Phases and Stages

Los Lonely Boys

The Fillmore, San Francisco, May 6 The Shaman materialized exactly 15 minutes into the San Angelo Three's siege. In one of the universe's most hallowed rock & roll shrines, surrounded by red velvet and balconies, under eight crystal chandeliers, and in front of a sold-out house (1,100), Los Lonely Boys lived the title to one of their songs, "Crazy Dream." Guitarist Henry Garza said as much. "A dream come true," he called it, and out sauntered the Padrone to Hispanic rockers the world over, Carlos Santana. You can imagine the reaction. Off hauled the quartet into War's "Cisco Kid," riding low and chunky. Henry Garza looked like a kid on Christmas morning. As he and his brother, bassist JoJo Garza, melded their familiar vocal harmonies, Santana stood between them and went off like a fire alarm, his guitar lighting up the Fillmore room like it has since the Sixties. Henry got off some mango tones himself, round, ripe, and juicy, and Santana was impressed, bowing, waving, grinning grande. Eleven minutes shoulda been 25. "Is it not a dream come true, people?" asked JoJo. For another jam, si señor, Henry's harp solo as sharp as his Strat. Ringo Garza, on the drum riser, pounded his approval. "I don't wanna wake up," dazed Henry upon Santana's de-materialization. After that, the balance of LLB's 90 minutes sounded like Santana: "More Than Love," "Nobody Else," and especially the extended main-set wind-down, "Onda." Bay area FM fave "Heaven" closed things out, and the single encore delivered – the return of Santana. "John Lee Hooker, Michael Bloomfield, and Stevie Ray Vaughan are very proud of you," announced the legend in his own right, and off went the fireworks: Henry and JoJo crisscrossing Santana with the T-Bone Walker duckwalk; Henry playing behind his head; JoJo playing his bass on the floor; and finally Carlos, Henry, and JoJo doing the Vaughan brothers with the same interwoven octopus fretwork. Only the Fillmore's class-act farewell, a free, one of a kind show poster upon exit, could top this act.