I am a bit in shock over how great this show really was. 7 piece band, tons of relentless percussion going on. I looked on Wikipedia...........Rolie is 69 years old, and I find that very, very hard to believe. His singing and Hammond organ work are still sterling, and he also looks fantastic.
Rolie played almost every Santana hit that you could name. He also threw in some very heavy blues, an older, obscure tune. My buddy Mark just informed me that it was "As The Years Go Passing By" which was an Albert King staple, but he didn't write it. And to my ultimate joy, he did Journey's "Look Into The Future".........pre-Steve Perry days, when they were a progressive rock band.
Rolie's been at The Boardwalk every year for maybe 8 years now and all of their shows are free. I did catch him 5 years ago and while it was good, I don't remember it being on THIS level! Some of the acts they get down there are tired retreads. NOT THIS ONE!! I plan to make this an annual excursion.
I thought this was an interesting quote from Wikipedia. Note the final sentence. I told Mark at the show that I suspected that there must have been some tension between Carlos and Gregg. It was very obvious at this show that Rolie was every bit as much of an influence on the early Santana sound as Carlos was:
"Prior to Santana, Rolie played with a group called William Penn and his Pals while attending Cubberley High School in Palo Alto, California, circa 1965.[1] A year after graduating from high school in 1965, Rolie joined Carlos Santana and others to form the Santana Blues Band, which was later shortened simply to Santana. As a founding member of Santana, Rolie was part of the band's first wave of success, including an appearance at the Woodstock Music and Art Festival in 1969 and central roles in several hit albums. He is perhaps best known for being their original lead vocalist, with his voice appearing on well-known Santana songs such as "Black Magic Woman" (US #4), "Oye Como Va", "No One To Depend On" and "Evil Ways". He also became well known for his skill on the Hammond B3 organ, with solos on many of the aforementioned hits. However, persistent differences with Carlos Santana regarding the musical direction of the band led Rolie to leave at the end of 1971."
[Edited on 7/17/2016 by robslob]
Thanks for the review and pictures. Long show? It seems like full daylight and then night.
Have always loved his singing and playing. Nice that he got a chance to work with Carlos again along with Michael and Neil.
Long show? It seems like full daylight and then night.
They always do two sets, 6:30 PM and 8:30 PM. Each set will last anywhere from 50 - 60 minutes. We stayed for both sets............you don't walk out on a show like this!!
Any tapers in the crowd?
Sounds like a nice concert. As The Years Go Passing By has been covered by many artists. Just an aside, the 7 note riff from that song was stolen by Duane, sped up, and used as the main riff on Layla.
Thanks for the post, Rob. I'm glad to see that they're still doing free shows at the Boardwalk in Santa Cruz. I saw Bo Diddley on there for free back in 1988.
Here's an audio-only video with Santana doing "As the Years Go Passing By" at the Fillmore in 1968. This is from my favorite Santana album of all time- Live at the Fillmore '68. I highly recommend this album to anyone who likes the first three Santana albums.
Any tapers in the crowd?
Not that I noticed. If I had known it was going to be this good I most likely would have brought my little Canon point and shoot and got a couple of tunes at least. EVERYTHING was good, but As The Years Go Passing By and Look Into The Future were BETTER than good..............damn, does Gregg still have an incredible voice.
Sounds like a nice concert. As The Years Go Passing By has been covered by many artists. Just an aside, the 7 note riff from that song was stolen by Duane, sped up, and used as the main riff on Layla.
Thanks! Tidbits like that are why it's worth it to post a thread like this here. I never knew that about Layla.
Thanks for the post, Rob. I'm glad to see that they're still doing free shows at the Boardwalk in Santa Cruz. I saw Bo Diddley on there for free back in 1988.
Here's an audio-only video with Santana doing "As the Years Go Passing By" at the Fillmore in 1968. This is from my favorite Santana album of all time- Live at the Fillmore '68. I highly recommend this album to anyone who likes the first three Santana albums.
I can't thank you enough for this link. GREAT STUFF!!!!
[Edited on 7/18/2016 by robslob]
Any of his more well known Journey tunes like Anytime, Feeling that Way or Just the Same Way? (though you'd have to have another singer to cover the Perry parts)
Any of his more well known Journey tunes like Anytime, Feeling that Way or Just the Same Way? (though you'd have to have another singer to cover the Perry parts)
Look Into The Future was the only Journey tune that he did. I could have gone for a lot more from their first three records, which are all great and are all before Steve Perry. I would have been disappointed if he had delved into the Perry catalog. Those first three Journey records are fairly obscure to the general public.
You have to remember, too, the format of these Boardwalk shows. Rolie has been there for something like 8 consecutive years. Because all of the shows are no cover, they make their $$$ in other ways, and trust me, they are RAKING in the cash down there. These shows draw big crowds, get people eating and drinking, and yes they sell beer, and none of the food or the beer is cheap. Then factor all the rides.............the Boardwalk is a like a huge carnival. I'm sure it's a very good paying gig (why else would Rolie keep coming back?). But the payoff is, they must play their hits. I've been there enough times and seen enough bands that I know this. If they follow the script, they are asked back again. I know they repeated a song or two in the second set, I believe Evil Ways and Jingo. The trade-off is that as long as he does that, Rolie can get away with throwing in tunes like As They Years Go Passing By and Look Into The Future. When I say hits, well, Rolie didn't sing the main part on those Steve Perry tunes, so he doesn't play them. To me, they're inferior to Santana and early Journey, anyway.
I didn't mind at all hearing a couple of tunes repeated at ALL. If you heard this band and all the percussion going on, you'd know why.
[Edited on 7/18/2016 by robslob]
The Journey songs I was referring to were ones where Rolie had that prominent lead vocal, but in a duet with Perry. They were major FM songs....I imagine they'd be well received (but again, you'd either have to have another high pitched singer cover the other parts). I'm a fan of all the records Rolie did with Journey. I'd be surprised if he doesn't play those three songs sometimes.
He could easily do Just The Same Way as Perry only has a few backing lines. I like it.
Same goes for Anytime.
Surprised that he skips them. I love his voice on both.
Any of his more well known Journey tunes like Anytime, Feeling that Way or Just the Same Way? (though you'd have to have another singer to cover the Perry parts)
You have a point. I had forgotten that Rolie actually had the lead vocal part of some of the hits with Steve Perry. Yeah, it's a bit surprising that he doesn't do at least one of them. But then again, if he's only going to do one, I loved the choice of the uncommercial Look Into The Future. He could easily do a few more though........but yes, IF someone in the band could handle Perry's part, and that's a big "IF".
[Edited on 7/19/2016 by robslob]
Perry sings mostly backing vocals and a couple of lines in the songs mentioned. Gregg could sing them himself or if need be just add a female backup singer to the mix.
Either way he can play whatever his heart desires. I just love his voice and a set of the first three Journey albums would work for me. LOL
Thanks for the info and review. Looked lilke a great time.
On another note, I was pretty underwhelmed with the latest Santana effort. Carlos seems to go for this overproduced,glossy type feel anymore. Really does not feel organic , and he could use some help in the song writing dept. Just my opinion! 😛
Everyone has a plan, till you get punched in the face,
