Santana brings the spirit of Woodstock to St. Paul

Woodstock 50 may be canceled, but the spirit of the celebrated 1969 festival lives on every time Carlos Santana performs.

Before he arrived onstage Saturday at Xcel Energy Center, film clips of Woodstock were shown on giant video screens. Then Santana opened with a trio of tunes from the rock fest that made him famous: the instrumental "Soul Sacrifice," "Jin-go-lo-ba" and the eventual FM radio hit "Evil Ways," with footage of a young Carlos soaring at Woodstock on a video screen.

For two hours, Santana oozed the Woodstockian vibe of peace, love and music. He hasn't been this spirited, animated and expansive onstage in the Twin Cities in a long time, as he swayed, bounced and enjoyed himself as much as the nearly 10,000 fans did. He even demonstrated to the concertgoers how to dance — by moving their hips, not feet.

The bandleader clearly relished the playing of his musicians, especially keyboardist David Mathews, who was given ample solo opportunities, and drummer Cindy Blackman Santana, a fierce powerhouse all night who also shone in solo spots.

But the big payoffs of a Santana concert come from Carlos' extraordinary guitar work. He played fast and furious, eloquent and ethereal, boisterous and beautiful. He incorporated elements of Latin, jazz, rock and blues into a sound that's distinctively his, no matter the tempo.

He punctuated a reading of the Zombies' "She's Not There" with sinuous Latin jazz lines, space-age guitar stabs and mysterious runs that led into a smokin' percussion groove.

On his 1970 hit "Black Magic Woman," the guitarist delivered his signature sound — pure, fast and soulful. On "Hope You're Feeling Better," another tune from that year, he offered fluidly articulated and emotional lines in his Latin jazz style.

He soared like an expressive rock guitarist on a medium-tempo, slightly funky treatment of John Lennon's "Imagine," facing his drummer wife, who reimagined the classic with her raspy voice.

Santana found other voices with his guitar, a taste of Middle Eastern blues, an Afro-Latin groove and some heavy blues-rock. He played a spellbindingly slow, elegant and melancholy intro to "Smooth" and found a hippie-era guitar jam on the ensuing sendup of the Chambers Brothers' "Love, Peace and Happiness."

The 72-year-old guitarist in the white fedora, artful T-shirt and two-tone green loafers was so into it that at times he almost seemed to forget there was an audience. To be sure, he gave one of his usual mini-sermons, invoking the names of the Rev. Martin Luther King Jr., Marvin Gaye and Prince, saying they stood for "unity, harmony and no fear. Dig it?"

Santana dedicated the show to his late friend, the Purple One, saying "I know Prince is here, I can feel him," and even offered a "let's go crazy" jam that proved Santana can throw an improvised party.

This year not only marks the 50th anniversary of Santana's breakthrough at Woodstock, but also the 20th anniversary of its Grammy-sweeping "Supernatural" and the release of the excellent "Africa Speaks," Santana's most ambitious and best album in years.

The new record was seemingly ignored on Saturday, but "Supernatural" was well represented, with "Corazón Espinado" turning into a joyous sing-along in Spanish and the poppy "Maria Maria" eventually becoming a peppy Latin romp.

It might have been more prudent to do something from "Africa Speaks" instead of a cover of Rockwell's dated 1984 new-wavish "Somebody's Watching Me," which, along with other tunes, reinforced that neither longtime Santana vocalist Andy Vargas nor singer Ray Greene, who joined in 2016, is in the same league as the instrumentalists in the group.

Santana has toured with such big names as Bob Dylan and Rod Stewart or newer names such as Everlast and Los Lonely Boys, but this time he tapped fellow San Francisco Bay Area veterans the Doobie Brothers.

While the ensemble has long melded elements of rock, R&B, bluegrass and gospel, co-founder Tom Johnston was singing on Saturday with a fired-up funky soulfulness, especially on "Listen to the Music" and an extended "Long Train Running."

Co-founder Pat Simmons was in good voice, too, though it seemed misguided when he tried to channel Michael McDonald on "Takin' It to the Streets." Props, too, to bassist John Cowan, who distinguished himself on lead vocals.

On the whole, Simmons and Johnston, along with various hired hands including Little Feat keyboardist Bill Payne, have a tight band with good chemistry, top-notch vocal harmony and the ability to jam with purpose, making them a kindred spirit with Santana.

Twitter: @JonBream • 612-673-1719