high stage (good for the audience) and lots of room on the stage (good for the band). There is no food at the venue, but they have a full bar. The sound system played Beatles songs before the show and NRBQ during the intermission.
More Slambovians
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