House of Blues a good fit for Santana

"Smooth"? Yeah, that's the money song. But "steady" might be a better word to describe Carlos Santana.

At 64, the guitarist still serves up enough jagged edges that live versions of even the mellow stuff, such as the emotive "Europa," will never be confused for smooth jazz.

But it would be naive to assume the veteran rocker was going to throw any change-ups just because he has a new Las Vegas home at the House of Blues.

Santana's two-hour debut last week was essentially the same show the guitar legend offered in his two years at the larger Hard Rock Hotel (minus the need to push the "Guitar Heaven" classic rock covers album).

Even the occasional video on the rear screen - the one luxury of the minimal staging - was the same familiar footage. If those gals filmed dancing in the street for "Smooth" got any money for it, the investment has been well-amortized by now.

Still, it's fair to say the thing feels different because the environment changed around it. The club's serendipitous folk-art decor matches Santana's upscale hippie aesthetic, coming back into focus after years of fading into the black T-shirt background for incongruous punk and metal shows.

And the layout is just right for fans who can choose (if only at the point of ticket purchase) to sit and catch the vibe or let the congas and timbales move their bodies. Theater seats upstairs were once-again occupied, and there were more up-sell seats to each side of the general admission floor.

At the Hard Rock, Santana had to pace back and forth to work the giant stage, and the energy of the Latin jams sometimes seemed to drain off into the big box of a venue.

Here, the same jams seemed more to a purpose, feeding off a down-front energy in a two-hour set that was better than half instrumental. A drum solo is simply more fun when you can see the smiling face of the great Dennis Chambers as he plays it.

The eight players and two singers (the serviceable Andy Vargas and Tony Lindsay) were otherwise so packed onto the stage, the existence of two horn players (Jeff Cressman and Bill Ortiz) pushed into the background might have surprised those in certain obstructed-view areas when they stepped out front for solos.

The band also standardizes any differences between "old" and "new" Santana. If you didn't know "No One to Depend On" was recorded in 1971 and "Into the Night" was recorded in 2007, you wouldn't know here, minus the recording technology of each decade.

At one point, Santana did the cool prog-rock, guitar-god thing of playing one guitar braced to a stand while another stood ready around his neck. Beyond that slow windup to "Maria Maria," his guitar tone seldom varied from its electric energy, dominantly perched above the band, no matter how many times he switched out the actual ax.

A few moments transcended this consistent ride: "Black Magic Woman" and "Oye Como Va" combining to get the crowd truly riled for the first time, a half-hour into the set. Or the long, climbing encore, which began with "Soul Survivor" and then shifted gears a few times before ending with everyone chanting along to "Peace and happiness!"

Santana himself offered a few of his usual "Whoa dude!" spiritual observations: "We need to grab the concept that eternity and time don't look in the eye. Everything with time dies. Eternity lives forever."

But that wisdom comes from a savvy businessman who also promised the 30 more shows to come this year will have "more everything ... more finesse, more energy, more fun."

While opening night found none of these departments crucially lacking, there indeed seemed to be room - even in this packed, cozy venue - for more of all those things.

Contact reporter Mike Weatherford at mweatherford@ reviewjournal.com or 702-383-0288.