Photo by Tom Moore
Common Fence Music at Channing Church will present The Slambovian Circus of Dreams on St. Valentine’s Eve, Saturday, February 13 at 8 p.m. Doors open at 7:30 p.m. The band is a Common Fence Music favorite and returns for a fifth visit on this night for lovers of all ages.
The performance will take place in the sanctuary of Channing Memorial Church, 135 Pelham Street, Newport, R.I. Tickets are $25 in advance and $28 at the door and are available through Brown Paper Tickets anytime, and at the door until sold out. Call Brown Paper Tickets toll free at (800) 838-3006 or contact them viawww.commonfencemusic.org.
Student tickets are available for graduate students and younger with a valid ID. Children ten years old and younger are free if accompanied by an adult. Emailcommonfencemusic@yahoo.com or call 401-683.5085 regarding student tickets and free admission for youth.
The Slambovian Circus of Dreams left the rock and roll circuit, choosing instead to perform in listening rooms. Give band leader Josiah Longo an ear and you will not be disappointed. “The Circus” offers an inspirational night of straight ahead no-nonsense rock and cosmic/micro-cosmic perceptions. This is a performance full of vision, common sense, silliness and a sincere and embracing expression of family values.
Josiah Longo organized The Slambovian Circus of Dreams in Sleepy Hollow, New York in the late 90’s. Featuring Longo’s distinctive singing and songwriting, “The Circus” creates an enchanting atmosphere using traditional folk instruments and tasty electric guitar. Citing influences as diverse as Hank Williams, Dylan, Bowie, Incredible String Band and early Pink Floyd, Longo describes the band’s music as “punk-classical-hillbilly-Floyd,” a mental rollercoaster of whimsical, thought-provoking songs. Looking back one could imagine their sound residing in a space between The Blue Oyster Cult and Moody Blues. But this is not to suggest that theirs is a derivative sound. They openly acknowledge their influences but are clearly an original musical entity on a cosmic, rock and roll trajectory.
The Circus’ live shows are where the real magic comes down, earning them critical acclaim as well as a fiercely loyal following. On one occasion the power went out up and down Pelham Street in the middle of the performance. The band moved into the audience and kept playing unplugged. The effect was spellbinding. Expect magic from this band.
The ultimate do it yourselfers, band members run their own label and have released four critically acclaimed studio albums and one “greatest hits” album: A Box of Everything released in 2014.
This is not a “Picnic Series” performance. Consider dining in Newport or Middletown before the performance.
Channing Church, the home of Newport’s aesthetically-open Unitarian-Universalist congregation, was architecturally designed with music in mind. Josiah Longo and his bandmates love to rock this house.
Channing Memorial Church is located at 135 Pelham Street.