Song Review: Circles Around the Sun with Eric Krasno - “Gilbert’s Groove” (Live, Jan. 8, 2020)
All hail Eric Krasno.
At the 2020 Jam Cruise, the guitarist faced the difficult prospect of stepping into the late Neal Casal’s impossibly large footwear as Circles Around the Sun continued their journey without their founder and creative leader.
When it was first announced, the idea of a post-Casal CATS sounded like a mistake waiting. But, for this performance at least, the Krasno-era CATS, augmented by a percussionist alongside drummer Mark Levy, sounds spectacular.
This performance is the just-released, pro-shot video of “Gilbert’s Groove” from the 2020 Jam Cruise. On it, Krasno proves completely up to the task even as he declines to mimic Casal. The new CATS man has a grittier tone, yet he immediately finds his place in the band, whether he’s leading the jam, filling space between Dan Horne’s thick bass notes or twisting his strings around Adam MacDougall’s spacey keys.
Inspired by “Shakedown Street” and taken on a circuitous detour by Casal and Company, this Interludes for the Dead instrumental has, like CATS, found new life as the group uses a revolving door of guitarists while it ponders next steps.
All hail Eric Krasno.
And long live Circles Around the Sun.
Grade card: Circles Around the Sun with Eric Krasno - “Gilbert’s Groove” (Live - 1/8/20) - A
4/29/20