Guitarist Carlos Santana, who came up through the ranks at the same time as fellow Bay Area-based act the Grateful Dead, sat-in with the band 28 years ago today. Santana’s guest appearance came during the second set of the Dead’s January 26, 1993 concert at Oakland Coliseum Arena in Oakland celebrating the Chinese New Year.
Carlos’ history of performing with the Grateful Dead dates back to the late-1960s. In 2019, Santana shared memories of his psychedelic experience at Woodstock that came after he took a hit of mescaline offered by GD guitarist Jerry Garcia.
The Grateful Dead’s January 26, 1993 concert in Oakland ended a three-night run in the city. Garcia, guitarist Bob Weir, keyboardist Vince Welnick, bassist Phil Lesh and drummers Mickey Hart and Bill Kreutzmann kicked off the show by pairing “Picasso Moon” and “Row Jimmy.” Weir and Garcia continued to trade off duties fronting the band throughout the remainder of the first set with Bobby singing lead on “Wang Dang Doodle,” “Desolation Row” and “Promised Land” and Jerry singing lead on “Brown Eyed Women” and “Rabmle On Rose.”
“Man Smart (Woman Smarter)” got the call to open the second set. Then, the Dead treated fans to the trifecta of “Eyes Of The World,” “Estimated Prophet” and “Terrapin Station.” A “Dragon Parade” made its way through the crowd during the evening’s “Drums” segment to celebrate the “Year Of The Rooster.” Carlos emerged for what turned out to be his final guest spot with the Grateful Dead following “Space.”
The guitarist augmented the band on the entire post-“Drumz” segment. Carlos laid back for most of “The Other One” but then delivered an emotion-laden “Stella Blue” solo. While Santana also shined on “Turn On Your Lovelight” as well as the “Gloria” encore, it’s his playing on “Stella Blue” that will be best remembered from his final collaboration with the Grateful Dead.
Watch video of the entire second set via the JamBase Live Video Archive (JBLVA) below:
Setlist (via JerryGarcia.com)
Set One: Picasso Moon, Row Jimmy, Wang Dang Doodle, Brown Eyed Women, Desolation Row, Ramble On Rose > The Promised Land
Set Two: Man Smart (Woman Smarter), Eyes Of The World > Estimated Prophet > Terrapin Station, Jam > Drums* > Space > The Other One^ > Stella Blue^ > Turn On Your Lovelight^
Encore: Gloria^
- * – w/ Dragon Parade
- ^ – w/ Carlos Santana
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