For Carlos Santana, his approach to the show he will usually bring to the stage at House of Blues at Mandalay Bay will be the same as it has been for performances throughout his five-decade career, which is to say each concert will be different.
“We will be playing the songs people want to hear, but in the middle, we’ll provide a musical experience that is unique,” Santana said Tuesday at House of Blues on the Sunset Strip in L.A., where he announced the first set of dates for his upcoming residency in Las Vegas. “People will hear what they want to hear, but they will be pleasantly surprised, too.”
Santana opens May 2 at the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay in a show titled “An Intimate Evening With Santana: Greatest Hits Live -- Yesterday, Today & Tomorrow.” A full interview with the guitar great is forthcoming, but some of the show’s details follow:
• A total of 31 dates from May 2 through Nov. 11 were announced, beginning with a set of 16 shows in May through June 3. Another nine dates will be added later as tickets for the initial 31 begin to sell out. The entire engagement is for 40 dates this year and 40 more in 2013.
• Tickets go on sale Saturday at 10 a.m. at the House of Blues box office, by calling (800) 745-3000 or through Ticketmaster. Tickets start at $89.
• The capacity of the House of Blues’ main music hall has been dropped by 25 percent, to 1,386, compared with the 4,000-seat capacity at the Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel, where Santana headlined in a similar residency ending in November. Table seating is being offered on the floor at House of Blues, which also is being outfitted with new video panels and a new sound system to accommodate the residency.
• Santana will be using the same lineup of musicians as he did during the run at the Joint.
• The exclusivity agreement between Santana and House of Blues gives the artist more freedom to headline across the country. While he was at the Joint, Santana was not permitted to headline at any venue west of the Mississippi River. While performing at House of Blues, he is allowed to hold concerts in any state aside from Nevada, Arizona and California.
“I can sit in with someone at the Hollywood Bowl, but the Santana band won’t headline at the Hollywood Bowl,” said Santana, who has been a Las Vegas resident since he began his run at the Joint in 2009. “But the only way you can see this show, this intimate show, is at House of Blues.”
Follow John Katsilometes on Twitter at Twitter.com/JohnnyKats. Also, follow “Kats With the Dish” at Twitter.com/KatsWithTheDish.
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