The 2019 “Supernatural Now,” dual anniversary tour leaves nothing to be desired as it celebrates two milestones in Santana’s career; the 50 year landmark of his breakout legendary performance at the monumental Woodstock Music Festival in 1969 and the 20 year anniversary of the release of his Grammy Award winning album “Supernatural” in 1999.
The 29 date tour kicked off Saturday, June 22, 2019 in Phoenix Arizona. The second stop, June 23rd was in San Diego to a sold out audience, just a few miles from Santana’s prior family residence as a young man, Tijuana, Mexico. One might say Carlos may have felt right at home.
With the Doobie Brothers chosen as the supporting act for the entire tour, it was the perfect combo of “feel good” nostalgia. As the Doobies took the stage, there was an air of camaraderie as the rock and roll spirit brewed in the sold out crowd of ageless fans that over the past 50 years have been “wowed” with The Doobies authentic, fun and rugged rock & roll. Opening with “Rockin’ Down the Highway” you could sense the energy rise in the audience moved by the familiar tight classic harmonies and “dance in your seats” sing a long tunes in their 12 song set. The Band was as tight as ever, vocally and instrumentally, performing with flawless dynamics their eclectic musical stew of down home rock & roll mixed with influences of R&B, Blues, Country Rock and Bluegrass.
Standing the test of time since their formation in 1969 The Doobie Brothers have to their credit 4 Grammy awards, selling in excess of 48 million records. The band hasn’t skipped a beat, as they are as relevant today as they were in the 70’s. They have been, and will always be a classic backdrop of music for more than one generation.
Doobie Brothers
Wrapping up their set with two encores including the swampy sounds and haunting fiddle solos of “Black Water” and then, without skipping a beat braking into “Listen to the Music” they brought the last of the sitting audience to their feet singing the anthem tune. The Doobie Brothers truly delivered and were clearly the right choice for warming up the fans.
As a prelude for Santana’s performance, the backdrop screen on stage presented a visual combination of an old school psychedelic lights show mixed with the nostalgic footage and photos of the 3 day Woodstock event in 1969. Sprinkled into the mix were images of a much younger Carlos Santana playing to the historic, unprecedented gathering of 400,000 on Yasger’s Farm in Bethel, New York 50 years ago. As the background music played, more images were presented of tribal African dancers rhythmically thrusting about in ritual dance. Was this an introduction possibly to Santana’s June 7, 2019 newly released album “Africa Speaks?”
Opening with his epic instrumental “Soul Sacrifice,” Carlos mesmerized the audience with impeccable grace and style. How perfect that this song was the opening tune for the concert as Santana’s standout performance at Woodstock was an 11 minute version of this throbbing instrumental.
Santana’s June 23rd performance did not disappoint. As if no time has passed, this 71 year old rocker still plays and moves with the passion and enthusiasm of a young man. His music, channeled through his unique guitar style of piercing sustained notes, transcends time and space, and for five decades has stirred the heart, soul and emotions of the audiences around the world.
Accompanied by his wife Cindy Blackman Santana on drums, Andy Vargas/vocals, Benny Reitveld/bass, David K Matthews/keyboards, Karl Perazzo/ percussion, Paoli Mejias/ Percussion, Ray Green/ vocals and Tommy Anthony/guitar and vocals, the show was spirited and energetic, exactly what one could expect from a this long time master artist.
Describing the music of Santana is nothing short of innovative. His sensual, exotic and spiritual compositions draws you in with native primal percussive instruments including congas, drums and timbales which never before the 60’s were included in the rock and roll genre. With a combination of Latin, Jazz Fusion and Rock, this unique mixture of music was timely in 1969. It called out to a generation that was seeking a tribal connection and revolution. Although it’s been a mere 50 years since Woodstock, one could feel that this “make love not war,” “flower power” generation is still alive in the music and the hearts and souls of this 2019 audience.
The Supernatural Album was the brain child of Clive Davis. His vision for the album was for it to be a merging of the mainstream pop trends of the moment with Santana’s extraordinary talent. This combination was a massive success. The 1999 album which featured collaborations with Rob Thomas, Eric Clapton, Lauren Hill, Eagle Eye Cherry, Wyclef Jean, Cee Lo Green, Mana, Dave Matthews, KC Porter and others rose to the top quickly. The album sold over 30 million copies worldwide.
In 2000 the “Supernatural” album was the subject of eight Grammys including Album of The Year, making Carlos Santana the first Hispanic to do so, and Best Rock Album tying the record with Michael Jackson for the most number of awards in a single night.
The tone of this Anniversary tour concert thoroughly satisfied the fans, but not without a 4 song encore. Included in the encore was a performance of the Grammy award winning single that put the “Supernatural” album on the map. “Smooth.”
The hot single featured a cha-cha beat and the “It’s a hot one…” pop vocal style of Rob Thomas which resonated with Santana fans as well as the pop culture. Of all the cuts on the album, “Smooth” caused the most attention of the fans and music industry in the epic year of its release. Co- written and performed by Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty, the song won three Grammy Awards: Record of the Year, Song of The Year and Best Pop collaboration with Vocals. The song is as relevant now as it was then.
It was an honor to be in the presence of this humble Latin Rocker. His demeanor reflected nothing less than kindness and connection as he addressed his San Diego audience eloquently in Spanish, his native tongue. Although this “white washed” Hispanic writer had no clue what he was saying, those who did, cheered and laughed as Carlos spoke. He then expressed in English his heartfelt expressions promoting inclusiveness, love, kindness and taking care of each other.
If there’s anything that can be said about Carlos Santana, he may well be described as “Supernatural” himself. The Latin Rock icon is definitely magical, mystical and supernormal to be sure, as well as warm, personable and relatable. His philosophy is “together we can make music to heal the planet.” I know for me, an aging flower child of the 60’s, his music makes my heart a little lighter, perhaps even cause me to feel a little “supernatural” myself when I lose myself in his hypnotic guitar riffs.
Thank you Carlos for 50 plus years of inspiration. Rock on brother!
Appropriately, the 2019 Supernatural NOW Tour will wind down in August making a stop in Bethel, New York, returning to the sacred ground where it all began, the site of Woodstock.
How fitting.
Rose Gill Cox / BackStage360