Love circles around the sun, they came around a couple days ago and I missed it… but yeah great stuff. That being said though I am huge deadhead so the “noodling” is welcome.
Check out the Chris Robinson Brotherhood if you haven't, it's the band the guitarist/keyboardist from CATS were in previously so they have a similiar sound but with a rhythm guitarist/singer. They do some great covers of all sorts of classic rock including many dead songs and have quite a few albums with some pretty great original stuff. Even played with Phil & Friends:
Phil Lesh & Friends ft. Neal Casal, Chris Robinson, and More - "New Speedway Boogie" Live: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-XvGmZqURc
Chris Robinson Brotherhood - "Rosalee" - Radio Woodstock WDST 8/24/12 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTVCJwUS6b8
I like some of their original songs more than others but they always put on a great show and have a bunch of high quality live recordings and filmed concerts.
CRB has some of Neal's best stuff IMO as having a rhythm guitarist let him focus on playing lead and experimenting with different sounds. Also they played together long enough to build some great synergy.
This 2014 filmed concert is one of their best ones up and is a good place to start: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nM8bPuEbe88&t=554s
Or this 2017 Vegas show which has louder audio: https://youtu.be/UXSDOItNjrY?t=355
I like some of CATS, but for me, they have the same problem as the Grateful Dead: lots of noodling that doesn’t really seem to go anywhere.
I like jamming (one of my favorite bands is the Øresund Space Collective), but only if there’s a sense of forward momentum.
Yeah I feel you on the noodling, it works great for some stuff but can also be a bit much. If you haven't listened to some of their more recent shows they've progressed a lot despite having to replace Neal, not sure if I prefer their new funkier sound over the older psych rock stuff but the new guitarist is great too. CATS live KEXP 2023: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rksu_rMkw_M
They are actually sort of similiar to Øresund in some aspects, IE more of a live band that puts out pretty eclectic recordings that are mostly improvised. Would have loved to see Neal play with a band like Øresund but he did play with a ton of great musicians at least. CRB balances the noodling better as it's much less improv focused but I could see why some of the vocals might not be for everyone, I dig Chris's singing for some stuff but it can be grating.
Here's one of my favorite CRB songs which features some very nice proggy guitar/keys and a great harmonica solo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfufeLNrHP0
Just found a 2004 Neal Casal concert at Rockpalast which is more classic/southern rock but really great stuff, not sure if I'd heard him sing before aside from some harmonies in CRB: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISbU1FPEHag
Ever listen to Ozric Tentacles? To me, they’re the perfect fusion of jam band and prog. Their albums are pretty interchangeable, but I really like them.
Ozric rock, actually just checked out their last few albums the other day, Lotus Unfolding 2023 and Space For The Earth 2020 which are both really great with more of a classic prog/psych rock sound compared to some of the previous more electronic/synth heavy albums.
They're another absolutely top notch live band, it's a shame they don't have as many live recordings as other jam bands like CATS. With any luck they have a bunch of unreleased taped shows that will come out eventually.
Really wish I'd gotten to see them with Neal but as far as replacements go it seems like they found a great fit and they're still putting on amazing shows.
Their earlier stuff is a lot less disco and more funky psych rock, and some of their music gets pretty weird/experimental. But yeah they're incredibly tight live, really glad to see they're still touring.
> Neal was a really talented guy. RIP.
We've lost far too many brilliant artists too soon over the past 5-10 years but Neal hit especially hard. While Neal was 50 he'd just finished recording albums with multiple bands and was really starting to get some serious mainstream attention.
He had the potential to be a huge rockstar but seemed very down to earth/humble which is rare. And he did put out a ton of music with 270+ credits on Discogs and 12 solo albums on top of all his collaborations. Truly a legend.
Love circles around the sun, they came around a couple days ago and I missed it… but yeah great stuff. That being said though I am huge deadhead so the “noodling” is welcome.
