Santana and The Doobie Brothers @ Bethel Woods Center for the Arts, Bethel, NY 7-4-26

As America celebrated its 250^th Birthday, Bethel Woods marked the occasion by having Santana and The Doobie Brothers play their historic venue. This is the 2^nd time both have graced the stage on the same bill. They both played the 50^th anniversary celebration back on August 17, 2019. The only difference this time around is Michael McDonald is back with the Doobie Brothers.

The Doobie Brothers took to the stage first. You can see McDonald’s impact right away as his harmonies. He took lead vocals on songs like “I Keep Forgettin” and “What a Food Believes.” They were stellar. That doesn’t take away from what Tom Johnston, Patrick Simmons and John McFee have already been providing since McDonald’s last exit from the band back in 1996. The Doobies since that time have been one of the most consistent and legacy bands on the touring circuit. They have always delivered in a live setting. Having McDonald back into the fold only accentuates it. They went through 11 songs before the set came to a screeching halt. Bethel stopped the show for about 35 minutes as they waited for a storm to pass through. The Doobies returned to play two monster hits in “Black Water” and “Listen to the Music.” Unfortunately, their set was cut short and a lot of songs had to be omitted due to time constraints. Again, The Doobies are one of the most consistent bands and even with their short set, they still delivered a great show!

Even though this is my 3^rd time seeing Santana play at Bethel Woods, it is always something special. Taking the stage to “Soul Sacrifice” and having the Woodstock video playing behind him is always just magical, no matter how many times you’ve witnessed it. The beginning of the set was heavy on hits as both “Evil Ways” and Black Magic Woman” were dished out. The spiritual Santana pleaded with the audience a few times throughout the set saying at one point that “truth is the only thing that is real!” Tracey Blackham came out to sing “The Game of Love.” This song has been played sparingly on the tour, so it was nice to see it in the set for this show. Everyone held their phones up for “Leave the Lights On” as the song was vocally delivered by rhythm guitarist Tommy Anthony. Of course, “Maria, Maria” got everyone up dancing in their seats. The show closed with a big encore that included “Smooth” to close out the show.

Santana’s physical mobility may not be very animated, but his fingers still are flawless on the 6^th string guitar. After seeing him a few times over the last 12 years, his band continues to be a well-oiled machine. You would be hard pressed to find better than Cindy Blackmon Santana who continues to drive that machine behind the drum kit. I couldn’t think of a better way to celebrate our nation’s 250^th year of independence than watching these two bands play!

Santana setlist:

Soul Sacrifice (With Light my Fire snippet –cover The Doors)

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

Evil Ways

Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen

Oye com ova (Tito Puente cover)

Everybody’s Everything

Bass and Drum solo

Europa (Earth’s Cry, Heaven’s Smile)

Hope Your Felling Better

The Game of Love

(Da le) Yaleo