Santana invigorates upstate New York!

Carlos Santana brought his “Corazon Tour” to the Turning Stone Resort and Casino in Verona, NY this past Sunday after a Saturday night performance at the Seneca Niagara Casino Events Center in Niagara Falls, NY and before his Columbus Day concert at the Modell Center for Performing Arts at Lyric Opera House in Baltimore, MD.  Lisa and I witnessed the Turning Stone show.  




The musicianship, tightness of the show, and exemplary individual performances of the band made the TS show a remarkable event.  Carlos continues to cement his musical legacy as a master guitarist and musician who creates a solid band of which he is a member even if he is the focal point.  The individual solos were fantastic and matched the intensity that each member of Santana displayed.  The percussionists were superb.  The vocalists on point.


 

The guitarists and keyboardist worked in a unison that aligned the notes and compositions into exhilarating moments of ecstasy.  







The brass section dazzled.
 I first tried to see Santana on my Birth Day in 1968 (I think that was the year) at the Fillmore East in New York City.  Not one to buy tickets in advance (at that point in my life,) I was devastated when the box office informed me that the show was sold out.   

It was a miserable Birth Day.



I became a Santana groupie (at least when the band came to New York City over the years) and the  The band roamed through pivotal hits and songs over the past several decades with a freshness and focus that keeps this band relevant.  I was impressed to hear songs that I had on bootleg cassette tapes purchased in Thailand and songs often reserved to live performances and not the recording studio. 


So, yeah…I am biased.  Maybe I will get to Las Vegas to catch one of several shows at the House of Blues, Mandalay Bay in November and one of those shows is on my Birth Day!  


The show at the Turning Stone was a culmination for me.
Imagine that!
     



Comments