After 3 cancellations (due to Covid) Ringo and the Allstars are scheduled tonight in St Augustine, FL. Original date was June 26, 2020 ... back when tickets were actually printed and mailed. Scattered rain is predicted ... I hope that God is a music fan!
Great reviews from recent shows are encouraging! I am so looking forward to this!
Not to be a drama-mama or anything, but this just might be my last concert. So many shows that I had tickets for either cancelled or I just decided that sitting in a room full of folks just wan't prudent at the time and just ate the tickets. I hope that I will feel safer and more trusting in the near future (CNN headline says that the WHO predict that the end of the pandemic is near).
I hope to report tomorrow with reviews of the show.
As Ringo says, "Peace and Love!"
R
Okay - just in the door after a short drive home from St. Auggie on the morning after the show.
Great, GREAT show! Depending on ones expectations, this (as with other Ringo/Allstars shows) was exactly what you knew you were going to get. Sir Ringo does not have the song-writing catalog as his Beatle mates Paul and John, so some covers were inevitable. Fact is, this show was a cookie-stamp of most of the shows that Ringo has done over the past 20 years or so (back to whenever the "Allstars" originated). Starting with Carl Perkins', "Matchbox" - Ringo literally ran onto the stage to grab the mic. He wasted no time in diving into his own catalog with "It Don't Come Easy".
Ringo was loose and lithe. I don't know what his Clairol color is - but he sports it better than that Giuliani guy (no runs, no hits no errors). A diet of blueberries, broccoli and peace and love has worked well for him!
Every band member is a bonafide star - no doubt. Each one presented their own gushing tributes of praise not only to their boss, but to each other. It got kinda thick at times, but I believe that all were sincere.
The "main four" sidemen (Edgar Winter, Steve Lukather, Colin Hay and Hamish Stuart) were given three songs to cover their own careers. Drummer, Greg Bissonette and saxophonist/percussionist/keyboardist, Warren Ham pretty much played as sidemen - though both were just amazing. There was an erroneous post here a while back that Greg Bissonette had died. Trust me - he was very much alive and on top of his game - on of the best drummers that I've ever witnessed. On the drumming note: yeah, this was a show by possibly the most recognized and celebrated drummer in history, but Greg did most of the heavy lifting. Ringo was amazingly sharp and on time, but delivered very few fills. He took several rest breaks - notably during "Frankenstein". Nonetheless, it was great to see him up there!
The audience ran in age from ... older than me to very young. It was as sold-out show (more than I've ever seen in St Augustine) and all appeared genuinely moved by the show. Most had come to see and hear Ringo - some were perhaps a little unfamiliar with the on-stage guests. Lots of audible gasps of surprise when songs like Toto's, "Rosanna" and "Africa" or Men at Work's "Land Down Under", "Who can it Be" were played. Gauging by audience reaction, I'd say that the Men at Work and Toto covers were most appreciated. As funky as Hamish Stuart got with the Average White Band tunes ("Pick Up the Pieces", "Cut the Cake" and a cover of the Isley Brothers, "Work to Do") - the audience seemed a little relaxed.
It was so great to see Edgar Winter again! Edgar is as a seasoned professional musician as you will ever find! He represented his own career with "Free Ride" (actually written by his former and now deceased bandmate, Dan Hartman) and (of course), "Frankenstein" - which went over very well. He paid tribute to his late brother, Johnny with a cover of Chuck Berry's, "Johnny B Goode" - from his recent tribute album to Johnny.
I'll spare you by not giving a blow-by-blow, song-by-song recap. You can find that on the website of the local news from any of the cities where the show has played. For me, the highlights were "Africa" (Lukather/Toto), "Who Can it Be" (Hay/ Men at Work), "Frankenstein" (Winter) - but especially Ringo's own, "Photograph" - which to me is just one of the greatest pop ballads ever written by anybody! They closed with a combo of "With a Little Help From My Friends"/ "Give Peace a Chance"
From the sentimental side - I don't know how many more chances I (we) will get to see another Beatle. I hope that when I'm Ringo's age (82) that I'll be able to do what he does ... because I can't do it now at my current age (65). I'm also considering giving up big shows altogether (thanks, Covid virus!) as the logistics of attending shows seems to be getting more and more cumbersome. (would you like some cheese with this whine?)
Yeah, great, GREAT FREAKIN' SHOW! Long live Sir Ringo!
Peace and Love!
R
I saw Ringo here in Atlanta on Monday for the first time. I've now seen 2 of the Fab 4. Really good show and glad I went.
My thoughts:
Ringo is Ringo. Some of his material is like novelty songs (Yellow Submarine and couple others I didn't know), and some of his material are real classics. But his band is fantastic and I had never seen any of the 4 All-Starrs before.
Show was 2 hours and 15 minutes and Ringo left the stage for the middle 15 (maybe 20) minutes, but was otherwise out front or behind the center drums playing. He wasn't the main drummer, but he was not turned down either. He is an absolute energizer bunny at age 82. Wow.
Colin Hay really impressed. They played a little more guitar oriented versions of the 3 big Men at Work hits and with less of an 80s production. Colin also impressed by nailing the high main vocal in the chorus of Toto's Africa. I would definitely see him solo again....he plays a solo version of Photograph that is really good. He played a few basic solos. Man is talented and still has a great voice.
Steve Lukather sang the verses of the 3 Toto hits (Rosanna, Africa & Hold the line) and the high parts in the chorus were done by Warren Ham (who did a little of everything between percussion, harmony & some lead vocal, sax, flute, keyboards) or Colin. Toto always had multiple vocalist. Lukather can really shred across multiple styles of music.
The Average White Band songs were surprisingly recognizable....I didn't realize I knew their songs. Stuart Hamish is a soulful bassist and high singer.
Edgar did a pretty good job of hitting the high notes in Free Ride. Frankenstein was the middle of the show extended showcase. Greg B did one of the most interesting drum solos I've ever seen during Frankenstein. In rapid succession he played 10 second recognizable drum segments of about a dozen classic rock songs: Honkey Tonk Woman, Hot For Teacher, Tom Sawyer, Rock n Roll.....it was really good.
The Ringo highlights were It Don't Come Easy, Photograph, Octupus's Garden & High With a Little Help. They also did some rockabilly sounding cover tunes that the early Beatles did and some couple others I didn't recognize that were OK. He sang maybe 1/3 of the songs.
Corny jokes in between songs. Dramatic funny intros of bandmates (particularly when Edgar had the mic). Great reaction from the crowd. Ringo seemed genuinely grateful he still gets this kind of turnout.
I paid $150 for a really good single front row balcony seat. $10 bucks parking. $0 spent on concession & merch. Not a cheap night, but well worth it! Glad I went!
@hotlantatim Kind of a post script thing: Colin Hay did, indeed play some tasty lead guitar - the best compliment possible to anybody who happens to be "the other guitarist" when Luke is onstage! Toto's, "Rosanna" was turned into an extended jam - bordering jazz improv' - thanks to the interplay of Warren Ham and Edgar.
Regarding Warren Ham - I've never been familiar with him but he is EVERYWHERE! He plays keys, sax, flute, percussion - Cher, Donna Summer, Toto - the guy's a music machine! Check out this story from Rolling Stone:
