The O-town Scene

EAST PARK, NORWICH Saturday, July 26th Sven Curth Seek The Lion Pimps Of Joytime Sponsored by: Presented by Chenango Blues Association www.chenangosummerjam.org This program is made possible with public funds from the New York State Council on the Arts, which is administered by the Chenango County Council of the Arts, with support from Governor Andrew Cuomo and the NYS Legislature. The Heart of New York Festivals ®NYSDED For more information visit www.chenangony.org or call 1-877-chenango.org This year I was fortunate enough to catch the living legend, guitar god, and message of light to humanity, Carlos San- tana, twice within one month! I first saw him with Rod Stewart at The Times Union Center in Albany. The show was memo- rable, but lacked more of Santana than I cared for. Much to my relief, the second time, at the beautiful Bethel Woods Center of the Arts in Bethel, he was ONLY the act on stage, with a larger crowd to boot. It was 45 years ago that Carlos was a young man in pouring his heart into a moment in history on the same grounds. Woodstock 1969 was the rise to fame for the 17-year-old as he played alongside some of the greatest of all time. To this day, Santana's legacy is a rare feat. He is one of two artists since that time who has had a top 10 album in every decade since the 1960s. This year's show was all I could have asked for: prime Santana. His band was a beacon of energy and excitement feeding off the legend's riffs like waves crashing a surfer's beach. He opened with "Soul Sacrifice," which was part of the legend- ary 1969 performance. His fingers hitting the strings were as spry and soulful as the boy that played there 45 years prior. He went on a ride of favorites like "Black Magic Woman / Gypsy Queen," "Oye como va," "Maria Maria," "Jingo," and "Saideira," while mixing in newer hits like "Smooth" and "Corazon espinado" per- fectly. The evening was everything you'd expect — the message was of love and peace for humanity, and the venue and weather wove together a beautiful tapestry of freedom for us all in that moment. It's mesmerizing to witness everything going in as perfect harmony, and memorable to thy older self. Of those memories we make, Santana left another chapter of my tale with me last time he was at Bethel Woods. In 2010, the second and only other time he played the grounds since 1969, with the timelessly talented Steve Winwood opening for him, he took to the grounds in a performance that even moved Mother Nature. The show was nothing short of electrifying, the price of admission was the least of our donation to basking in the moment. After delivering as incredible of a show as I'd seen, the red lightning started. Heat lightning through- out the beautiful Bethel and surrounding hill towns that you roll into on your way to the venue. As we departed on our four- person convertible cruise, we watched as the lightning hit the local forests as if the waves of Santana had caused a ripple in nature to its departing attendees. Once we passed the towns and hit Route 17, we reached the next wave, it began to hail … and we rushed to put the top up. Needless to say, attendees of that mo- ment got their admission and then some. You won't know what it's worth until you get to the event. Live something live this summer — make a chapter to write about it in your own novel, friends. When he's not go- ing to shows, Chad Ritchko is I.T. manager at The Daily Star. He can be reached at critchko@ thedailystar.com. The IT Guy By Chad Ritchko Santana Brings Magic Back To Bethel Woods Contributed Carlos Santana performs at Bethel Woods on June 15.

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