Courtesy of Santana IV; Travis ShinnTwo legendary Bay Area bands, Santana and Journey, teamed up on Wednesday night to play a special concert at Madison Square Garden in New York City, the first of three joint performances they have scheduled this week.
For Santana, who opened the concert, the show served as a release party for Santana IV, the new studio album that reunites most of the members of its early-1970s lineup. Joining band leader Carlos Santana at the gig were original singer/keyboardist Gregg Rolie, drummer Michael Shrieve and percussionist Michael Carabello, as well as Journey guitarist Neil Schon, who played on Santana’s third and fourth albums.
The band, minus Schon, kicked off the show with a blistering rendition of “Soul Sacrifice,” as images of Santana playing at the 1969 Woodstock Festival were shown on the venue’s video screens. Equally inspiring versions of “Jingo” and “Evil Ways” followed, then Carlos brought Neal out onstage after explaining that Schon had been the catalyst for the reunion project.
After playing the 1972 hit “No One to Depend On,” the band played several songs from Santana IV. The new tunes blended seamlessly with the group’s classic material.
Grooving renditions of “Black Magic Woman” and “Oye Como Va” brought the initial set to a close, after which Santana’s current lineup assembled on stage. The group proceeded to get the crowd on the feet with three songs from 1999’s chart-topping Supernatural album, including the #1 hits “Smooth” and “Maria Maria.” As an encore, Rolie rejoined Santana for a performance of the 1971 instrumental “Toussaint L’Ouverture.”
Then it was Journey’s turn to rock the Garden. The gig was historic for two reasons: It marked the band’s first-ever concert at the famous venue and it also was drummer Steve Smith‘s first full show with the group since 1984.
Journey’s set was jam-packed with the band’s classic hits, including “Separate Ways,” “Open Arms,” “Lights,” “Who’s Crying Now,” “Wheel in the Sky,” “Faithfully,” “Any Way You Want It” and, of course, “Don’t Stop Believin’.” Current frontman Arnel Pineda was a ball of energy throughout — leaping, spinning, running across the stage and exhorting the crowd to sing along with him.
Santana and Journey also will play together on Friday in Allentown, Pennsylvania, and Saturday in Uncasville, Connecticut.
Here are the songs Santana played on Wednesday:
“Soul Sacrifice”
“Jingo”
“Evil Ways”
“No One to Depend On”
“Shake It”
“Caminando”
“Anywhere You Want to Go”
“Fillmore East”
“New York City”
“Black Magic Woman”
“Oye Como Va”
“Maria Maria”
“Corazon Espinado”
“Smooth”
“Toussaint L’Ouverture”
And here is Journey’s set list:
“Separate Ways”
“Be Good to Yourself”
“Open Arms”
“Only the Young”
“Stone in Love”
“Lights”
“Send Her My Love”
“Who’s Crying Now”
“Escape”
“La Do Da”
“Wheel in the Sky”
“Faithfully”
“Don’t Stop Believin'”
“Any Way You Want It”
“Lovin’, Touchin’, Squeezin'”
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