Author: Peter Podbrežnik
Photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Venue: Piazza d'Unita Italia / Trieste / Italy
Concert date: July 14, 2009
Attendance: 6
Ticket price: €41.00
Trieste’s Piazza d’Unita, long known as the stage for some interesting musical events (years ago we caught an excellent show there by folk rock legends Fairport Convention), was jam-packed for a genuine Latin rock celebration that pulled in old and young by the droves, because none other than the founding father of this fiery genre, the famous guitar shaman Carlos Santana, rolled into town. There’s no point going on at length about the legacy of this Mexican-born guitar grandmaster, since he and his band shot to fame forty years ago, when their innovative approach stunned the crowd at the legendary Woodstock festival and made them one of its main attractions.
His fusion of traditional Latin melody with salsa and samba rhythms, rock, jazz and blues conquered the world even then. After a string of excellent albums, led by the self-titled debut, “Abraxas” (1970) and “Caravanserai” (1972), which cemented his reputation as a guitar “god” and fusion innovator, and a gradual slide in popularity through the eighties, his career got a fresh jolt at the turn of the century with the album “Supernatural” (1999) and a huge commercial boom. “Supernatural” and its two follow-ups, featuring collaborations with acclaimed musicians from all sorts of different genres, brought him a whole new generation of fans with a string of pop hits, but alienated quite a few old-timers who resented the heavy commercialization. Whatever the case, Carlos and his colorful crew of musical merrymakers remain masters of first-rate, endlessly varied Latin rock built on erogenous rhythms, and they proved it again this evening with a superb show in the middle of an enviably packed square.
The legendary guitarist showed up in Trieste with a lineup whose standout was drum master Dennis Chambers, known for his work with the likes of Steely Dan, Niacin, John Scofield, John McLaughlin and others. The rest of the musical crew backing the guitar legend were: Tony Lindsay (vocals), Andy Vargas (vocals), Bill Ortiz (trumpet), Jef Cressman (trombone), Karl Perazzo (percussion), Raul Rekow (congas, percussion), Tommy Anthony (guitar, vocals), Benny Rietveld (bass guitar) and Freddie Ravel (keyboards). Toward the end of the show Carlos properly introduced the band members, and each of them then took a moment for a short solo spot, with only poor bassist Benny getting completely forgotten in Carlos’s rapture. Most of them were nicely tight, but newcomer keyboardist Freddie Ravel, filling in for the suddenly absent Chester Thompson, will need a bit more mileage before he can justify following in the footsteps of predecessors like Gregg Rolie, Tom Costner, Leon Patillo, Alan Pasqua and the rest.
The setlist and the whole show were geared squarely toward the hits, especially the ones from “Supernatural” like “Maria, Maria”, “Africa Bamba”, “Smooth” and “Corason Espinado”. A pick like that instantly warmed the hearts of everyone who discovered Santana through the newer (the nasty ones would say MTV-flavored) chapter of his long career. Most of the crowd, especially the women, happily danced to the salsa rhythms, while the music connoisseurs kept their eyes on the instrumental chops of the individual players, headed by the guitar maestro himself, who, as expected, shone with plenty of solo improvisations.
As expected, Santana spiced up the show with some extravagant jams between songs, something they’ve been famous for since the very start of their career. True to tradition, there were also individual solo spots, during which the guitar chieftain tactfully stepped back to the far corner of the stage and let his many bandmates, one by one, soak up the spotlight in peace, which proved he’s totally free of ego. In general, Carlos Santana is a fairly calm stage presence who is nowhere near pushy during a show, except when the moment comes for some uninhibited guitar improvisation.
Those of us who love quality fusion, after a run of the newer Latin pop rock hits, were waiting impatiently for some older classic, and we finally got our “five minutes” with a terrific rendition of the legendary standard “Evil Ways”. From there they boldly slid into the Latin rock mantra “A Love Supreme”. At this point in the show, Carlos, a longtime sympathizer of Eastern spiritual movements and a true child of the rainbow sixties, took a bit of time for a short sermon on the meaning of world peace and the relationship between love and fear. Plenty of lovely words were spoken. All well and good, but it’s easy to preach about spiritual self-realization when you’re “loaded with everything”, a prominent member of the Scientology sect and the proud owner of a Hollywood restaurant chain, while a hungry kid in the middle of central Africa, busy with the daily fight for survival, can’t even afford to think about it.
Much to the mild disappointment of many fans, the longtime classics “Soul Sacrifice” and “Incident at Nashabur” got cut from the setlist this night. Personally, I also missed “Samba Pa Ti”. Of course, they weren’t about to risk forgetting the best-known Santana classic, “Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen”, where they managed to conjure that spontaneity and extraordinary atmospheric magic that graced the early Santana albums, back when the corporate spirit of some of his newer work was still a distant future. For the big finale, the guitar sorcerer enchanted the crowd with a stunning take on the classic “Jingo”, which blazed up in wild African dance rhythms, matching the video projection of dancers from various African tribes.
Despite the lack of old classics, a show somewhat shorter than we expected and no witty skits of the kind Carlos usually likes to indulge in, in every other respect we got an excellent performance from the guitar legend and his protégés, who managed to build an exceptional atmosphere all evening long. The sound was phenomenal throughout, so it hardly mattered where you stood during the show. The legendary guitarist fully lived up to his reputation and showed why he belongs in the pantheon of the greatest in his craft. Let’s hope the road brings him back near the Slovenian border again as soon as possible, ideally with a setlist that’s a notch more retro.
photos: Aleš Podbrežnik
Setlist
1.Maria, Maria (Aranjuez intro) 2.Foo, Foo 3.Africa Bamba 4.Life Is For Living 5.Everybody’s Everything 6.Love Of My Life 7.She’s Not There 8.Evil Ways / A Love Supreme 9.Hot Pants Power 10.Black Magic Woman / Gypsy Queen 11.Oye Como Va 12.Europa 13.Smooth /Dame Tu Amor —encore— 14.Corason Espinado 15.Jingo
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