People tried to compare the US Festival with Woodstock from the time it was announced. While both festivals featured major rock stars of the time, and attracted hundreds of thousands of people, they weren’t quite the same. Woodstock marked the end of the ’60s on the East Coast and the US Festival was part of the spawning of the ’80s on the West Coast. The most obvious difference was the fences didn’t come down at the US Festival turning it into a free festival. Bill Graham didn’t put up with any nonsense when he ran the US Festival. Band hit the stage at the right time and we’re waiting until 6 a.m. Bands also got paid at the US Festival. Steve Wozniak used part of his Apple fortune to cover the budget. Steve never whined about losing money on the US Festival because he did it because he wanted this magical weekend. Steve enjoyed his festival so much he had a second one a year later. Woodstock was chaos. The US Festival was a well-oiled machine. One of the few things Woodstock and the US Festival had in common was Carlos Santana taking the stage with his band. Santana: Live At US Festival captures his way of linking the fans from 1969 with the new generation in 1982.
When Santana hit the stage that sunny day in San Bernardino, he was not a relic of the ’60s meant to remind the kids of what mom and dad danced to in the mud after taking brown acid. His band was riding high on the charts. Their video for “Hold On” was in heavy rotation on MTV and getting counted down by Casey Kasem on the charts. They played in the present tense. It also helped that Carlos had plenty of new band members that replaced the ’69 version that played on Yasgur’s Farm. Scottish singer and rhythm guitarist Alex Ligertwood was the new voice. The most dominating aspect of the band after Carlos Santana’s guitar work was the massive percussion section that featured Raul Rekow, Armando Peraza, Orestes Vilato and Graham Lear. They brought that special Santana beat to the audience. There was also a special guest when jazz keyboardist Herbie Hancock played “Incident At Neshabur.” He was a year away from unleashing “Rockit” on the world. This afternoon he was adding his jazz notes to the piece. During his solo, Carlos works in a bit from “My Favorite Things.” It seems like a sly tribute to John Coltrane since Herbie knew the legend.
This is not a full concert. Santana was slotted between Eddie Money and The Cars on the Saturday that Tom Petty and the Heartbreakers headlined. The band gives off the energy of a two-hour set in their hour-long performance. It’s strange that the band skipped “Winning” which had been a massive hit the previous year. The crowd doesn’t seem to care as they enjoy the percussive vibes on that hot summer day. Instead of giving us the concert from start to finish, Carlos Santana appears every few songs to discuss what the show meant to him. The interview seems to be from a few years ago. The special really highlights how the US Festival was a smooth operation since the band isn’t messing around with unexpected issues that were part of his time at Woodstock. Santana and his band were able to focus on the music that makes Santana: Live At US Festival as good for the ears as the eyes.
Set List
• Searchin’
• Black Magic Woman / Gypsy Queen
• Oye Como Va
• Nowhere To Run
• Incident At Neshabur
• Savor
• Jingo Lo Ba
• Hold On
• She’s Not There / Marbles
• Open Invitation
• Shango
The video is 1.33:1 full frame. The concert was videotaped since they had a giant TV screen above the stage to give the vast crowd a hint what the tiny performers were doing. I believe it was also part of a Pay-Per-View in association MTV. The 1080 upgrade transfer from standard definition makes the action look smooth. The audio is DTS-HD MA 2.0 Stereo. The sound is sharp. The percussion instruments come through fine and clear. The show is subtitled.
Woodstock & US Festival (1:51) has Carlos Santana speak of transforming fear.
Signature Sound (1:23) has him talk about how he creates a note with his whole body and not just his fingers.
Santana’s Music (2:52) has him reflect on how a kid in Tijuana got the idea to mix the Blues with the sounds he heard around him.
Santana & Bill Graham (1:22) has him pay respect to the concert promoter who hooked him up on big gigs. He never let Bill manage his band, but viewed him as a mentor.
MVD Visual presents Santana: Live at US Festival. Directed by: Glenn Aveni. Starring: Carlos Santana, Alex Ligertwood and Herbie Hancock. Running time: 68 minutes. Rated: Unrated. Released: October 4, 2024.
