REVIEW
Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band
When: Thursday
Where: Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre
Rating: 4 (out of 5)
When you buy a ticket for a concert by Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band, you’re largely paying to see the former Beatle live and in the flesh.
For a certain segment of the population, no price is too high for that honour; music fans 60 and older would open their wallets to hear the beloved bandleader read a take-out menu.
Starr, however, doesn’t appear to be one for vanity tours, so he calls on a few heavy-hitting friends in the oft-changing All-Starr Band whenever he feels like playing a few dates.
They are called on to do serious work. And true to their reputation, guitarist and solo artist Todd Rundgren, Toto guitarist Steve Lukather, ex-Santana singer-keyboardist Gregg Rolie, Mr. Mister singer Richard Page, former Bread saxophonist Warren Ham, and ex-David Lee Roth drummer Gregg Bissonette did the heavy lifting on Thursday at Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre, a sold-out show that drew 5,115 to the arena for Starr’s first-ever local appearance.
The collective came at concertgoers hard and fast. A little more than half an hour into the show, Starr and Co. had already played a Carl Perkins classic (Matchbox), two Rundgren favourites (I Saw the Light and Bang the Drum All Day), and three singles that reached the Top 10 on radio charts (Mr. Mister’s Kyrie, Santana’s Evil Ways and Toto’s Rosanna).
Despite the resumés of All-Starrs like Rolie (a Rock ’n’ Roll Hall of Fame inductee) and Rundgren, it was two lower-profile performers that most impressed.
Ham was an unexpected highlight — his saxophone work on Toto’s Africa was a standout on the night, much like his solo during Starr’s otherwise awful Anthem — as was Page, whose voice on two Mr. Mister hits (the other being Broken Wings) proved he hasn’t lost even a fraction of his terrific tenor.
Lukather also shone. He played Carlos Santana’s parts with precision, delivering a few especially ripping leads on Evil Ways and contributed a marathon solo to Broken Wings.
Every studio veteran in the band contributed at various points, coalescing to stretch Rosanna into a lengthy but riveting super-jam (those in attendance Thursday will never hear the ’80s sugary pop hit the same way again).
Starr was a considerable presence during the performance; the spry 75-year-old was his usual charming self, playing the drums with a swing that typified his work with the Beatles, and generally leaving the audience in awe while singing lead on half the songs in the setlist.
But once the novelty of being in the same room with one of the Fab Four subsided — and make no mistake, Starr has an intoxicating aura — it was up to his bandmates to keep the audience at attention.
He still had his moments, however.
“I’d like to do a song now by that other band I used to be in,” Starr said, triggering an eruption from the audience.
“That’s right, Rory Storm and the Hurricanes!”
The concert sagged a little in the middle, but all was forgotten by the time Ringo took over for the triumphant closing segment, which culminated with the inimitable hits With a Little Help From My Friends and Give Peace a Chance.
And all he had to do was act naturally.
Set list
1. Matchbox
2. It Don't Come Easy
3. Island in the Sun
4. I Saw the Light
5. Evil Ways
6. Rosanna
7. Kyrie
8. Bang the Drum All Day
9. Boys
10. Don't Pass Me By
11. Yellow Submarine
12. Black Magic Woman
13. You're Sixteen
14. I'm the Greatest
15. Anthem
16. You Are Mine
17. Africa
18. Oye Como Va
19. I Wanna Be Your Man
20. Love is the Answer
21. Broken Wings
22. Hold the Line
23. Photograph
24. Act Naturally
25. With a Little Help From My Friends
26. Give Peace a Chance
