Santana/Derek Trucks Band at Merriweather Post Pavilion, Columbia, MD 4/6/08
Last Sunday, Santana played at Merriweather Post Pavilion in Columbia MD, and I was there! It's been 20 years since the last time I saw Carlos play - way too long. Thankfully, this time there were no morons with police whistles. Remember that supremely obnoxious fad from the 80s? I sat on the lawn, which was only slightly damp from the drizzle. Merriweather is the first place I ever saw a big time rock concert, a mere 39 years ago - the Who, in 1969. I tripped on that thought while waiting for the show to start.
Derek Trucks was the opener. I enjoyed their music, like Derek's guitar style a lot, but somebody needs to take on the frontman role in that band. Several times there was dead air while people tuned or got drinks, and nobody jumped into the gap to talk to the crowd. I'm new to this band, is that typical of them? It seemed strange to me. The singer has a great gravelly voice, but he doesn't do much besides stand there and sing. Eh, whatever, the tunes were cool.
An interesting thing about Derek's guitar style - he seems to play like a bassist. It's his right-hand position. I've seen guys play with just their fingers before, but he looked like he was thumpin' and snappin'! He wasn't, and in fact often mutes the lower strings with his thumb while plucking the higher ones with his index finger. I haven't seen a technique like that before. I like the Indian flavor he puts in.
So, on to the headliner! Carlos has Dennis Chambers on drums for this tour. Dennis happens to be my favorite drummer, and he didn't disappoint! He did a fabulous job, and the congas and timbalis were just icing on the cake. He opened the set by himself, with a wild blast of drumitude.
Also in the band are longtime Santana bassist Benny Rietveld and keyboard man Chester Thompson. Benny must be a hot-blooded guy, he was the only one in short sleeves. And it was cold and drizzly! The first week of April can be a tad early for outdoor shows around here. You could see their breath in the closeups on the projection screens.
Carlos has two vocalists, Andy Vargas and Tony Lindsay. They both did a great job and worked the crowd expertly. Either could easily front his own band IMO.
It's amazing to me how powerful the songs are with that percussion. Even the well-known classics from the early albums, Jingo, Soul Sacrifice, Oye Como Va, Black Magic Woman, are still immensely kickass live. I never get tired of that sound. I would have gladly stayed to hear another hour, even though I was freezing by 10:30. Gracias, Carlos, may you live to be 100, and keep on rockin'! And come back when it's warmer, would ya?! I promise not to wait another 20 years!
But what about Benny?
I'd like to tell you that Benny was fabulous, that his tone was fat and articulate, that his taste and chops blew me away, but for more than 90% of the show, I couldn't make out what he was playing. There was such a gigantic low end boom coming from the kick drum that it overrode everything else in the sonic area. This was the case with Derek Trucks' set, as well. It was the one disappointment in an otherwise excellent show. The two times I could hear Benny clearly were his solo, and later during a quiet moment with just him and Carlos. His solo consisted largely of chords strummed in a rhythm guitar style. Not what I was expecting, but hey, maybe he's sick of the flashy stuff. I'm sorry to say his solo struck me as lame overall. Oh well, as long as Carlos loves him! He's clearly doing a lot of things right, he's held one of the coolest gigs on the planet for many years now!
