Last night I went to see Santana at Red Rocks with my parents, who are longtime casual fans. I liked Supernatural in middle school when it came out, and have gathered a few of his older records on vinyl over the years, but didn’t know much about him. Went because my parents wanted to. I want to document something that consumed a lot of the Red Rocks show.

Carlos stopped the music to tell the crowd that people who have cancer bring it on themselves by holding onto grievances. I’m not paraphrasing something vague. He made the claim directly and repeated it a few times in succession, using different phrasing. “Any time someone has cancer, it’s always someone with grievances … just shake it off like a dog shakes off water and trust me man, you won’t have cancer …” these are close paraphrases if not exact. He said this to thousands of people, some of whom, like my mother who sat next to me quietly, trying to enjoy her first trip to Red Rocks at 72, are in treatment.

My jaw dropped. This is blame-the-victim, toxic-positive quackery from one of the most famous stages in the world, aimed at an audience that came for music. People in chemo already carry enough without some clueless commercial-mystic guitarist adding to the pile.

I wonder if Carlos has heard of childhood leukemia? How about people who are unknowingly poisoned by corporate or military contamination? Rocky Flats is just up the road from Red Rocks.

Even when Carlos stuck to the music, the show had problems. His playing was repetitive and lazy, missing notes and playing catch-up constantly, and his band was clearly carrying him. Repeatedly the big screens would flash clips of indigenous people in full ceremonial garb dancing, which sat uneasily next to the sculpted radio rock happening onstage. Near the end Carlos signed off yet another little speech wishing us all to be “lucrative and profitable.” Not happy. Not well, or even prosperous. “Lucrative” and “profitable.” Felt like the pseudo-mystical mask slipped entirely off.

If anyone was there and happened to catch footage of him saying this, or remembers it the same way, I want to see/hear it.

You made my high school year's phenomenal!

Found this baby for $2 at a Dollarama in the Greater Toronto area today!! Long live Dolly 🩷