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A handful of songs into Santana’s Oneness 2024 tour, Carlos literally suffered his way to the microphone to share his current plight, evidenced by the Latin-rock music icon performing while seated on stage. It was something close to the following: “I saw my good friend Eric Clapton (implied: in a concert, some time ago), and I thought to myself, ‘What the fuck is he doing sitting down?’ Well, I’ll tell you. I’ve got back sciatica, and it fucking hurts! But I’m going to give you everything I’ve got!”
And so he would, along with his seven member band. The setlist was fairly close to a chronological presentation of his most appreciated songs, including his earlier 70’s work and a healthy dose of his 1999 smash, Supernatural.
Lest fans fear a seated Santana is a lesser version, have no fear. His sound, of course, remains unmistakable, but true to his word, he gives you his best. Watching him play is a reminder that guitar genius comes from melody, tone and spirit melded into the needs of a song rather than how fast fingers can fly across a fretboard. And no one slides a barre chord up the neck like Santana to transition to the next section.
Starting the show with “Soul Sacrifice” – often a set closer – takes you right to root of his sound and band, a full assault of the capabilities of the band. As typical, everyone in the band shone, and his two current singers, Andy Vargas and Ray Greene, are as good as his band has featured in a long time. A highlight was the “pop” medley of “She’s Not There,” “Spill the Wine,” and “Papa Was a Rolling Stone,” with great transitions and a groovy interlude on keyboards.
If there was something missing during the evening, it certainly wasn’t Santana’s guitar playing. In shows I’ve seen over the decades, there’s always been a moment where Santana appeals to peace, love and harmony amongst his audience. It was a reminder that he was a key part of the Woodstock festival and the generation that aspired to doing greater things socially. This night, on the titular Oneness tour, he didn’t speak to that at all, at a time when any sense of charitable consideration to others’ ideas is lost in intolerance and worse. But, the beauty of a Santana concert is that you’re setting aside almost two hours to feel it his music, live.
Santana continues on tour through the beginning of September before returning to House of Blues in Vegas for two months.
Setlist:
Encore:
