The legendary Ringo Starr rocked Victoria (with a little help from his friends, the All Starr Band) on October 8 at the Save-on-Foods Memorial Centre. Starr and his bandmates (former Journey keyboardist Gregg Rolie, Todd Rundgren, former Bread saxophonist Warren Ham, Mr. Mister singer Richard Page, and Toto guitarist Steve Lukather) stepped out onto a stage to perform for a full house. Tickets were sold out and the arena was a sea of baby boomers.
The stage was decorated like something from a children’s book, complete with illuminating, Goodnight Moon-esque stars and a crescent moon. Dancing over the backdrop of moon and stars were peace signs and flowers with regular colour changes. Starr wore his signature sunglasses, and a wardrobe circa 1962 (unfortunately, the famed Beatles cut is history).
The concert itself was a blast from the past. The 26-song set included a few Beatles classics, like “Yellow Submarine” and “With a Little Help From My Friends,” just to name a few. They also played Toto hits “Rosanna” and “Africa.” The atmosphere of the arena was thick with the excitement of relived youth; the air smelled of cheap beer and marijuana. This is probably the closest I’ll ever come to actually experiencing the ’60s.
The dynamic of the band members made for a raw and authentic performance. The musical reciprocity was phenomenal, and the musicians seemed to be having as much fun as the audience (if not more). It was like watching a private jam session for world-class musicians. The performance was energetic and the transitions between songs were smooth and timely.
The concert was a huge hit among the crowd of grown-up hippies. When the band played “Give Peace a Chance” the whole arena erupted into a field of peace signs. There were several standing ovations between songs and a whole lot of energy; the enthusiasm was contagious.
I came expecting a solo performance from Starr with support from his band but instead was treated to a solo performance from each of the All Starr band members.
Absolutely outstanding concert
The happiness of the audience was palpable
Ringo is a humble amazing drummer performer
Bill
That was a well written review. I was at the concert as well and
expected the show to be good but was blown away by the experience. The band Ringo assembled was a cast of pros who have also been there and done that, so the night was a ride through, the 60’s, 70’s and beyond. Execeptional guitar work, Todd Rundgren was as good as ever and the others brought hits from their respective bands as mentioned in the review. The sound was perfect and that includes not having my ears ringing for a day or two afterwords as so often occured back in the day.
The band, because of it’s experience I guess also gets it. They went out of their way to say how much they liked Victoria etc.. A small gesture but one that is often overlooked by the likes of artists like John Mellencamp and Bruce Springsteen.