MEN AT WORK, TOTO, SANTANA, 10CC, RORY STORM, BEATLES AND SOLO RINGO
(which often included other Beatles) … ALL ARE REPRESENTED HERE TONIGHT!
EVERYONE BUT RINGO WALKS OUT WITH HANDS UP IN THE AIR AND BEGINS CLAPPING.
RINGO APPEARS AND THE AUDIENCE STANDS UP!
AND DOESN’T SIT DOWN!
I AM STANDING ON MY CHAIR TYPING THIS!
I MUST QUIT … AND SIT!
I understand we are
talking rock and roll royalty on so many levels, but I was unprepared to watch
almost an entire concert standing. The front orchestra barely sat down. The
back orchestra was up and down. I could not see the box seats, but the
excitement MUST have affected them as well.
‘Matchbox’ is the
opener and has been given a Jerry Lee Lewis rock and roll feel. The scrim
backdrop has Ringo’s fingers giving a peace sign and stars shooting across it.
Tie-die effects change as the night progresses. The couple sitting next to me
(Hi Mary and Brent!) have never seen Ringo in concert before. With tongue in
cheek Brent says:
“We hear he’s well
known.”
Me: “I
think he’s up and coming. You’ll hear of him again.”
‘It Don’t Come Easy’
is followed by ‘What Goes On,’ the only Lennon / McCartney / Starkey
composition. “I know, I know. Like me you think it should have been Starkey / Lennon
and MCartney, but NOOOOOOO!”
As Ringo now climbs up
to his drum kit, the audience reacts with MORE applause and cheering than even
before. I didn’t figure that was possible.
Graham Gouldman, from
10CC, sings a favorite composition of his, “Dreadlock Holiday.” He is the tall
one on stage. To be fair, Gregg Rolie is seated at the keyboards, but Graham
does take mastery of the stage from the height aspect. ‘Holiday’ was a massive
hit for Graham everywhere … except in America. I am more familiar with
Gouldman’s song writing than his live performing, as he has written songs for
most of The British Invasion, as well as his own groups. He has quality vocals
and later tonight I will relive them in memory as he sings other hit 10CC
songs.
Gregg Rolie (called
The Duke by his peers) hits the mic and keyboards with Santana’s ‘Evil Ways.’ I am now realizing just what a fantastic
composite of musicians are on the stage tonight and on this tour. Each one is a
king of his art, and together … OH S***! WOW!!
Steve Lukather of Toto
is next with ‘Rosanna.’ EVERY song
tonight has a Steve Lukather guitar solo that surpasses the one we just heard.
That man is mechanical in the power he brings to these songs.
Men At Work’s Colin
Hay’s first song is my cockatiel’s favorite song ever: ‘Land Down Under.’ She whistles along every time she hears it,
and I always think, “How does she know her heritage is from Australia?” As
Colin tells Graham, “This song was a hit everywhere … ESPECIALLY in America!”
He has some great Gumby dance moves that he utilizes while Warren Ham is
playing the flute solos. Wait a minute … these people are all older than I am?
I thought I was staying young because of my students, but maybe it’s the music.
Ringo introduces
‘Boys’ on the keyboards and then moves down stage to sing. Followed by ‘Don’t
Pass Me By’ and an audience participation of ‘Yellow Submarine,’ wherein Graham
tells Captain Ringo, “We’re in Wallingford, Sir”and brings the audience upward
again in an ever-revolving high.
Ringo is in need of a
Magical Musical Moment, which means he leaves the stage and the All Starrs take
over. Here is where Graham Gouldman’s vocals rekindle my memory as he sings
‘I’m Not In Love.’ I am still in awe of
the fact that I am hearing all these great performers, singing their hit songs,
together on one stage! That may be the biggest magic of all. Each one, in turn,
takes the lead and then backs up the others as their slot comes up. From the
Santana album ‘Abraxas,’ Gregg Rolie sings ‘Black Magic Woman.’ Right after the second Santana album was
released, I was on a family trip with friends at The Delaware Water Gap. The
elder son of our hosts had both albums and refused to play anything other than
those the entire weekend while he, his brother and I played cards. I had only
heard the chart climbing songs so I remember listening intently the first 25
times. By then I could sing along.
Ringo returns and
states, “I’ll just pace back and forth. I’ll just chat.” He is building up to
performing ‘You’re 16,’ which must get him backlash from people who view it as
creepy when mature men sing it. He is cautious as he asks, “Are there any YOUNG
ladies in the audience?” Of course we all were, so he had to settle it by
saying. “This is for all of YOU, then.” Before moving upstage to the drum kit,
he sings his song, ‘Anthem’. All about his trademark Peace and Love, it
is simplistic in nature, but persuasive in thought. The only way to succeed in
bringing peace and love to Earth is to try. Somebody has to try. It might as
well be us.
Watching Ringo at the
drums while Colin sings ‘Overkill’, it becomes so apparent that Ringo’s
drumming is intense, but so relaxed and nonchalant in appearance. Let me catch
up with the show here. Steve Lukather doing ‘Africa’. Gregg Rolie on killer
keyboards with ‘Oye Como Va’ while Steve Lukather just kills his guitar doing
solos. Ringo looks at the audience and says, “Look at that! He’s got me doing
Latin American. Now for the song I used to do with that other group I was with …
Rory Storm and the Hurricanes.” True enough. While he recorded ‘I Wanna Be Your
Man’ with The Beatles, he performed it with Rory’s group years before that. And
then comes Graham Gouldman’s, ‘Things We Do For Love.’ The audience jumped in and just enjoyed the
memories of all the silly things they (not me of course) did for love in years
gone.
It still goes on.
Colin singing ‘Knocking At My Door’. Steve singing ‘Love Isn’t Always On Time’.
Ringo singing ‘Photograph,’ ‘Act Naturally’ and ‘With A Little Help From My
Friends.’
The final song comes
from the John Lennon songbook: Give Peace A Chance. Ringo leaves as the All
Starrs continue, returns for his bow, and then leaves the All Starrs to take
the final bows alone. The audience kept the applause going. They stayed on
their feet. They got louder. All in the hopes of an encore, but no. It is over.
The two musicians on
stage who anchored this show with percussion, saxophones, flute, keyboards and
drums are Warren Ham and Gregg Bissonette. It is a slightly over two hour,
non-stop concert with no downers. I have attended Ringo’s All Starr concerts
before and loved every one, but MAN THIS WAS JUMPING, JIVING, ROCKING AND
CHILLING from beginning to end. Not because HE is Ringo. Not because THEY had
hits. But because together they were just … that … good.
So Brent and Mary,
what did you think?
“It was great! He just
might make a name for himself.”
It could happen.
Shelley J Sweet-Tufano
We
didn’t get tickets to see Ringo’s show this time around … but after reading
Shelley’s review, I sure wish I had!!!
(He performed here last Saturday Night, September 22nd, to a
sold out audience at The Chicago Theater ... so, unfortunately, it wasn’t even
an option.)
This
is a GREAT review, Shelley … really wish I could have seen it … sounds like a
great line-up of artists, start to finish.
Thanks for letting us know! (kk)
