Santana Strums with Peace & Love in Chicago
by Sommer Thornton
Sunday, Aug. 4, Santana performed a plethora of classic hits tearing the imaginary roof off the Hollywood Casino Amphitheater.
Santana’s still got it, to say the very very least. It – being legendary skills, finesse of the fingers and sensuality oozing from every note.
For his current “Supernatural” tour, the legendary guitar player has a multitalented band, including drummer and wife, Cindy Blackmon Santana, who beat the breaks off the stage and led every tempo Santana’s notes danced to. Karl Parazzo and Paoli Mejis were on percussion, and an energetic bass player and a guitar player played multiple guitars sometimes in-between the songs.
All Santana needed was two handsome vocalists to croon songs in his more than 30-year catalog and have all the ladies in the audience wanting to slow dance on stage. Andy Vargas belted out hits en espanol, and the amazing Ray Greene sang like Marvin Gaye and played the trombone. Both singers played the maracas, and Santana an array of beautiful guitars, some at the same time.
First up, was opening act, the Doobie Brothers featuring Patrick Simmons and Tom Johnston on lead vocals and John McFee et al. on guitars. The Doobie Brothers played a host of hits starting with Rockin Down the Highway, and Clear as the Driven Snow. Then to Takin it to The Streets, Sweet Maxine, Long Train Running and ended with a dope encore to Black Water. They still got a lot of tricks up their sleeves harmonizing four strings beautifully with vocals.
Santana started his set with Soul Sacrifice, but the show really kicked off when Santana got into his cuts from his world renowned album, “Supernatural.” From the onset, with a near ten-minute rendition of (Da Le) Yaleo, the entire band took the audience to another planet – with Santana strumming his guitar with poignant meanness, Ray Greene singing then running across the stage stretching his trombone, Vargas belting out, ‘Yaleo!’ with the band in unison and the drum section erupting in salsa!
Throughout the show, the percussion section starring Cindy the goddess Blackmon Santana kept the show on full bop.
Through the beauty of the music cypher, Santana and his band transcended space and time with him in the driver seat. He offered peace and love in the form of dramatic solos and breaks and switched guitars multiple times during his songs.
Vargas serenaded the ladies with Love of My Life and Corazon Espinado, while Ray Greene sang Put Your Lights On, Black Magic Woman, Right On and much more.
The vocals were awesome, but the real star of the show was Carlos Santana’s fingers strumming the guitar for these romantic overtures. Somewhere after Black Magic Woman and Incident and Neshabur things got erotic – everyone else on stage disappeared and Carlos Santana stood in darkness with only his suit, the sweat on his forehead and his guitar’s trim twinkling in the spotlight, as he strummed his guitar like a woman to begin In Search of Mona Lisa.
The show put a bevy of beautiful guitars on display played by Carlos Santana and his bandmates. At one point Carlos Santana played one guitar on a strap and another on the stand at the same time. Santana also performed Los Invisibles, Foo Foo and Oye Como Va which really got the crowd winding.
After a brief pause Santana did two Chambers Brothers covers, Are You Ready and Love Peace and Happiness.
Carlos Santana talked a lot about peace and love and good vibes during his show, calling his show “mystical medicine music,” and encouraged those who needed to be healed to pray. Later Carlos Santana payed homage to some of the great blues players of Chicago.
The “Supernatural” show made lovers [and dancers] out of the entire crowd putting us all in vibe that reverberated long after the concert ended.
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