Santana and Earth, Wind & Fire bring decades of joy to Syracuse (concert review, photos)

Wednesday night’s concert at the St. Joseph’s Health Amphitheater at Lakeview can be summed up in one word: Joy.

Santana and Earth, Wind & Fire brought decades of hits to the St. Joe’s Amp as part of their joint “Miraculous Supernatural Tour.” An estimated 14,000 fans attended the show, which was the two Rock and Roll Hall of Fame performers’ first time at the Syracuse amphitheater.

Earth, Wind & Fire opened the show at 7:30 p.m., slightly behind schedule as a number of older fans appeared to struggle with mobile tickets for entry at the gates. One attendee loudly complained he didn’t even have a mobile phone, and then told me the last concert he attended was The Rolling Stones in 1964. (He was eventually given a paper ticket at the will call window, and others were also able to slowly but surely make their way into the venue before EWF took the stage.)

But hey, if you’re going to finally start going to concerts again 58 years later, this one is definitely worth it.

The show was scheduled to begin at 7, so Earth, Wind & Fire wasted no time getting to the party. The disco-funk-R&B group, led by three 71-year-old men in sparkly white outfits — original bassist Verdine White and longtime members Philip Bailey and Ralph Johnson — got things bouncing with “Shining Star” and moved onto “Let Your Feelings Show,” “Mighty Mighty / Celebrate” and “Getaway” with no breaks in between.

The 12-member live band especially hit a groove with “Serpentine Fire,” performing the 1977 hit as video showed the classic EWF lineup on the screen behind them. Bailey and two backup singers did their best to fill the void left by the late, great Maurice White, who died in 2016; “Got to Get You Into My Life” didn’t sound as tight as when Earth, Wind & Fire released their version of the Beatles song in 1978, but the crowd filled in the gaps by clapping and singing along to the fun, timeless tune.

Overall, Earth, Wind & Fire struggled to keep the crowd on its feet, and eventually took a break from trying with slow jams like “That’s the Way of the World” and “After the Love Has Gone.” Then everyone finally got up and danced to “Boogie Wonderland” (which got the biggest cheers), “Let’s Groove” and (of course) “September.”

Bailey and co. were at their strongest when leading a disco dance party, so it was a little disappointing to hear them close with “In the Stone.” Half the audience sat down, ending their 75-minute set with polite applause and eagerness for the next act.

Santana took the stage at 9:15, performing an eight-minute version of the percussion-heavy “Soul Sacrifice” as footage of bandleader Carlos Santana playing the same song at the original Woodstock in 1969 appeared on screen. The guitar legend, now 75, moves a little slower on stage now — he had heart surgery in December and collapsed from the heat at a Michigan concert last month — but still wails on his instrument like few can.

Most of Santana’s performance was highly energetic and instrumental, featuring his wife Cindy Blackman Santana on drums and two other percussionists, Karl Perazzo and Paoli Mejias; plus guitarist Tommy Anthony, keyboard player David K Mathews, bassist Benny Rietveld, and singers Andy Vargas and Ray Greene. Vargas and Greene led the vocals on the biggest hits, like “Evil Ways,” “Black Magic Woman” and the hip-hop-flavored “Maria Maria” (DJ Khaled sampled the 1999 hit for 2017′s “Wild Thoughts” with Rihanna), while Anthony filled in for Everlast on “Put Your Lights On.”

Besides Santana’s iconic guitar sound, rhythm is the biggest part of his eponymous band. Blackman and Perazzo took turns showing off their percussive skills; Blackman played a five-minute drum solo during the encore as her husband watched with love from the side of the stage.

The concert was originally scheduled for 2020 as part of a two-year tour celebrating the 50th anniversary of Santana’s breakout Woodstock performance and the 20th anniversary of the Grammy-winning album “Supernatural.” The show was delayed by the Covid-19 pandemic, which meant he didn’t have to limit himself to those two eras; he covered The Doors’ “Roadhouse Blues,” played “Foo Foo” from 2002′s “Shaman” (the “Supernatural” follow-up album that featured “The Game of Love,” which he didn’t play Wednesday) and the new song “Joy,” released in 2021 with Chris Stapleton.

In fact, joy was the unifying message of both acts. Earth, Wind & Fire played fun dance songs and Santana, wearing a white hat and a Bob Marley hoodie, preached a message of togetherness as video screens showed different cultures dancing throughout his set. Santana didn’t speak much, though he talked about “your light, your spirit and your soul” just before wishing a happy birthday to Anthony, even playing “Happy Birthday to You” on guitar for his bandmate.

Santana closed his hour-and-45-minute set with a flawless encore, highlighted by his biggest hit “Smooth” (with Vargas doing his best Rob Thomas impression) and closing with the 2017 Isley Brothers collaboration “Love, Peace, Happiness” (a cover of the Chambers Brothers song). And that’s exactly the feeling everyone took home with them: Love, peace and happiness.

EARTH, WIND & FIRE Set List

Aug. 17 at St. Joseph’s Health Amphitheater at Lakeview, Syracuse, NY

Shining Star

Let Your Feelings Show

Mighty Mighty / Celebrate

Getaway

Serpentine Fire

Sing a Song

Got to Get You Into My Life (Beatles cover)

Keep Your Head to the Sky

Devotion

Reasons

That’s the Way of the World

After the Love Has Gone (David Foster cover)

Rock That!

Fantasy

Boogie Wonderland

Let’s Groove

September

In the Stone

* * * * *

SANTANA Set List

Aug. 17 at St. Joseph’s Health Amphitheater at Lakeview, Syracuse, NY

Soul Sacrifice

Jin-go-lo-ba (Babatunde Olatunji cover)

Evil Ways (Willie Bobo cover)

Black Magic Woman (Fleetwood Mac cover) / Gypsy Queen

Oye Como Va (Tito Puente cover)

Happy Birthday to You (for guitarist Tommy Anthony)

Samba Pa Ti

(De La) Yaleo

Put Your Lights On

Joy

Life is for Living

Corazon Espinado

Maria Maria

Foo Foo

Encore:

Toussaint L’Ouverture

Hang ‘Em High (Dominic Frontiere cover)

Smooth

Roadhouse Blues (The Doors cover) / Love, Peace, Happiness (The Chambers Brothers cover)

* * * * *

Are we missing any songs from the setlist? Email gherbert@syracuse.com.

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