SANTANA

Santana @ Meadowbrook 7/18/12

The morning after seeing Santana for the first time I have yet to come down from a really intense musical high.  Breathing the same air as guitar god Carlos Santana was thrill enough, but after experiencing the exhilarating talent and energy this guy and his band can bring to an arena, I am made aware of the power of music and how it can permeate deep into your soul.  I am also reminded of those who are out on the road for just a paycheck, bringing nothing with them in terms of energy or commitment to their art.  Not the case with this talented group of virtuosos.  The highlights of the evening were an amazing drum solo by Carlos's wife Cindy Blackman. Her crazy, primitive and high-powered pounding of the skins and cymbals rivaled any drum solo I've ever witnessed live.  Her amazingly chiseled arms worked in concert, like pistons powering an engine  But the absolute moment that put me over the musical edge& into true spiritual nirvana I haven't experienced in countless years was watching and listening to Carlos Santana wail the chords of "Soul Sacrifice" while the giant video screen behind him rolled images and footage from him doing the same exact song at Woodstock in 1969.  In all it's double framed movie glory, I watched Santana play a classic anthem under a video of him creating the classic anthem.  I, along with the rest of the sold-out crowd danced and screamed as we bared witness to a reenactment of a piece of both musical and social history.

Bravo Carlos, you still bring it at the highest of levels.