Is it possible to have too much of a good thing? Carlos Santana backed by a ten piece band put on a great good value show at the Seminole Hard Rock.

There's no doubt that Carlos Santana is a guitar virtuoso and I find it hard to be objective as I am a fan and have seen and greatly enjoyed several of his concerts in the pre Supernatural days. I was left wondering during the show whether his super star status has encouraged him to try to supply too much of himself. At times I found the approach almost self indulgent. When he was joined by opening act frontman Derek Trucks I caught myself thinking it was possible to have too much of a good thing even though both Carlos and Derek are undoubted guitar virtuosos.

The hits were there including those from Supernatural. Those songs had the crowd fully engaged but somehow the band could not quite maintain the level of crowd involvement the great rhythms and drums deserve. I did miss Samba Pa Ti which would have provided a nice change of pace. The great sounding band was strong on guitars and drums [no surprise there!] and played for nearly 3 hours. With opening band Derk Trucks the show ran 4 hours, giving full value for money.

I went to the show thinking this had to be a 5 star show but left feeling a shorter more focussed concert with a little more emphasis on the singers might have worked better.

None the less you should not miss Carlos Santana especially if you have never seen him live. A great original musical artist with an 'interesting' outlook on life.