Ringo Starr and the Fourth All-Starr Band live:
tour reviews

The stage was set up with three All-Starrs up front and three in the back. Gary Brooker was to the left with his Clavinet before him, Jack Bruce was in the center, and Frampton to the right. Behind them, on three different tiers of podium, Mark Rivera took up position on the left with his usual assortment of percussion and woodwind instruments. In the center, on the highest tier, of course, was Ringo, and to the right, behind Frampton, was Simon Kirke. Ringo had his Ludwig drum kit - a purple one, with a modern-looking purple sweep with a moon and a star (for Barbara and Ringo) on the kick drum head. Behind the whole band was a backdrop bearing a large pair of sunglasses.

Ringo was a little nervous before the show, likely due to the presence of such a great number of pals in the audience. But whatever jitters he had quickly wore off. After "Act Naturally," Ringo gave his usual explanation about how the All-Starr process works: "In case you haven't seen this before, this is the 'All-Starrs,'" etc., explaining that each of the band members would be taking turns leading in one of their classics. Next up was Procol Harum's Gary Brooker, he sang "The Devil Came From Kansas," reminding the audience of his band's original medieval psychedelics. To great cheer, Peter Frampton then sang an incredible version of "Show Me the Way," which the audience just flipped for. Frampton was in top form this night, reminding the audience in no uncertain terms what truly great guitar-player he was and still is. Throughout the night, he bore a contented smile as he "played the brass off his strings." Not to be outdone, Jack Bruce followed with the unmistakable opening notes of Cream's "Sunshine of Your Love." The audience erupted upon hearing the well-known riff, which Bruce elaborated on with incredible prowess, the All-Starrs delivering an extended version of the song. Frampton joined his partner on some extra-hot lead guitar, filling in just fine for ol' Clapper. Though Frampton's tunes were the ones which got the audience joining in with glee, I found myself simply amazed at seeing this bass-playing rock legend playing this unmistakable classic. What a treat.

Simon Kirke then took up with one of his two highlights for the night, Bad Company's "Shooting Star," which, though he wasn't the original singer of the track, he handled quite nicely. Ringo then brought the house down, this time from behind his Ludwig kit alongside Kirke's, with "Boys." Throughout the show, Ringo was his usual energetic self, looking quite content just to be out playing some of his favorite music - both his own and that of his mates. Frampton then rendered a fine version of "Baby, I Love Your Way," again reminding the audience what a truly great star he was, as well as a fine songwriter. Ringo then took up position once again at stage front for "You're Sixteen," giving his usual introduction about this one being "for the younger girls in the audience." The set then closed with "Yellow Submarine," introduced, as usual, with "even fetuses know this song!" Audience and band then took a 15 minute break.

Following the intermission, Gary Brooker and Jack Bruce provided the nightly solo entertainment, with Bruce turning another rendition of his favorite, "Theme From an Imaginary Western."

The band then retook the stage, in slightly different attire. Ringo wore a colorful tie-dyed looking shirt, one of eight shirts made for him for the tour by a dutiful and accomplished staff member. Gary Brooker then launched into a riveting performance of Procol's "Conquistador." Ringo, still back behind his drums, then introduced his next number as "written by the great John Lennon" - "I'm the Greatest," bringing respectful applause from the audience. He followed this with "No No Song," with the band, accentuated by Mark Rivera's percussion, providing a fine Latin rhythm to get everyone in the mood. Throughout the show, Rivera exuded the usual energy he brings to the band, playing everything from various configurations of saxophones, keyboards and percussion, as well as providing any extra vocal harmonies required by the band. Certainly the unsung hero of the All-Starrs this time around. By the way, throughout most of the second half, Ringo's wife, Barbara, could be seen videotaping hubby's antics from stage right, obviously still quite entertained by Ringo's performance.

Simon Kirke then did Free's "All Right Now," getting the whole audience singing along with him. Kirke drummed powerfully and consistently throughout the show, providing an excellent an excellent complement to Starr. Ringo then sang a fast-paced version of "I Wanna Be Your Man," which was followed by Frampton with "Do You Feel Like I Do." Jack Bruce then followed by another mind-blowing Cream track, "White Room," again, in extended version. Gary Brooker then followed with what is obviously a favorite of Ringo's, Brooker's signature tune, "White Shade of Pale." For this number, Brooker stuck to his Clavinet keyboard, while Mark Rivera came down to join him, playing Brooker's famous Hammond organ part for the song. Mark was clearly having a good time.

