^^^^^^^^ Santana
Watch Carlos Santana’s Infamous Acid-Fueled Woodstock Performance
The breakthrough gig that nearly broke his sanity.
Following a ‘brief exchange’ with Jerry Garcia, Carlos walked away full of the festival spirit and feeling safe in the knowledge that he had several hours to kill before the acid wore off. After all, it was to be the biggest performance of his career. Any sense of serenity was short-lived, however, as he was soon informed, “If you don’t play now, you’re not going to play at all. You need to go on right now.” Alas, peaking on his trip, he made his way to the stage in trepidation, praying only to stay in tune and in time.
“Everything became another dimension,” he recalls.
In heroic fashion, Carlos went far beyond merely holding it together – even though the neck of his early ‘60s Gibson SG Special “felt like a snake” in his hands. But tame that 'snake' he did! While Carlos himself has often been quoted as finding this uncomfortable viewing (understandable), his masterful performance ultimately went down in history as one of Woodstock's most iconic moments.