A tribute to a tribute band
Milford. Se Acabo, a Santana tribute band, impressed the Milford audience, noting their intent to sound but not look like Santana.
Milford /
| 03 Oct 2022 | 10:43
Se Acabo’s powerful rhythm section– timbales, congas, bongos (
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Se Acabo has been called the called “the ultimate Santana tribute band,” and their concert on September 22 at the Milford theater during National Hispanic Heritage Month proved to be just that, according to many audience members. For their opening number, as the sound of congas, timbales, drums, and bass filled the theater, the audience, many of whom were Santana fans, started moving like a sea of bobbing heads. They were hooked.
The band consists of ten seasoned live show and studio musicians whose musical mission is to make the music of Santana alive and authentic. Pat Marcinko, the conductor says, “We strive for good musicianship.” Marcinko encouraged people to get up and dance and they did.
The band played almost an entire Santana repertoire, including the Santana favorites that audiences expect and demand: Soul Sacrifice, Black Magic Woman, Oye Como Va, Samba Pa Ti and Smooth. One man said, “If you close your eyes, it’s Santana.”
The question arose of whether a tribute band is as good as the band it is paying tribute to. Caren Scavo and her husband came up from Old Forge (between Scranton and Wilkes-Barre) just to hear this band. “Talent is talent,” she said, “They’re bringing alive music that is so iconic. and their abilities are so phenomenal. I just can’t say enough.”
When Marcinko was asked the same question, he responded, “ We are paying tribute to the music, not to the person. We are not trying to look like Carlos Santana, and we don’t get dressed in costumes. His is a great style of music. We want to play it authentically and with the right spirit, the right sound and the right level of skill. We want it to be as good as he would want it to be.”
The band played several encores. A standing ovation was their reward, and some people even gave them a dancing ovation. Bill Rosado said, “Don’t worry. We will have them come back again.”Photo: 2361 Caption: