Ringo Starr and His All Starr Band performed a magnificent show on Sunday evening at
Ruth Eckerd Hall in
Clearwater, Florida. Every classic tune on the band’s setlist was
played to its perfection and accompanied by a rousing standing ovation.
The band appeared and sounded like a finely tuned racing machine, with
engines revved and in immaculate condition. The 2012 All-Star lineup may
be the best group of correlated musicians yet.
A diverse audience packed with both young and old was there to
witness a legendary all-star rock band of virtuosos piloted by a member
of the greatest rock ‘n’ roll band of all-time. It was an evening
brimming with good vibrations, peace and love.
Before the show, everyone loaded up with Ringo Starr T-shirts and
programs. The show began promptly at 7:30p.m with various members of the
all-stars arriving quietly on stage. Loud and joyous cheers began to
encompass the Hall while
Santana’s legendary songster and keyboardist
Gregg Rolie took his place behind the Hammond organ. Rolie was succeeded by the incredible guitarist and vocalist
Steve Lukather of
Toto, bassist and vocalist
Richard Page of 80s pop sensation
Mr. Mister, the melodious ingenuity of
Todd Rundgren from
Utopia’s progressive rock fame, accomplished drummer
Gregg Bissonette, and
Mark Rivera, saxophonist, percussionist, and legendary musical director.
The band began to play and the crowd rose to its feet while
Ringo Starr
glided on stage to take his spot behind the microphone for the opening
number, “Matchbox” (#17 Billboard Hit in 1964) a rockabilly Carl Perkins
penned tune covered by
The Beatles.
Throughout
the evening well-wishers acknowledged Ringo’s upcoming birthday on July
7th. Ringo will be turning 72 but looked remarkably fit and ageless on
stage. Starr taunted the Ruth Eckerd audience by telling them not to
wish him a happy birthday unless they were going to give him a gift.
Near the end of the evening someone actually did give him a gift, and he
ran backstage with it after the show.
The bands next selection was one of Starr’s biggest solo hits; “It
Don’t Come Easy” (#4 Billboard Hit in 1971) followed by “Wings” a
re-released tune for the new album Ringo 2012, originally recorded in
1977. Then Ringo sat behind his proverbial drums for the band’s next
selections.
Todd Rundgren
was up next and featured, “I Saw the Light” (#16 Billboard Hit in
1972). Rundgren is a longtime veteran of the All-Star Band and is known
for playing in Clearwater frequently. Todd played the Capitol Theatre
most recently celebrating the Utopia reunion tour. Todd Rundgren is a
living legend in the music world as a producer, guitarist, songwriter
and singer. Here’s an interview I did with Todd Rundgren …
http://www.examiner.com/article/exclusive-interview-todd-rundgren-talks-utopia-reunion-with-examiner-ray-shasho
For the first time ever on the tour
Gregg Rolie
was an All-Star, and well-deserved. The first of many thunderous
ovations for the evening came after Rolie’s spectacular performance of
the Santana classic, “Evil Ways.” (#9 Billboard Hit in 1969) Gregg
Rolie has been overshadowed through the years by virtuoso guitarist
Carlos Santana, but it was Gregg Rolie’s majestic vocals and magnificent
keyboards that solidified the masterpiece of Santana. Rolie was the
voice on almost every classic Santana hit. Rolie was also the founder
and original vocalist for the band Journey. Read my interview with Gregg
Rolie here...
http://www.examiner.com/article/santana-and-journey-original-lead-singer-gregg-rolie-speaks-with-ray-shasho
Next, it was
Steve Lukather
the guitarist and vocalist for classic rock sensation Toto. Lukather is
an awe-inspiring guitarist, which was evident after playing the role of
Carlos Santana on all of Gregg Rolie’s Santana classics. Wow! Lukather
jumped into Toto’s, “Rosanna” (#2 Billboard Hit in 1982, won a Grammy
Award for “Record of The Year” in 1983).
