It's all Greek To Me: "Ringo Starr and His All-Star Band"
Greek Theater September 8, 2024
By Claudio Vernight
I've seen Ringo before and he made #3. I sat on a pew in a little church in NYC to see Sir Paul perform in a Tallis Scholars event of 2000 reprising an oratorio for Princess Diane. And John, well, that's a whole 'nother story, but it was up close and personal at the Pierre Hotel the night after he played with Elton sat the Garden. But it was George who I really loved and never got to be near.
You see, meeting a Beatle or just being in their presence is huge for a Beatlemaniac like myself. Sure, I can play and sing all their songs, quote every story sand know all the trivia but that 14-year-old insanity will never subside. And I'm kind of proud of it, actually.
It is with that backstory that I went to see Ringo and his truly All-Star Band (version #15) on Sunday night at the very hot Greek (showtime temp: 85 degrees.) After almost thirty-five years of touring with All Stars and changing them in and out, he has chosen to remain with this configuration. Steve Lukather (Toto) on guitar, Hamish Stuart (AWB) on bass, Colin Hay (Men at Work) on guitar, Greg Bissonette (everybody, but also David Lee Roth) on drums, Buck Johnson (Aerosmith and the Hollywood Vampires) on keyboards. But it was Warren Ham (Kansas and Toto) on saxes, flute and harmonica, who supported the band it the most complete way. Like Brian Eichenberger of the Beach Boys, he supplied that missing element in each song that brought it together and made it sound like the record. What a voice!
But we were there for Ringo, the quiet drummer of the world's most popular band - the silent, brooding drummer of "Hard Day's Night," and the rockabilly guy who loved Buck Owens. Not so much anymore. In fact, the throw-away songs they gave him in the early days really shined: Carl Perkin's "Matchbox," "Boys," and "I Wanna Be Your Man." He walked out cold and started in singing "Matchbox" and it was clear he was in tune and with strong voice, not like many of his eighty-year-old contemporaries. Eighty-four, actually, and he bounds up the stairs of his drum riser then plays drums alongside Bissonette for half the show.
His schtick is to sing some Beatles hits, some of his hits and then to let his sidemen to shine on their hits while often backing them up. He did take a well-deserved "tea break" and costume change while Lukather started off more hits of the sidemen. "Rosanna," "Africa," and "Hold the Line," all shined. Hamish Stuart added more 70's-80's nostalgia with two Average White Band megahits, "Pick Up the Pieces," and "Cut the Cake" where Bissonette's quirky drum solo of snippets of hits he worked on brought the crowd to its feet.
Men At Work had #1's in the eighties and the crowd knew them word for word. Hay with his iconic strabismus (one eye looking off in a different direction) crooned "Down Under" and "Who Can It Be Now?" Again, the entire amphitheater sang along. Ringo knows what he's doing.
Ultimately, it was several of Ringo's biggest hits that brought the house down. He stayed away from "Octopus's Garden" for decades until last year. Now he plays it and the crowd loves this, as George once said, "very spiritual song of peace." "Photograph," his number one co-write with George, was the penultimate number. A song of sadness and melancholy, the crowd and the band were exultant. His "peace and love" mantra really comes through as his whole persona and catalogue exude it.
Several years ago, pre-pandemic, he sang "Yellow Submarine" and did jumping jacks. While he didn't break into calisthenics at this show, he did move about the stage with agility. This year as last time, he starts his biggest Beatle hit with Lukather mockingly playing a few chords of "Please Please Me" and "I Want To Hold Your Hand" as a tease before he strums the opening chord of "Yellow Submarine." (See video.)
Finally, before they broke into "Photograph" he brought out his brother-in-law once removed. Joe Walsh played on "Photograph" and sang backups on Lukather's mike as Ringo gave the crowd his last several minutes of presence. "With a Little Help from My Friends" sounded as good as it did the summer of '67, some fifty-seven years later!
I am glad I got to be in the room with a Beatle, the lovable hapless star of "Help," is now and has been commanding sold-out shows. And he's giving us just what we expect.
I saw my third Beatle. And I feel fine.