Following "Pale," Ringo took to stage front, telling the audience, "Enough of those 'oldies,' now we're going to play something a little more modern - from 1974!" The band then closed the 2nd set with "Photograph," with Rivera providing a wonderful sax solo, which brought appreciative cheers from the audience.

The band left the stage for a few minutes, returning shortly thereafter for Ringo's encore number, "With a Little Help From My Friends." "If you're good," he told the audience, "we might have a couple of special guests come and join us for this next one." Anticipating the impossible, the audience erupted in cheers, which Ringo quickly doused: "Not those two!" Then, joining the band came former All-Starrs Mark Farner, Tmothy B. Schmitt and Animal Eric Burden.

Backstage, there was a crowd of a size which nearly equaled the size of the audience! The Amphitheatre has a large courtyard behind the stage, permitting an outdoor party to take place for Ringo's many guests. A similar number of folks were backstage before the show, as well. Mark Rivera noted to GDS after the concert, "When we took to the stage at the beginning of the show, I saw a lot of empty seats, and I was a little concerned. But then everyone made their way out from backstage - and the place was filled up!"
Visiting backstage were numerous dignitaries from Beatle lore. "Free As A Bird"/"Real Love" (and most recently, Flaming Pie) producer Jeff Lynne was there to enjoy the festivities, as was Harrison sideman Gary Wright. Jim Capaldi, who recently accompanied George Harrison on his Carl Perkins recording, "Distance Makes No Difference With Love," was also hanging around, as was former Ringo producer Don Was (this time with no sunglasses!). Starkey kids Jason and Lee were visiting with friends and the like, as well, Jason having flown in from England just for the occasion, he told GDS. He also noted, by the way, that he had heard "Little Willow," Paul's song about his late mom, and that he found it quite beautiful. Lee looked as beautiful as ever, obviously in full health (you'll recall it was Lee's sudden illness which prompted a sudden close to the All-Starr tour last time around). Zak was in Europe touring with The Who this night.

Ringo, as usual, took off immediately after leaving the stage. Unlike in most cities, however, following this performance, he was treated to a 15 minute limo ride - not to a hotel, but back to his home, where he could sleep in his own bed! Brooker, Mark Rivera and Simon Kirke emerged from the dressing room shortly after the show, visiting with friends and signing autographs. Promoter David Fishof, as usual, managing the evening's affairs, flew in for the occasion. How was the L.A. show, Dave? "Fabulous!"

I only saw one banner; it was for Ringo. It said something like, "Ringo, give us the sacrificial ring ". I like Ringo's new look with his short cropped hair. He sounded great and was enthusiastic and funny. He did the same songs that he did at the show Steve saw in Concord. The favorites of the crowd were "Yellow Submarine" (which, according to Ringo, even fetuses know the words to) and "With a Little Help From My Friends", which ended the show perfectly.

I was never a Frampton fan, but a friend of mine is and she can't stop talking about how good the concert was. We were all surprised at Frampton's looks. I think he looks better now that he's older, but I didn't like his looks in the 70s. I agree with the other reports that his guitar playing was great but that the mouth-effects were over done. Dave, he does play, "Do You Feel Like We Do"....so I guess you'll have time for a long intermission!

An extra treat for us was that Ginger Baker joined and played the drums for "White Room". So we had 2/3 of Cream!! Ringo said it was the first time Baker performed with this band. My friend thinks Baker lives in Aspen, and told me he did the same thing at a Page & Plant concert in Denver. Ringo also joked that we could call that "2% Cream". I'm sure he wasn't implying that Eric Clapton was 98% Cream. I suppose 2% Cream sounds funnier than 66 2/3% Cream.

The concert lasted about 2 1/2 hours, with a 10 minute intermission. It was probably not sold out, but I only saw a few empty seats. Fiddler's Green can accomodate 18,000.

And, finally, I would like to publicly thank Marty for encouraging me to go to the concert. I was very disappointed when I heard that the date for Denver was May 7, because the next day I had to take a three hour final exam. After a lot of thought, I decided that I would just have to miss Ringo this time. But three days before the concert, Marty convinced me that I should go. The timing was great because they had just released some good tickets and we got excellent seating! I'm glad I didn't miss Ringo and his All Starr Band, and my exam went fine. Thanks, Marty!!