Richard Page of Mr. Mister
was spotlighted next singing, “Kyrie” (#1 Billboard Hit in 1986). Page
is a sensational songwriter and musician. Ringo’s, “Don’t Pass Me By”
(From
The Beatles
White Album in 1968) was next and followed by Rundgren’s signature
classic, “Bang The Drum All Day” (1983 recording, all the instruments on
the record were played by Todd).
Ringo announced he was going to sing a tune that he had sung for that "other band" and kiddingly remarked …
“Rory Storm and the Hurricanes.”
Appearing very Beatle-ish, Ringo belted out “Boys” (Originally sang by
The Shirelles in 1960) behind his skins followed by another standing
ovation. Ringo Starr gave the Clearwater audience back to back Beatles
classics with his unmistakable narration of “Yellow Submarine” (#2
Billboard Hit in 1966). The entire Hall stood up, swayed, and sang
throughout the song.
Gregg Rolie quietly announced his next selection, “Black Magic Woman”
(1970 Hit, the album Abraxas reached #1 on the Billboard charts,
written by Peter Green of Fleetwood Mac). The song spotlighted an
unbelievable performance by Rolie on vocals and keyboards, Lukather on
guitar, Bissonette and Rivera on percussions. Lukather’s role of
Carlos Santana was astounding, it was an incredible jam.
Without an intermission, Ringo kicked off the second half of the show with, “Anthem” from his latest release,
Ringo 2012 followed by, “I’m The Greatest”(Released in1973) a song written exclusively for Ringo by his former bandmate
John Lennon.
Richard
Page graciously thanked Ringo on stage for letting him perform a
non-classic hit on the tour, “You Are Mine” from his 2010 release
Peculiar Life. Then Steve Lukather of Toto led the band into a beautiful rendition of “Africa” (Number #1 Billboard Hit in 1983).
It was Gregg Rolie’s time to rock the house again with a tune that
hadn’t been played by Santana in concert for quite awhile, “Everybody’s
Everything” (Released in 1971 on
Santana III album). Ringo
followed with the Lennon-McCartney penned earlier rocker, “I Wanna Be
Your Man” (1963 release, recorded by The Rolling Stones and The
Beatles).
It was apparent throughout all their performances that the band
respected each others virtuosity but genuinely just had a lot of fun.
Todd Rundgren was back in the spotlight again to sing his heartfelt composition written for his progressive rock band
Utopia called,
“Love Is The Answer” (Utopia released it in1977, it became a huge hit
for England Dan & John Ford Coley in 1979). Another heartfelt
composition, “Broken Wings” (Number #1 Billboard Hit, released in 1985)
by
Mr. Mister’s Richard Page followed. Then it was time to raise the roof again, Steve Lukather rocked the house with the
Toto hard- rockin’ classic, “Hold The Line” (1978 release #5 Billboard Hit) followed by a roaring standing ovation.
The evening wound down with Ringo Starr’s classic single,
“Photograph” (#1 Billboard Hit, released in 1973) followed by The
Beatles cover tune, “Act Naturally” (Released in 1965). The show
concluded with the band playing The Beatles classic, “With a Little Help
From my Friends” (Released in 1967, also performed at Woodstock by Joe
Cocker and The Grease Band) and a smooth segue into the John Lennon
penned anthem, “Give Peace A Chance.” The Ruth Eckerd audience was on
its feet singing and displaying peace signs throughout the entire
rendition.
There wasn’t one shining star this evening … just a galaxy filled with all-stars.
The entire band was extraordinary! Nevertheless, here are my picks
for the top crowd pleasing songs of the evening and not in any
particular order. Gregg Rolie- “Evil Ways,” Steve Lukather- “Hold the
Line,” Richard Page- “Broken Wings,” Todd Rundgren- “Love Is The
Answer,” Ringo Starr- “With A Little Help From My Friends.”
Ringo Starr and His All Starr Band official website
www.ringostarr.com
Very special thanks to Elizabeth Freund of
Beautiful Day Media and the entire staff at
Ruth Eckerd Hall.
Contact Classic Rock Music Reporter Ray Shasho at
rockraymond.shasho@gmail.com
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