Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band

July 8, 2016

Introducing Billy Shears...

Today Richard Starkey (Ringo Starr) turns 76, but seems to still be 26 by the way he performs.  Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band celebrated "Peace and Love" Saturday at the Greek Theater as they playe the last concert of their 2016 tour. 

(Ringo Starr and His All Starr Band)

A concert of this all-star band may be the only time people can hear songs of Santana, Todd Rundgren, Toto, and The Beatles performed live during one night.  Why is that?  Starr explained as he introduced his extremely talented band mates accompanying him on stage Saturday.      

Todd Rundgren, famous for his solo career throughout the 1970s and 1980s and his work in the band Utopia, plays guitar and sings for the band.  The band performed many covers of Rundgren's songs including his solo hit I Saw the Light and Utopia's Love is the Answer.  Energy then soared throughout the audience when Rundgren sang his lively song Bang the Drum All Day.

(Todd Rundgren singing I Saw The Light)

Steve Lukather, best known for his career with the band Toto, was then introduced as the lead guitarist.  Lukather's powerful guitar solos that seemed to last for hours amazed the concertgoers.  Lukather impressed the crowd even more as he reached incredibly high pitches with his strong voice. It seemed that every member in the audience knew every word to each Toto song that was covered by the band including Rosanna, Hold the Line, and of course Africa.  Almost everyone in the crowd was standing as they belted the words to Toto's hit Africa while the all-star band performed. 

(Gregg Rolie, formerly of Santana and Journey)

Gregg Rolie, lead vocalist of Santana and keyboardist of Journey, plays keys for the band.  The crowd was filled with strong Santana fans that were extremely pleased to hear Evil Ways, Black Magic Woman/Gypsy Queen, and Oye Como Va covered by the band.  Rolie proved to be a virtuosos piano player, which made him fit perfectly with the rest of the talented band. 

Another famous member in the band is the bassist Richard Page, former bassist of the 1980s pop rock band Mr. Mister.  Ringo Starr's All-Starr Band performed a cover of Mr. Mister's song Broken Wings.  Other members include Gregg Bissonette who plays his own drum kit alongside of Ringo, and also Mark Rivera and Warren Ham who both play a variety of instruments including the saxophone. 

And then there were Beatles songs of course!  Ringo Starr, former drummer of The Beatles, led the whole night as his band mates jokingly referred to him as "The Boss."  Starr moved around the stage constantly whether he was singing, drumming, or even just sitting back and listening.  Starr lived up to his 1960s Beatles nickname "The Funny One" with his comedic commentary throughout the entire night.  Before singing The Beatles hit What Goes On, he explained this was the only song credited as a "Lennon-McCartney-Starkey" composition.  He joked that the names should have been ordered differently.  

(Ringo Starr in his element)

Starr performed many hits by The Beatles that he originally sang including Don't Pass me By, I Wanna Be Your Man, and the popular Yellow Submarine.  The cover of Yellow Submarine was one of the most memorable moments of the night as the entire audience stood and sang along as they swayed their peace signs through the air.  Starr also performed many hit songs from his solo career including It Don't Come Easy, I'm The Greatest, and Photograph. 

 Steve Cox, a long time fan of Ringo who last saw the drummer with The Beatles back in the '60s, has recently become a big fan of the all-star band.  "Ringo Starr's All-Starr Band concerts are so much fun because it feels like you're seeing four bands in one night," Cox says. 

"Peace and Love" was the theme of the concert as Starr encouraged harmony with one another multiple times throughout the night.  Starr always had his hands raised up in peace signs and the audience reacted by also raising their peace signs in the air.  Half way through the concert, an audience member sitting in the back section screamed from afar "I love you Ringo", and Starr miraculously heard her and actually managed to yell back "I love you too!"  Starr showed he is clearly not faking his desire for peace and love.   

The jokes, laughter, and fun made the whole concert feel like a giant party hosted by the MC Ringo Starr.  Steve Lukather reflected on how much love and silliness there was in the band, even behind the scenes.  It was very apparent that Lukather was honest by the visible chemistry portrayed by the band mates.  Each musician joked around with one another in between songs and everyone could feel how much fun they were having.  

(Rolie and Lukather singing to each other)

Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band finished the night with a playful cover of The Beatles hit With a Little Help From My Friends.   The sense of true friendship between the band mates made this song feel perfect for the moment.  Halfway through the song Starr energetically began doing jumping jacks and shouted to everyone, "I want to tell you how much I love you.  Remember, peace and love.  Peace and love, the only way.  I love each and every one of you!"  Everyone in the crowd was smiling and could feel the love exuding from Starr. 

(They get by with a little help from each other)

A cover of John Lennon's "Give Peace a Chance" completely ended the night, which filled the Greek Theater with great positivity.  Peace symbols floated throughout the backdrop as the entire audience threw their peace signs up in the air once again while singing along. 

Although Ringo Starr is not credited as being the most talented Beatle, he has the skills to assemble an extremely gifted team of musicians and execute an amazing concert.  Happy 76th birthday to "The Funny One", Richard Starkey!