Never occurred to me all these years that Carlos wasn't lead singer on all his hits. He did sing a bit and sounded OK. His guitar playing hasn't suffered and he executed his trademark style of lead guitar perfectly along with some additional searing and rough sounding licks on some tunes with which I was not familiar. I was amused that he led off with a totally "Santana-ized" version of AC/DC's "Back in Black" that sounded much better than the original in my view.
Don't know who the backing musicians were but they were all first rate. Each got a feature of his talents in the show. This included the heavy percussion section with percussionist, drummer, and well-tuned bongos player. The trumpet and trombone were a nice touch and the two brass instruments gave a big sound and a fine performance. The backing band also featured an excellent bassist who didn't plod like so many do and who turned in a feature performance on his bass that rivaled Santana's lead work. Most importantly, everyone stayed in time.
What I liked about Santana was the fact that he didn't embellish his hit songs until they were unrecognizable as so many artists do when live in concert. He played some of his early hits and they sounded much the same as they do when I crank them on our stereo at home. Saw Elvis at the Tarrant County Convention Center in 1976 and he butchered his songs horribly in my opinion. Never was an Elvis fan anyway so nothing's worse than hearing his hit tunes mangled.
I've seen several rock acts live through the years and many fade badly without studio gimmickry but Santana was the real deal. Enjoy this show for its musicianship and its attention to detail in rendering your favorite Santana hits.
The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel Las Vegas @
- Las Vegas @
, NV @
- Fri, Nov 11, 2011 @
Favorite moment: Carlos speaks articulately to his audience for a few moments conveying warmth and sincerity. @