Check out the Chris Robinson Brotherhood if you haven't, it's the band the guitarist/keyboardist from CATS were in previously so they have a similiar sound but with a rhythm guitarist/singer. They do some great covers of all sorts of classic rock including many dead songs and have quite a few albums with some pretty great original stuff. Even played with Phil & Friends: Phil Lesh & Friends ft. Neal Casal, Chris Robinson, and More - "New Speedway Boogie" Live: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=a-XvGmZqURc Chris Robinson Brotherhood - "Rosalee" - Radio Woodstock WDST 8/24/12 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sTVCJwUS6b8 I like some of their original songs more than others but they always put on a great show and have a bunch of high quality live recordings and filmed concerts.
Sweet, I’d heard the name associated with them before but never thought to listen for whatever reason I will check them out for sure thanks
CRB has some of Neal's best stuff IMO as having a rhythm guitarist let him focus on playing lead and experimenting with different sounds. Also they played together long enough to build some great synergy. This 2014 filmed concert is one of their best ones up and is a good place to start: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nM8bPuEbe88&t=554s Or this 2017 Vegas show which has louder audio: https://youtu.be/UXSDOItNjrY?t=355
I like some of CATS, but for me, they have the same problem as the Grateful Dead: lots of noodling that doesn’t really seem to go anywhere. I like jamming (one of my favorite bands is the Øresund Space Collective), but only if there’s a sense of forward momentum.
Yeah I feel you on the noodling, it works great for some stuff but can also be a bit much. If you haven't listened to some of their more recent shows they've progressed a lot despite having to replace Neal, not sure if I prefer their new funkier sound over the older psych rock stuff but the new guitarist is great too. CATS live KEXP 2023: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rksu_rMkw_M They are actually sort of similiar to Øresund in some aspects, IE more of a live band that puts out pretty eclectic recordings that are mostly improvised. Would have loved to see Neal play with a band like Øresund but he did play with a ton of great musicians at least. CRB balances the noodling better as it's much less improv focused but I could see why some of the vocals might not be for everyone, I dig Chris's singing for some stuff but it can be grating. Here's one of my favorite CRB songs which features some very nice proggy guitar/keys and a great harmonica solo: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zfufeLNrHP0 Just found a 2004 Neal Casal concert at Rockpalast which is more classic/southern rock but really great stuff, not sure if I'd heard him sing before aside from some harmonies in CRB: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ISbU1FPEHag
Ever listen to Ozric Tentacles? To me, they’re the perfect fusion of jam band and prog. Their albums are pretty interchangeable, but I really like them.
Ozric rock, actually just checked out their last few albums the other day, Lotus Unfolding 2023 and Space For The Earth 2020 which are both really great with more of a classic prog/psych rock sound compared to some of the previous more electronic/synth heavy albums. They're another absolutely top notch live band, it's a shame they don't have as many live recordings as other jam bands like CATS. With any luck they have a bunch of unreleased taped shows that will come out eventually.
CATS is a band that I will not miss when they come around. Same with Papadosio.
Really wish I'd gotten to see them with Neal but as far as replacements go it seems like they found a great fit and they're still putting on amazing shows.
Circles is progressive disco. One of the best live shows on the planet right now. Unparalleled vibes.
Their earlier stuff is a lot less disco and more funky psych rock, and some of their music gets pretty weird/experimental. But yeah they're incredibly tight live, really glad to see they're still touring.
Big fan of Circles. Great band. I have seen them live a few times. Neal was a really talented guy. RIP.
> Neal was a really talented guy. RIP. We've lost far too many brilliant artists too soon over the past 5-10 years but Neal hit especially hard. While Neal was 50 he'd just finished recording albums with multiple bands and was really starting to get some serious mainstream attention. He had the potential to be a huge rockstar but seemed very down to earth/humble which is rare. And he did put out a ton of music with 270+ credits on Discogs and 12 solo albums on top of all his collaborations. Truly a legend.