7/22/2012
Darien Lake Amphitheater
On a balmy summers evening in July, I was able to take in a co-headliners show that featured two of my favorite bands of all time Carlos Santana & The Allman Brothers Band.
First to take the stage was the 63 year old Carlos Santana and his seasoned 10 piece band who cooked up a storm of percussive Afro-Latin rhythms and fiery rock and jazz that feature everything from horns to keyboards and superb percussion.
With a career that has taken us from the early 1970′s to today, Santana gave us almost two hours of his greatest hits in a 13 song set that ended just before dusk.
The enthusiastic crowd warmed to the salsa flavored songs of the 1999 comeback album Supernatural, which included the hits “Smooth” and “Maria Maria” but the most memorable moments were the passionate guitar playing of Carlos on the classic songs such as “ Oye Como Va” and “Black Magic Women/Gypsy Queen”.
The only thing missing was a few of the new songs off the Shape Shifter album that was just released in early May of 2012 and is really worth a listen.
As the Allman Brothers took the stage after a brief intermission, Greg took his spot on the left side of the stage to a rousing ovation behind his classic Hammond B-3 organ and with a little help from Warren Haynes & Derek Trucks belted out the lyrics to “One Way Out” and “Statesboro Blues.”
Greg’s voice was the best I’ve heard it in a long time and the guitar work of Haynes and Trucks almost make you believe that Duane Allman was in the theater.
A band like the Allman Brothers could easily come out and play a greatest hits show but time after time they choose to keep giving us something fresh and exciting after all these years. The Brothers finished there 2 hour set with the classic’s like “ Soulshine,” “Dreams” and Jessica” and saved “Southbound” for the encore.
A friend once asked how many more times can you hear “ Memory of Elizabeth Reed “ and my answer sums it all up. As many times as they want to play it because it different every time.
Four hours of music, 20 musicians, and a pair of Rock & Roll Hall of Fame band leaders isn’t a bad way to spend a Sunday night.
