 |
| Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band at the Ordway in Saint Paul, September 23, 2018. (Photo by Mark C. Taylor) |
At 78 years old, Ringo still looks great, bouncing around
the stage with tons of energy. He opened with the Carl Perkins song “Matchbox,”
which the Beatles covered in 1964, and followed with probably his most famous
solo song, “It Don’t Come Easy.” Ringo then sang the only Beatles song that
bears a Lennon/McCartney/Starkey writing credit, “What Goes On,” from Rubber Soul.
The only song Ringo sang that wasn’t from the 60’s or 70’s
was “Anthem,” from the 2012 album Ringo
2012. I wouldn’t have minded a couple of more recent Ringo songs. Obviously
the Beatles songs are why everybody’s there, but Ringo could do whatever he
wants as long as he still gives us “Yellow Submarine” and “With a Little Help
From My Friends.”
I enjoyed all of the other band members’ songs—this
version of the All-Starr Band has a pretty deep catalogue to choose from. I didn’t
do any research on who was in this version of the All-Starrs before I went to
the show, so I was pleasantly surprised each time someone was introduced. I
didn’t recognize Colin Hay until he was introduced, and then I thought, “Men at
Work, great! I’m going to hear ‘Land Down Under’!” And then I heard “Land Down Under”
and happily sang along with one of my favorite lines in all of rock and roll, “He
just smiled and gave me a Vegemite sandwich.” Hay’s voice sounds great, and he
can still hit all of the high notes.
Gregg Rolie did an excellent job on keyboards, and I was
quite impressed when I looked him up on Wikipedia and learned that he was a
founding member of both Santana and Journey.
Graham Gouldman did a great job on his songs from 10cc, which included the
catchy “I’m Not in Love” and “The Things We Do For Love.” Steve Lukather is a
superb guitarist, and his solos were full of flash, although I think sometimes
he didn’t need to be quite so flashy.
Throughout the evening it was evident how much fun Ringo was
having, whether he was out in front or sitting behind the drums. It struck me
last night, that’s Ringo’s personality. He’s never been about his own ego—I
think that’s one reason why he was the perfect drummer for the Beatles. He wasn’t
interested in playing flashy solos; he wanted to play what fit the song the
best. He seems to be happy to be a sideman for his friends in the band.
Another thought I had last night was that Ringo had to learn
the drum part for these songs. Obviously he was probably familiar with all of
the songs, but he must have practiced and rehearsed to get the drum part right.
It’s just kind of funny to think of Ringo Starr learning someone else’s hit
song in his late 70’s, but hey, it probably keeps him young.
Last night was an enjoyable evening full of nostalgia. It
would have been nice to hear a couple more songs from Ringo, like “Octopus’s
Garden,” “Back Off Boogaloo,” and “The No No Song,” but you can’t complain too
much when you get to see a Beatle in person.
Setlist:
- "Matchbox"
- "It Don't Come Easy"
- "What Goes On"
- "Dreadlock Holiday" (Graham Gouldman)
- "Evil Ways" (Gregg Rolie)
- "Rosanna" (Steve Lukather with Warren Ham)
- "Down Under" (Colin Hay)
- "Boys"
- "Don't Pass Me By"
- "Yellow Submarine"
- "I'm Not In Love" (Graham Gouldman w/o Ringo)
- "Black Magic Woman"/"Gypsy Queen" (Gregg Rolie w/o Ringo)
- "You're Sixteen"
- "Anthem"
- "Overkill" (Colin Hay)
- "Africa" (Steve Lukather with Colin Hay)
- "Oye Como Va" (Gregg Rolie)
- "I Wanna Be Your Man"
- "The Things We Do For Love" (Graham Gouldman)
- "Who Can It Be Now?" (Colin Hay)
- "Hold the Line" (Steve Lukather with Warren Ham)
- "Photograph"
- "Act Naturally"
- "With a Little Help from My Friends" into "Give Peace a Chance"
No comments:
Post a Comment