Carlos Santana Highlights Longtime Musical Mission On Stage In Chicago

“I was told never to come to Chicago, Texas or Memphis unless you play some blues,” joked Carlos Santana on stage Friday night at Ravinia Festival, about 12 miles north of Chicago in Highland Park, Illinois. “So here’s some blues,” asserted the guitar god, going back to 1970’s Abraxas album, his second, while setting up “Hope You’re Feeling Better” midway through the performance.

Over the course of two sold out evenings in Chicago’s northern suburbs, part of Santana’s “1001 Rainbows” tour — an outing which runs into early August ahead of September and November residency dates in Las Vegas — the guitarist and his eight piece backing band shook things up, trotting out drastically reworked sets each night. Friday, on night one, Santana performed for two hours despite humidity and temperatures soaring near 90 degrees.

Santana’s story is almost impossible to script. The group released its first album in August of 1969 just one week after an acclaimed set at Woodstock. Since then, Santana has tallied 12 platinum and 11 gold albums in America, moving more than 100 million records around the world.

But by 1999, they needed a boost, having failed to crack the top 40 of the Billboard 200 albums chart in America for nearly two decades. Re-teaming with then Arista president Clive Davis, who played a role in the group’s earliest success, Santana doubled down on a latent pop sensibility, teaming with artists like Rob Thomas of Matchbox Twenty, Dave Matthews and rapper Everlast on the Supernatural album, one which featured a contemporary special guest on nearly every track (a winning formula that’s been duplicated countless times since).

Today, the album is revered, standing as one of music’s all time great comebacks. At more than 30 million copies sold, Supernatural sits as one of the 25 best selling albums ever. From it, Carlos Santana and company offered up five cuts Friday in Chicago, heading to encore with four straight before closing up with arguably the record’s biggest hit in “Smooth.”

Following an opening video celebrating the group’s Woodstock triumph, Santana put on a rhythmic clinic, two drummers and a percussionist driving a pair of tracks from the group’s 1969 self-titled debut, Santana himself chipping in on vocals as “Soul Sacrifice” gave way to “Jingo.”

Just shy of his 76th birthday, Carlos Santana wasted no time getting to the hits, bringing the capacity crowd to its feet early with “Evil Ways,” “Black Magic Woman” and “Oye Cómo Va” all in a row.

During the show’s earliest moments, Santana rarely looked directly at the crowd, turning right as he locked in with keyboardist David K. Mathews, the duo meandering into Steely Dan’s “Do It Again” during “Evil Ways” and Carole King’s “I Feel the Earth Move” as part of “Oye Cómo Va.”

Never prolonging them, the group dropped in a number of quick interludes for those listening closely, Black Sabbath’s “Iron Man” coming and going from a bass solo during an otherwise organ-fueled take on “Everybody’s Everything” on night one of two.

While Carlos opted to let his music do the talking during the first half of Friday’s concert, he was downright chatty during the second, saluting women prior to a cover of James Brown’s “It’s a Man’s Man’s Man’s World.” “We need to validate our mothers, sisters and daughters,” he said during a poignant moment on stage at Ravinia. “They teach us their wisdom.”

Scaling the band back to just four for the Brown number, Santana stressed the importance of individuality as he moved toward the Supernatural suite, setting up another run of massive hits.

“You’re nothing unless you’re an individual. Be an individual first,” implored one of music’s most singular guitarists. “We’re gonna get down now so you can get up,” he continued, introducing a spirited take on “(Da Le) Yaleo,” a shining late moment for the full band.

The guitarist was at his best on “Put Your Lights On,” masterfully filling in any available space, his guitar functioning almost as a backing vocalist behind singer and guitarist Tommy Anthony.

Singer Ray Greene moved to slide trombone Friday night, driving “Corazón Espinado” alongside vocalist Tommy Vargas, Santana leaning against the drum riser as bassist Benny Rietveld leaned in with a smile.

Switching between electric and acoustic guitar, and chipping in a bit vocally on the song’s verses, Santana himself pushed “Maria Maria” early, eventually ceding center stage to his wife Cindy Blackman, who nearly stole the show Friday with a jarring drum solo, turning the outdoor venue’s seated pavilion area into a sweaty nightclub.

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“How about a nice hand for my wife Cindy?” said Santana. “Some people say, ‘I wanna be like Mike!’” he joked, calling back to an early 90s ad campaign featuring Chicago Bulls legend Michael Jordan. “I can dig it. But you gotta put in the devotion,” he said. “This is why Cindy plays the way she plays: she has a routine like a world class athlete.”

Percussion has always driven Santana and the combined efforts of Blackman, Karl Perazzo and Paoli Mejías remain a highlight in the group’s latest incarnation. The nine piece ensemble stretched out Friday, working in a bit of George Harrison’s “While my Guitar Gently Weeps” during “Toussaint L’Overture,” showing their range soon after during a medley which hit upon Sly and the Family Stone (“I Want to Take you Higher”), The Doors (“Roadhouse Blues”) and The Isley Brothers (“Love, Peace, Happiness”), closing up with a rollicking take on “Smooth.”

“Thank you for being here. It means the world that you’re here,” said Santana Friday night. “Our highest aspiration is to ignite you with enthusiasm,” said the guitarist on stage at Ravinia, highlighting an empowering musical mission that’s approaching nearly six decades. “I do this with gratitude. It’s worth celebrating.”