Clyne's Circus Mexicus rocks the beach
By CHRIS HANSEN ORF
Get Out

Having just returned home after a run of acoustic shows up in the Northwest, Roger Clyne is dealing with something just about everyone in the Valley is: Allergies.

“Start the tequila therapy right now,” Clyne says, laughing.
To be sure, the tequila will flow May 14-15 when Roger Clyne & The Peacemakers host their biannual Circus Mexicus festival at the Sunset Cantina in Puerto Peñasco, Mexico, popularly known as Rocky Point. The band's 10th show south of the border will feature a marathon RCPM concert Saturday night, and a brunch at JJ's Cantina on Sunday afternoon.

“I get to play rock ’n’ roll for a lot of people that I like to hang out with,” says Clyne, whose affinity for Mexico shades his lyrics. “I get to drink tequila at a cantina under the stars next to the beach and have tacos after the show — it's just everything I wanted rock ’n’ roll, for me, to turn out to be.”

Circus Mexicus 2005 will feature the first national act on the Saturday concert bill when Cracker's Johnny Hickman, whose solo album “Palmhenge” was released last month, opens the show. Hickman and Clyne became friends during Clyne's days with the Refreshments.

“Roger had a lot of positive input on my record,” Hickman says, “and somewhere during the conversations of hanging out and staying with Roger, it was brought up about, ‘Hey, how about opening the show?’ And of course I said, ‘I would love to!’” The Sunday brunch at JJ's Cantina is the latest tradition to spring from the fiesta, a place where the band and fans can hang out before the drive home.

“If you got too drunk Saturday night or you lost your ride, everybody knows that on Sunday morning from 11 until usually sundown, that's where you can find your ride,” Clyne says.

Circus Mexicus has become a sun- and fun-drenched weekend for fans.

“Everybody's totally friendly,’’ Clyne says. ‘‘It's like Arizona's beach party.”