Fresh off their recent and highly anticipated reunion, Space Carnival returns with a fresh dose of their driven jam funk sound, with Slippery Disco: Live in Albany.
Recorded on April 5, 2025 at Ophelia’s (formerly Parish Public House) and released on June 25, Space Carnival’s crowd was treated to a career spanning set, full of high energy and a full range of the foursome’s jam potential.
Forming in New York in 2013, Space Carnival has performed around the country and shared the stage with some of the biggest names in the jam scene. Festivals including Summer Camp, Great South Bay Music Festival, Wormtown, and Sterling Stage are some of the stops they’ve made over the last dozen years, in addition to sharing bills with Goose, Infected Mushroom, Twiddle, Pigeons Playing Ping Pong, Dopapod, Magic Beans, Aqueous, and many more.
The group has only performed a few shows since reuniting in 2023, then a weekend run of shows from Brooklyn to Patchogue to Albany in April 2025 netted a performance worthy of a live release.
Opening with “Pleasure in Sin” readily highlights the robust vocals of Fitch and the soaring guitar work of Jeremy Kraus layered over Fitch’s organ work, the 13 minute opening track is a dive into the deep end as the longest of the show, making the rest of the show easily digestible for the casual jam fan.
Kraus shared why the band decided to release this show among the three.
When those special shows happen every now and again, you don’t realize it during the performance, but it hits you when you when finish the final song of the night. This night was one of those shows. Throughout this show, the energy between the audience and the band was bouncing back and forth in such a playful fun way. It’s moments like those that are hard to put into words. We were all locked in as unit, the band and the crowd. When this happens, the energy takes the wheel and guides the improvisation. It’s special.
Another cool thing about this show is there are some very nice natural unplanned segues between songs. Sometimes the jam out of one song naturally morphs into a different song and it just flows. We are a band that doesn’t pre-plan our jams or transitions from song to song, so when that magic happens naturally, it’s such a powerful feeling. The show had a great flow throughout and is a really great representation of the atmosphere and vibe we aim to create during a Space Carnival show.
Jeremy Kraus – guitarist, Space Carnival
For keyboardist/vocalist Cameron Fitch, he knew it was a hot show from the start, recalling “After the opening “Pleasure in Sin” jam and seamless transition into a tight “Entree the Giant,” I knew it was going to be hot. Every song that followed was a better-than-standard version and became evident that after our first 2 shows, we were really clicking.”
Once the band got the clean audio recordings back, they were ready to release the show, something they’ve been kicking around since the late-2018 hiatus and eventual reunion.
The dark prog instrumental “Plibt” flowed well, with a lil’ bit of “Shakedown Street” teased by Kraus, segueing into Adult Swim stars Tim and Eric’s “Petite Feet,” similar to The Romantics “Talking in your Sleep,” where bassist Chris Meier and drummer Nick Tassinari laid down a new wave meets disco beat.
As for the album title, Kraus has been asked by many, ‘What genre is Space Carnival?,’ he has always answered with ‘Slippery Disco,’ feeling that this performance is an exemplar of their current sound. “Some jams are happy and floaty, some are dark and spooky, some have psychedelic chaos, and a few are straight disco dance party vibes,” particularly the last three songs of the show, “Mooshbah,” “Technolodge” and “Moon Boots.”
Live in Albany is a reintroduction to Space Carnival’s sound and a live album for anyone seeking disco and funk infused jams.
Space Carnival – Slippery Disco: Live in Albany – Saturday, April 5, 2025
Setlist/Tracklist: Pleasure in Sin-> Entree the Giant, Plibt-> Petite Feet (Tim and Eric Cover)-> Plibt, Sirius Rising, Rango-> Regal Krad, Life During Wartime (Talking Heads Cover), Mooshbah, Technolodge-> Moon Boots
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