Journey, Santana seize the day at AT&T Park show
Food service workers left their posts during Carlos Santana’s set to dance with patrons in the hallway.
A man banging a cowbell roamed the endless corridor of concessions, clearly convinced he was a member of Journey.
Even in the ridiculously long women’s bathroom line, Debbie Johnson and Gayle Princeau, complete strangers, beamed and danced in unison like they had been friends forever.
No one at the 1970s Oakland Coliseum, for example, had the choice to buy a lamb burger with feta cheese and tzatziki sauce, or a hand-carved turkey sandwich.
In the bathroom line, a hint of sadness filled the eyes of Gayle Princeau, 61, as she explained that her ticket was a gift from her husband, who is battling cancer and couldn’t make the trip.
Tower of Power from Oakland (established 1968), the Doobie Brothers from San Jose (1970) and the Steve Miller Band from San Francisco (1966) played in the daylight, when the bands were harder to see and AT&T Park’s sound deficiencies were more noticeable.
The party elevated to another level with the arrival of Santana, who brought his younger band, despite a recent “Santana IV” album with the “classic” lineup that includes Journey founding member Gregg Rolie.
The youth movement brought momentum to the night, especially on the drums, where the blistering percussion onslaught was almost as well-received as the guitar legend himself - who looked like a native San Franciscan waiting for Muni, dressed in a knit hat and layers.
[...] on the very last show of a 57-city tour, guitarist and band founder Neal Schon looked like Rambo at the end of a long battle, tying a red headband around his curly hair, and firing guitar solo fusillades that echoed through the stadium - turning ballads into anthems and anthems into frenzied musical tempests.
“If you would please get out your lighters, or your cell phones, and light this place up like a giant Christmas tree,” Schon said before playing the opening notes of “Lights” - a song that the San Francisco Giants have played on the public address system hundreds of times, but had never been played at the venue by the actual band.