Thursday, Sept. 12 at the Astro in La Vista was an all-star affair, including the folks behind the scenes.
“You notice your ears aren’t ringing?” location sound recordist Jeremy Wade Rodman, this reviewer’s plus-one to the event said at the end of the night. “That’s because the band’s sound guys know exactly how to tune the amps so that you hear every note, but it isn’t so loud that it kills your hearing. I suspect the artists’ sound guys are the best of the best.”
When the headlining artist is one of the most well-known singers in the world, as well as No. 14 on Rolling Stones’ list of greatest drummers of all time, one should expect nothing less. Ringo Starr and his All-Starr band performed a one-and-a-half hour set that left everyone from children to retirees happy.
Janet Sharp of Union, Nebraska, came with her husband and son, and was a fan of the Beatles in the 1960s, claiming that Paul was her favorite. They found out about Ringo Starr and His All-Star Band from the marquee out in front of The Astro Theater when attending Tedeschi Trucks on July 29, and for them, coming back was not an option.
“We thought, ‘when there’s a Beatle coming to town, you have got to go,’” Sharp’s son, Cole, said.
Daniel Heier of Sioux Falls, South Dakota, came with his wife, Heather, and 9-year-old daughter Loralai. They have seen Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band four times, including traveling to Kansas City to see them last year.
Daniel said his parents listened to the Beatles, but he has been a fan of the Beatles since college, when his roommate lent him a CD of Sgt. Pepper’s Lonely Hearts Club Band. He was immediately hooked, and among his favorite possessions is a Russian pressing of the Beatles White Album on vinyl.
“That’s how I knew she loved me,” Daniel said of Heier. Loralai is now the third generation of Heiers to listen to the drumming of Starr.
Although the former Beatle and 19-time Grammy-Award winner was the headliner, the musicians performing alongside him were superstars in their own right. Colin Hay of Men at Work was on guitar, harmonica, vocals; Hamish Stuart of Average White Band was bass, guitar, vocals; Gregg Bissonette of Spinal Tap played drums, percussion, trumpet, backing vocals; Steve Lukather of Toto played guitars, bass, vocals; and Warren Ham of Kansas (and Toto) played saxophone, percussion, keyboards, harmonica, vocals. It’s no wonder that Starr made the audience a promise at the beginning of the show.
“I guarantee, everyone will know at least one song tonight,” said Starr.
The set started with Starr’s 1971 hit “It Don’t Come Easy,” and included hits from bands featuring the All-Starr Band’s members. “Africa,” by Toto, “Cut the Cake” by Average White Band, and “Land Down Under” by Men at Work were fan favorites. As Starr took a short break around the midway point Bissonette broke into a rapid-fire solo in which he drummed the intro or first line of many notable songs, such as “Brown Sugar,” “We Will Rock You,” and “Wipeout.”
The show was, as anticipated, heavy on hits from Starr’s own repetoire, and the star moved between singing and playing the instrument that makes even other drummers appreciate his talents.
“He was left-handed playing on a right-handed drum set,” said Scott Solis of Brea, California. Solis was not in attendance Sept. 12, but has seen Starr several times live. “I don’t know that I would have the coordination to do it. It’s an unorthodox style.”
Beatles hits included “In an Octopus’ Garden,” and the song that Janet and Lorali, among many in the audience, were hoping to hear, “Yellow Submarine.” Starr, who consistently flashed two-fingered peace signs and proclaimed “Peace and Love” to the audience, finished the concert on a song he himself didn’t write, titled (fittingly) “With a Little Help from My Friends.”