I hadn't seen a recent picture of Peter Frampton, and I was very surprised at how much his appearance has changed in recent years. He's still got his chops, though... I thought he was in very good form. In fact, there really wasn't a weak link in this year's band. Each member turned in a great performance. Jack Bruce in particular did a wonderful job, both on bass and vocals.

In a personal note, my home-made FLAMING PIE shirt was also a hit, with several people stopping me to ask where they could get one. I was far too pleased with myself. 8-)

Here's the set list: (This is from memory, so don't hold me strictly to the running order...but it should be pretty close): "It Don't Come Easy," "Act Naturally," "The Devil Came From Kansas" (Gary Brooker), "Show Me the Way" (Peter Frampton), "Sunshine of Your Love" (Jack Bruce), "Shooting Star" (Simon Kirke), "Boys," "Baby I Love Your Way" (Frampton), "You're Sixteen", "Yellow Submarine", "A Salty Dog" (Brooker), "Imaginary Western" (Jack Bruce & Peter Frampton/I wasn't sure of the title on this one, that's what I was told) , "I'm the Greatest", "No-No Song", "Conquistador" (Brooker), "I Feel Free (Bruce), "All Right Now" (Kirke), "I Wanna Be Your Man", "Do You Feel Like I Do?" (Frampton w/ great Jack Bruce bass solo), "White Room" (Bruce), "A Whiter Shade of Pale" (Brooker), "Photograph", Encore: "With a Little Help From My Friends."

There was no break in the middle, though I've been told that most of the other shows have been divided into two sets (with the break after "Yellow Submarine"). Everyone in the band looked like they were having a great time, with some clowning and frequent smiles all around. I've been told that musicians enjoy doing these tours with Ringo, and it certainly looked like it in this case. Nils Lofgrin opened the show with a fine acoustic set. However, at a mere thirty minutes, it was a rare case of an opening act leaving an audience wanting more.

The band came onstage, (minus Ringo) at 8:00, and performed the opening strains of "It Don’t Come Easy." Then the star of the show ran onto the stage greeted by screams (yes, screams) from the crowd. They performed the standard rendition of Ringo’s hit. When the song faded, Ringo shouted, "Thank you, thank you, Houston. Thank you for that rousing Texas cheer! Sir Ringo, yes!" he said, acknowledging a fan’s banner. "Come along now, you guys over there, we’re not gonna wait all night!" (As he pointed over to the gate area where concert-goers were still filing in.) "Can you hear us on the lawn? Okay, I’d like to do a number now, something I’m trying to be more and more, and it’s called ‘Act Naturally.’ "

"Thank you! Whoo, whoo, whoo! Okay, uh…" and just then a group of young teenaged girls shouted in unison "Ringoooo!" They got the desired result, as the former Beatle looked their way and said "My name is Ringo…" (Reminding the girls that he does indeed know his own name.) "This is the All-Starr Band," he continued. "And what happens is I come on and do a few numbers, and then I get on the kit, we go ‘round the band and I come back down, go up, down, up, down… Sounds like a bride’s night, here, to me. But, can’t say that here, ‘cause it’s a children’s show! Anyway, we’re gonna start this evening with the one and only, the fabulously delightful, Gary Brooker."

Ringo moved to his drum kit, and the band performed "The Devil Came From Kansas," a tune obviously unfamiliar to many in attendance." Peter Frampton led the All-Starrs through his "Show Me The Way," and afterwards a welcome gust of wind blew through the warm Texas air. Ringo said, "Here comes the breeze!" Frampton quipped, "Or is that the train?"

Jack Bruce kicked off the Cream classic "Sunshine Of Your Love," which featured extended work from both Frampton and Jack Bruce. The crowd roared in approval. Former Bad Company-man Simon Kirke dedicated "Shooting Star" to the Houston Rockets. His vocals were a bit off-key, and Paul Rodgers this drummer is not. Ringo said "Thank you, Simon, that was great." He was being generous.

"How ya doin’ out there?" Ringo asked. "Okay, I’d like to do a number for you now that that young boy probably listened to before he got in so much trouble. And it’s the first thing I ever recorded, and it’s called ‘Boys’." When the song faded, Ringo shouted "Thank you. I hope it was as loud for you as it was for me. Turn the voice down a little, thank you…" Acknowledging another banner in the crowd ("Ringo 4-Ever, Pete Never!"), the Fab drummer said, "Ringo forever, yeah, yeah, yeah."

