Incredible show by Santana at sold-out Prospera Place
At virtually sold-out Prospera Place on Thursday, Carlos Santana once again proved why Rolling Stone rated him as no. 15 on its list of the 100 greatest guitarists of all time.
It almost seems unbelievable that the Mexican-American master guitarist established Santana, his Afro-Latin-blues-rock fusion band (then called Santana Blues Band), in San Francisco, Calif. way back in 1966.
In the four decades-plus since, the band has performed for more than 100 million fans at concerts around the globe and sold more than 100 million records worldwide, making it one of the world’s best-selling groups of all time.
Carlos decided to go back to his roots for the Divination Tour setlist with a Woodstock intro followed by Soul Sacrifice, the astounding performance at Woodstock in 1969 that propelled the band’s debut album, Santana, onto Billboard’s album chart for two years.
Soul Sacrifice was followed by Jingo (also from Santana), an extended instrumental jam blending hooky riffs on the guitar, organ and percussion. And then, Santana’s first Top 10 hit, Evil Ways, from that album. The latter was combined with the jazzy A Love Supreme from 1973’s Love Devotion Surrender album originally performed with now-75-year-old British guitarist John McLaughlin.
It was that kind of evening: Afro-Latin rhythms, soaring vocals, electrifying bluespsychedelic guitar solos and mind-blowing percussion combinations by five different band members including Carlos’ wife, Cindy Blackman Santana, who joined the band in 2015.
Close to 5,000 fans at Prospera Place experienced a Las Vegas-style presentation that recreated the atmosphere of a CaribbeanSpanish nightclub, everyone attired in their tropical whites. No wonder, Carlos is currently headlining a multi-year residency at House of Blues at Mandalay Bay Resort and Casino in Las Vegas.
With that Spanish theme, of course, there was the singalong Oye Como Va (translation: Hey, How’s It Going) from 1970’s Abraxas, which reached number 13 on the Billboard Hot 100. Plus Samba Pa Ti from the same album and Corazon Espinado from 1999’s Supernatural.
Supernatural — selling 30 million copies worldwide — won a record-tying nine Grammies (including Album of the Year and Record of the Year for Smooth) and three Latin Grammy Awards, including Record of the Year. The No. 1 singles: Smooth, originally recorded with Matchbox Twenty’s Rob Thomas, and Maria Maria, from that album were also on Thursday’s setlist.
Although everyone on stage had their moment (or two) in the spotlight, spurred on by a cheerleading Carlos, the man and his electrifying guitar were the undeniable shining stars. A single distinctive note, held for a few seconds or many seconds, was enough for an eruption of cheers, whistles and sustained applause.
Oye Como Va had virtually all 1,500 fans seated on the arena floor up on their feet and dancing. Floodlights or spotlights would come on after every song to illuminate the entire seating area so band members could fully appreciate the audience’s enthusiastic response.
Even though the music was virtually nonstop for two-and-a-half hours, Carlos did pause for a few humorous seconds: “It’s a great honour to be back in Hawaii!” to laughter. “I don’t feel the cold,” he added to more laughs.
And later joking about “the idiot orange guy” - President Donald Trump. “We’re having a moment in the United States. Fear is everywhere. It is very annoying,” Carlos joked, appropriately following it up with the reworked 1970 Swamp Dogg number, Total Destruction To Your Mind from Santana’s 2017’s Power of Peace album with The Isley Brothers (Ronald and Ernie).
The encore included Are You Ready, plus Love, Peace and Happiness, from Power of Peace. The encore also included a perhaps-toolong drum solo by Carlos’ firecracker wife, with him the only band member on stage intently watching her incredible speed and dexterity.
The inside joke is that everyone in the band thinks her solo is too long, except Carlos. But then, Thursday was International Women’s Day.
As the huge crowd filed out at 10:30 p.m., even Prospera Place staff noticed that everyone had a huge smile. So did I.
Looking back, it’s hard to imagine that Santana Blues Band’s first audition was at the Avalon Ballroom in the late summer of 1967. After the audition, Chet Helms (the promoter of the event), in concert with the Family Dog, told the band that they would never make it in the San Francisco music scene playing Latin fusion. He suggested Carlos keep his day job washing dishes at Tick Tock’s Drive-In on 3rd Street.
Carlos, no doubt, is having the last laugh.
What did you think of the concert? Were you at the show? Email us your thoughts at: letters@ok.bc.ca.