There’s something to be said about musicians who have been successful for decades. Imagine kicking ass at the original Woodstock, having a successful career all through the 70s & 80s, having #1 hits in the late 90s/early 2000s, being on MTV when they still played videos, and then still rocking out in 2024 to huge crowds. That’s what Santana does and when they rolled into town, I had to check it out! First question, who to go with? Well, mom of course! Off we went!
First up, Counting Crows. You may be shocked to know that ole Metal loving Rob over here actually always really liked Counting Crows. I even had a few of their albums on CD back in the day. Yep, that’s right. I wasn’t a close follower and couldn’t name any of the band members, but according to some internet sleuthing, it does seem that 4 members out of the current lineup of 7 are original.
You might recall 1990s smash hit Mr. Jones and you may even have loved it. Well, of course they played this one…and they butchered it. If you ask me, they butchered every song.
The 90s alternative bands I’ve been seeing over the last few years have just been consistently bad. For Counting Crows, it seems like singer Adam Duritz is just bored. Perhaps he’s tired of singing the same songs night after night? If thats the case, get over it, that’s the job dude! And it’s an awesome job that people pay good money to see. Other songs they butchered included Butterfly In Reverse, Omaha, Round Here, and Long December. Rain King was mostly bad except for the parts where the full band sang in harmony. They nailed those parts because it’s the one part of the song where he can’t be off key, change the pitch, make up lyrics, etc. So this tells me he can sing but just chooses not to; at least not well. They closed with Hanging Around which is so appropriate since the lyrics essentially talk about hanging around way too long. Yup! Time to go!
Santana was next and it was awesome! Carlos Santana is a living legend and off the top of my head, he may be one of the only people I’ve seen who performed at the original Woodstock. I’d have to search my memory, ticket stubs, and notes to be sure.
The show started with a video about 5 minutes long featuring various tribal dances and music. This led into the opening of their set where we got a taste of the overall talent in the band. The three different drum sets (for all different sounds and styles), keyboards, singers, trombones, bass, guitars and of course Carlos Santana himself on lead guitar, all got a moment to show off.
Early in the set they broke out the classics where they treated us all to Evil Ways, Black Magic Woman, and Oye Como Va. A short time later, we got a rare concert treat: a bass solo! Now of course I recently saw Primus whose primary instrument is bass, but outside of that, it’s been 20 years since I saw a live bass solo break out at a rock show. Ok, so maybe it was more of a duet with the drummer (who is also Santana’s wife) but it was really incredible and fun to watch.
A bit down the road, they played The Game of Love which was a 2002 hit featuring Michele Branch (no she was not there, but his talented vocalist did a better job anyway). Then it was time for more fun when they played an awesome medley of tunes. It started with She’s Not There which Santana released in the 70s, after The Zombies did it in the 60s. The medley continued with Spill the Wine (Eric Burdon and War) and In-A-Gadda-Da-Vida (Iron Butterfly). There may have been another song or 2 in that mix but those are the ones I knew.
They did about 6 more after this, including Maria Maria which was a 1999 hit. They did a couple more and of course closed with their massive hit Smooth as the final song of the night.
I gotta say that the band was phenomenal. So much talent. Two vocalists did the heavy lifting by singing every song in the style and language it was originally performed in. Carlos himself is in his late 70s now and doesn’t run around the stage like a maniac, but he still makes that guitar sing like no one’s business. Throughout the night the giant background screen showed videos and photos of his lengthy career from Woodstock through today, adding another nice touch to the night.
Overall, great show. I’d recommend skipping Counting Crows unfortunately unless someone who has seen them other times and tonight tells me it was an off night…but I doubt it. Santana though? Get out there and see them (and take your mom) if you can!
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