Santana as Hard Rock headliner puzzling

There had better be Deadhead stickers on a lot of Cadillacs for this one to work.

The idea of Carlos Santana as a big-ticket Hard Rock Hotel headliner -- with 72 shows in the next two years -- has me a bit conflicted. A chat with the man himself blew lots of positive energy my way, so I'm trying to treat this like a yoga class.

Out with the bad air, in with the good air.

Bad air: The disconnect between tie-dye and $299 VIP suite tickets is as old as the first dot-com boom, when Jerry's kids made the cultural shift from "the Haight" to "Marin County."

But why is the Hard Rock square-pegging this thing? It's fine to seek an act willing to deliver a concise 90-minute showcase of hits with plenty of visual flair. But why shoehorn Santana, known for free-wheeling marathon concerts?

Good air: "It's not like playing in Las Vegas is a sacrifice. To me it's a joy, whether I play Las Vegas in a parking lot or at the Caesars or Hard Rock Cafe. At this point to me, there's people like myself and Stevie Winwood, we don't care where we play. We just want to play and touch people's hearts."

Bad air: If 50 is the new 40, the Hard Rock must be thinking 60 is the new 50. But really, folks. How many more years will affluent baby boomers keep subsidizing the concert industry? At least two, apparently.

Sure, Santana has younger fans. But they tend to be more of the jam-band aesthetic -- following the Grateful Dead, Phish and now the Dave Matthews Band -- to festivals where the atmosphere smokes the music. It's not about spending $113 (the average Santana ticket price) to sit in a folding chair for 90 minutes.

Good air: "Here's another quote that we can put in big letters, that I think the rest of the Las Vegas performers and musicians and entertainers will grab on to: 'When eternity nears, time disappears.'

"That means Bob Marley, Marvin Gaye, Evel Knievel, Bruce Lee, Jimmy Hendrix, (John) Coltrane, Miles (Davis), Stanley Kubrick, Picasso ... anyone that's here for eternity, that's what you need to bring onstage. Don't bring time, bring eternity with you."

Bad air: The promoters may be fixated on the millions of sales of Santana's duets albums, which now epitomize that last peak of the record industry before downloading.

But "Smooth" was 10 years ago. And how many radio listeners, then or now, understand the song wasn't a Rob Thomas or Matchbox Twenty hit? For that matter, why didn't the Hard Rock consider Thomas or Matchbox for this residency? Aren't they ready?

Good air: "Your body always follows what you think. If you think you're flat and you suck and you're stale and there's routine, your body's going to be, like, tired."

I'm not sure what that last quote had to do with the concert business. But it's good advice anyway.

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