September 22, 2018

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Ringo Starr brought the thirteenth edition of his All Starr Band to the sold-out Hard Rock Rocksino on Friday night.  

 

The two-time Rock Hall inductee came out wearing black leather pants, a sports coat and a Cleveland Browns T-shirt.  The spry 78-year old was all over the stage. Whether it was out front singing solo and Beatles’ songs, or behind the kit keeping time to the variety of other songs that were played, all eyes were on him.

 

Kicking off the show was a trifecta of Ringo-led tunes.  The Carl Perkins’ song “Matchbox” segued right into “It Don’t Come Easy,” which led to The Beatles’ “What Goes On.”  Between songs, Ringo mentioned that he and the band watched the Browns game the other evening which led him to sport a Browns t-shirt for the evening.

 

Starr then went behind the kit and let other members of his All Starr Band take the spotlight on the songs that they helped make famous.  The band consisted of fellow two-time Hall of Fame inductee Gregg Rolie (Santana, Journey), Steve Lukather (Toto), Colin Hay (Men At Work), Graham Gouldman (10 cc), Greg Bissonette (David Lee Roth), and Warren Ham (Toto).

 

Gouldman was up first to play “Dreadlock Holiday” which he noted, “Was a hit everywhere but in the US.”  After Gregg Rolie led the Santana classic “Evil Ways,” Lukather playfully quipped, “The next song was a hit everywhere, including the US!” as they went into Toto’s “Rosanna.”  Then Colin Hay got his turn to sing “Down Under.”

 

There was playful banter like this all evening long;  everyone was having fun on stage. Most notably was the interaction between Lukather and Rolie.  After every solo or song they would fist bump or do hand shakes. One could tell there is a mutual respect for each other.

 

Of course, Ringo also showed off his wit and humor throughout the evening.  Before playing “Don’t Pass Me By” he noted, “When I joined The Beatles, I had already written a lot of songs. None of them were recorded… but this one!”

 

He also said, “Here’s a song that I played with my other band.  That’s right, Rory and the Hurricanes! I also played it with my other band and I’m also going to play it with this band!”  

 

The song was “Boys.”

 

There was a good mix of other songs interspersed with Ringo’s songs.  The other songs that got the All Starr Band treatment included “I’m Not In Love,” “The Things You Do For Love,” “Black Magic Woman,” “Oye Como Va,” “Africa,” “Hold The Line,” “Overkill” and “Who Can It Be Now?”

 

Ringo ended the two-hour set with his cover of “Act Naturally,” “Photograph” and “With A Little Help From My Friends.”

 

He does have some incredibly talented friends that played a fantastic show.  

 

I kept thinking, “Man, I got to see a Beatle in my own backyard.”  I’m sure many of the 2,200 fans that were in attendance were thinking the same thing.

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Review by Greg Drugan. Photos by Brian Lumley

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