Santana, Watussi @ BrisbaneEntertainment Center, Brisbane(24/03/2011)

Mon 28th Mar, 2011 in Gig Reviews

At sixty-three years old, Carlos Santana should be slowing right down, but judging by the blistering speed of his solos and the infectious happiness he resonated in Brisbane on Thursday night, it won’t be for a while. Santana has been around since Woodstock in 1969 (sharing the same stage as Jimi Hendrix), and yet even today twenty year olds know his name and understand his talent. Why? The answer lies in his unique sound – making his live sets exciting to behold.

Afro-Columbian rock band Watussi played a standard half hour set of energised Columbian/Cuban beats that perfectly laid the groundwork for a night of danceable tunes. The band did a great job of warming up the crowd (who had all piled into their seats early) with songs that would serve well as a Zumba workout, or be at home in a hot South American nightclub. Opening bands rarely get most of the audience clapping along, so Watussi showed amazing showmanship straight off the bat.

Santana’s guitar burst into the arena without warning except for dimming lights and jubilant cheers from the crowd. The legendary guitarist immediately launched into Don Quixote complete with lengthy Sega-style guitar solo intro, and then fluidly moved into Open Invitation with his vocalists taking the stage alongside him.

Putting his own groove into an old favourite, Santana channeled Angus Young for a cover of AC/DC’s Back in Black complete with hip-hop meter lyrics and exotic drumming. Essentially it was exactly what would be expected from Santana – classic rock nirvana. Already the crowd was elated with the guitarist as he effortlessly soloed exactly the same as he did thirty years ago. Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen got Santana purists cheering with the uptempo interlude and crashing chords making it the perfect hit for the audience to enjoy.

Maria Maria shows a romantic style the vocalists were more comfortable singing in while Santana switched between striking soaring electric tones and finger picking an acoustic guitar. Foo Foo got the party jumping and proved to get the most life out of the audience with the entire floor getting up to dance and clap along to the beat. The only thing missing were some cervezas and a beach…and perhaps some tequila.

Corazon Espinado showcased the amazing soloing abilities of drummer Denny Chambers and bassist Benny Rietveld. While the band also had an amazing keyboardist, trombone and trumpet players and bongo player extraordinaire, it was Denny and Benny who stole the show for five minutes with an effortless (not to mention perfectly executed) solo apiece. Despite the pedigree of the live band, Santana stole the show with melodic guitar playing that, while not big on dynamics (Santana likes his guitar to be loud), was rich in tone and spirit.

The show hit a few bumps at this point, with songs like Jingo and Incident at Neshabur standing out, but others like Evil Ways and No One to Depend On proving to be a tad pedestrian. But just when the show was losing momentum, Santana launched into Cream’s Sunshine of Your Love (complete with awesome Eric Clapton’s wah-wah guitar solo) followed immediately by crowd favourite Smooth. The audience happily joined the vocalists in singing, which was good because between this and encore’s Into the Night, the vocalists just couldn’t compare to their famous counterparts. An a Capella solo in final encore Love, Peace and Happiness redeemed the singers, but ultimately they were a weak link throughout the night on key songs.

Santana, after over forty years of dazzling crowds with his instrumental prowess, held the show together effortlessly as if he were still twenty-two and playing alongside the Grateful Dead and Jefferson Airplane. Each of his songs came from a positive place, and the hippie in him is alive and well. The audience may have come for the solos (and dammit they got them) but everyone came together just the way Santana wanted them to – in peace and love.