Live And In The Flesh
Santana - July 14, 2010
Ottawa Bluesfest has hosted quite a few legendary acts throughout the years, and 2010 has to be up there as one of the best. After being lucky enough to see Iron Maiden and Rush the previous week, it was hard to imagine that the festival could get any better. What more could a fan of live music really ask for after experiencing two incredible performances already at Lebreton Flats in Ottawa? Carlos Santana, of course!
I couldn’t have asked for a better performer to wrap up my 2010 year at Ottawa’s biggest music festival. I had always been a fan of the Santana classics growing up, and wasn’t going to pass up on the opportunity to get out to see him jamming through his 45-year spanning catalogue. It was a gorgeous summer day and the atmosphere was perfect for some Santana licks.
By the time we made our way down to the festival grounds Steve Winwood was wrapping his set up so we managed to catch a couple of his songs which was a bonus. I couldn’t wait for Santana to hit the stage. We grabbed some drinks and headed into the crowd. Surprisingly enough we were able to get within about 100m from the stage and had a perfect view lined up for his performance. I’m glad we were able to get up there when we did, as it wasn’t long before the crowd would amass around us.
The sun was just beginning to set and the Latin American rock god made his way out onto the stage to the cheers of fans. From the opening notes he was everything I was expecting him to be; cool, collected, humble and incredible on the guitar. (Da Le) Yaleo and Maria Maria, a couple of Supernatural tracks from ’99 fired the setlist up, with Foo Foo, from his Shaman release following them up. I was glad that he got those newer tracks out of the way right out of the gate so we could into some of his older material. Not that it really mattered what songs were being played, the fact that Carlos Santana was up on stage shredding up the guitar was other worldly.
Jingo, from Santana’s debut self-titled release started up the classic run. Carlos seemed to be settling in nicely on stage and was loving the energy that the crowd was returning. Next up was Singing Winds, Crying Beasts from the group’s second album, Abraxas. It was incredible experiencing Santana’s energy in person, everything about the performance seemed to be perfect. Being outside with the setting sun couldn’t have provided a better vibe. I don’t think I could ever see Santana in an arena after experiencing him outside in the fresh air like we did. He’s just one of those artists you need to have the open sky surrounding you while listening to their jams. We were just about halfway through Santana’s set and we were already blown away with his musicianship! We could only imagine what else he had in store for us.
Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen, Oyo como va, Evil Ways, undoubtedly three of some of the greatest rock n’ roll songs ever written blew our minds midway through the show. Some of my favourite Santana tracks one after the next, I couldn’t believe what we were seeing up on stage. The crowd loved every minute of it and you could tell by the smile on Santana’s face that he was still having the time of his life after all of these years. He continued to wrap up his regular set with a John Coltrane cover – A Love Supreme along with covering Cream’s Sunshine of Your Love, which was awesome. Love, Peace & Happiness / Freedom finished the two song encore up, leaving everyone with a positive note. The fourteen track setlist provided us with a fantastic glimpse into Santana’s vast career. I have a quote from Santana that night written out on a post-it note at my desk that has always stuck with me – “We are all a source of light and love.” Santana was truly inspirational that night in Ottawa, and I will never forget the positive energy that he helped spread throughout the city. The world would be a mighty fine place if there were just a few more Santana’s.