Santana fires up The Gary

The prospect of Steve Winwood and Santana on the same bill surely had more than a few fans anticipating the two sharing the stage and generating some musical fireworks.

It happened Saturday night at the 1-800-Ask-Gary Amphitheatre, but it wasn't quite the fiery mix of overworked fantasies.

Instead, Winwood and Carlos Santana (and their bands) teamed up for an excellent if low-key run-through of Marvin Gaye's "Right On," one highlight in an evening full of them.

Winwood and his four-piece band opened the evening with a 70-minute set that started with three songs from 2008's "Nine Lives" before moving into older favorites.

While "Fly," the second number of the evening, was as soporific as it was pretty, the other two numbers were far more substantial.

Opener "Secrets" was a dead-ringer for late-period Traffic with its jazzy groove and flute solo. "Dirty City" was tougher, with Winwood swapping his Hammond B-3 for a Stratocaster. The sweet lead that capped the song served notice that there was more than one guitar hero in the house Saturday.

From there it was time to, as Winwood said, "delve into the misty depths of the past." The band began vamping on an almost reggae-ish groove that gradually revealed itself as Blind Faith's "Can't Find My Way Home."

"The Low Spark of High Heeled Boys" segued seamlessly into "Empty Pages," while "Higher Love" was given a heavily percussive reading. "Dear Mr. Fantasy" was performed as a guitar-organ-drums trio, before the rest of Winwood's band returned for "GImme Some Lovin'."

Santana - guitarist Carlos plus two singers and an eight-piece band - was on fire from the start opening with "Yaleo" and moving rapidly through "Maria, Maria" and "Corazon Espinado," which some genuinely manic playing from Santana.

If there must be drum solos, they should all be like the one Dennis Chambers played, full of drama, dynamics, humor and showmanship.

Reaching back to its eponymous 1969 debut album, the band roared through "Jingo," which had many in the crowd shaking their hips, middle age be damned.

Following "Right On," keyboardist Freddie Ravel briefly took the spotlight as the band kicked into "Incident at Neshabur." Santana's solo quoted both "Chim Chim Cher-ee" and "It's All in the Game," building to violent climaxes before settling into romantic, melodic passages.

The Rolling Stones' "Can't You Hear My Knockin'," from Santana's upcoming "Guitar Heaven" proved a nice fit. "Evil ways" followed, which segued into John Coltrane's "A Love Supreme."

As the band vamped, Santana spoke about unity and love, eventually leading the crowd in a chant of "light and love." His more political comments, though - calling for President Obama to end the Afghan War, spend more money on education and legalize marijuana - got a less enthusiastic response.

(Actually, the call to legalize marijuana went over pretty well, at least in some sections of the venue.)

"Smooth" closed the main set. The encore featured "Soul Sacrifice," accompanied by footage of Santana performing the song at Woodstock in 1969.