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Review: Santana brings special musical magic to the Mid-State Fair 

santana concert mid state fair

Photo by Brittany App.

Santana delivered epic performance worthy of his legendary, half-century status in the rock music pantheon

– By Reviewer Colin Jones

Three words: Carlos is cool. There’s probably no active or former musician who crosses genres better than Santana. In fact, his musical vibe is universal, pretty much genre-free.

This inclusivity and openness were on full display on the Chumash Arena stage at the first Saturday night of the California Mid-State Fair in Paso Robles.

Coming off a scary bout of heat stroke at his Michigan performance in early July, the 75-year-old guitarist and his eight-piece band hit the ground running with his classic 1969 Soul Sacrifice instrumental (check out the Woodstock clip), This was his first show back but you would never know it. After all, it’s not his first rodeo.

With no opening act, the show began at about 7:45 p.m. with the estimated 12,000 diverse concertgoers on their feet from the get-go. Since when does a headliner show begin on time? But more about that later. After ten minutes of more instrumentals (Jin-Go-Lo-Ba) featuring Santana’s guitar chops, the band dove into their classic rockers Evil Ways, Black Magic Woman, Oye Como Va and She’s Not There. Carlos has never been a major songwriter but you would never know it because nobody else has the ability to take a great song and make it their own like he does.

Plus he’s a great showman and storyteller, probably the most spiritual artist you will ever see and hear. Whether talking about marrying his drummer Cindy Blackman several years ago or recalling his recent Michigan concert collapse (“I told Jimi and Stevie that I wasn’t quite ready to join them in heaven”), Carlos is the consummate entertainer and probably the most grateful, humble one in our celebrity diva world, which only adds to his immense charm and popularity.

Santana shows are a joyous, melting pot experience where bikers, hippies, rednecks, cowboys, whites, blacks, Latinos, and even a few Trumpers, groove shoulder to shoulder in complete harmony for a few hours.

Anyway, back to the show which morphed into a reggae/Afro/funk dance party during the second hour, interspersed with Santana’s brief but thoughtful sermons on peace, love, and understanding. His encore renditions of Put Your Lights On and Smooth, which resurrected his waning musical career 20+ years ago, spun the happy crowd into a smartphone light, photo, and video frenzy, followed by a rousing version of Roadhouse Blues to wrap up the 125-minute performance. My only quibble with the setlist was omitting his radio-friendly tunes like Winning, Everything Is Coming Our Way, and No One to Depend On.

While getting into the fairgrounds was a total cluster (note to management: begin concerts with no opening act later at around 8 p.m. to give everyone a better chance to get settled in), fair officials and staff do a great job staging these big events. The sound mix was good and loud, perfect for an outside summer venue in balmy Paso Robles. There’s really nothing like a headliner concert there so it remains the premier destination for Cental Coast music lovers.

The bottom line is Carlos Santana delivered another epic performance worthy of his legendary, half-century status in the rock music pantheon. From the start, whether it was his singing guitar or positive message of hope and healing, it was clear our world in 2022 needs more artists and leaders like him.

 

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