If the current theme for Wednesday at Wolfgang's is All-Star Benefits, let me be the first to nominate the Blues For Salvador show at Henry J. Kaiser Auditorium in Oakland, on January 23, 1988. Although not widely remembered, it was a sold-out, smokin' San Francisco extravaganza and would make a great vault feature. It was a benefit for Medical Aid to El Salvador organized by Carlos Santana and promoted by Bill Graham Presents.
         Other guests included Jerry Garcia, Bob Weir, Tower of Power, Wayne Shorter, Boz Scaggs, NRBQ, Bonnie Raitt and numerous others. Jerry was onstage for hours and jammed with all those people and played great, making sure Carlos and everyone else had to step it up. Highlight? Hard to pick just one, but Jerry, Carlos and Bob Weir joining Tower of Power and playing on Tower's set was unforgettable. It turns out that if you follow Shakedown Street all the way to the end, you wind up in Bump City...Garcia and Weir did a couple of numbers with Tower of Power and Armando Peraza (Santana conga player) as well ("Goodnight Irene" and "Turn On Your Lovelight").
         NRBQ did their own set, and then backed Bonnie Raitt and Boz Scaggs, and then Carlos, Jerry and Bob returned for some serious jamming. Wayne Shorter and members of the Santana joined in as well, and that was the only time that Garcia and Shorter played together on stage. It was January, so no one was really on tour, so the whole musical community was there to hang out and play. I'll be happy to write the summary--just post the tape!