Frampton led the band and the crowd through his "Baby I Love Your Way." Ringo then jumped into his solo hit"You’re Sixteen." Ringo encouraged the crowd to join in. "Okay," he said, "well, it looks like you’re all live enough. Are you ready to do some singing? What about over here? What about on the back, on the grass? Okay, this is a song you all know and love, and I’d like to hear lots of…singing from you." He chuckled at his own mangled stage patter. He and the band then proceeded through a tired version of "Yellow Submarine." It’s as though Ringo feels obliged to perform the song. Some, I’m sure would rather hear songs he wants to do.

Bruce and Frampton played "Theme From an Imaginary Western," and the band minus Ringo did their rendition of "Conquistador," with Gary Brooker leading the way.

Ringo introduced all the band members, including himself, which got the loudest cheers of the evening. Joked Ringo, "Sounds like half of you left while I was off! This is called ‘milking the audience.’ Okay, I’d like to do a number that was written specially for me by the one and only John Lennon. And it’s called ‘I’m The Greatest.’ " The crowd was surprisingly into this one, even cheering in the appropriate sections of the song.

Ringo carried on his set by introducing the "No No Song" as "the sole reason I’m here this evening." Then it was back to the All-Starrs again for Jack Bruce on "I Feel Free," and Simon Kirke on "All Right Now." Ringo came back off the drums for a rocking version of "I Wanna Be Your Man." Frampton played the never-ending "Do You Feel Like I Do?" Jack Bruce dug out "White Room," and Gary Brooker revived the 30 year-old "Whiter Shade Of Pale" "for Veteran’s Day."

Then the band leader announced a special surprise: "We’re gonna do something that’s uh, is new for us. We have a dear friend of ours, who was in the first two All-Starrs, and it’s the great Joe Walsh!" Walsh took the stage to a cheering welcoming party. "Okay," Ringo interrupted, "that’s it!" Walsh pretended he was leaving the stage, amidst the laughter of the crowd. "No," Ringo added, "he’s gonna stay, he’s gonna play, we just do that to fool with ya!"

With Joe on guitar the band performed Ringo’s "Photograph" as the last number. After they cleared the stage, the audience chanted and begged for more. After a moment they all came back, and Ringo said "Thank you for waiting. I don’t know how they know we’re gonna come back. It’s like they just know these things"

The show closed with "With A Little Help From My Friends," with Ringo exiting mid-song. His wife, Barbara Bach, was offstage watching the show and videotaping it. She left the backstage area shortly after Ringo went off. She has undoubtedly seen this same show several times, but she smiled and enjoyed herself, anyway.

Having seen Ringo perform the same basic set of songs on three of the four different tours, I think I know how she feels. I enjoyed myself, anyway. But maybe, someday, someway, some All Starr recruit will stand up to Ringo and diplomatically suggest some newer tunes. Ringo forever, yeah, yeah, yeah.

After the show, I overheard one concert-goer tell his friend that it was "painfully obvious that Ringo was the least talented one up there." That is a point that I would never concede. True musicians will tell you that Ringo is actually a very good drummer. Ringo's problem last night was one of category, not talent. What the audience heard was a show comprised of classic album rock cuts, interspersed with Ringo's AM pop hits. Like many in the crowd, I, too, was hoping that Ringo would hurry through "You're Sixteen" or "No No Song", so that we could hear "White Room" or "A Whiter Shade of Pale."

Perhaps it is due to fatigue from being at the end of a long tour, but Ringo did not seem to treat the crowd to his usual banter. There was no "What' my name?" chants. In fact, after his first song, "It Don't Come Easy," Ringo seemed to take the opposite approach, telling the crowd, "I'm Ringo." Still, for a man who is nearly 57, he did dance around a lot during his performance. I was impressed with the fact that played drums on almost two-thirds of the songs performed last night, and he was only off stage for one cut, Gary Brooker's "Conquistador."

Another sign that the band is reaching the end of the tour, seemed to be fact that they wanted to get the show over quickly. There was no break, and three songs were cut from the act. (In a strange, cosmic way, I sort of feel responsible for the songs being cut from the show. Last weekend, in order to prepare myself mentally for the concert, I made a simulated concert tape, based on the songs I knew to be in the set. I intentionally left two songs off the tape because they have not been commercially released by the performers in Ringo's band: "Theme For An Imaginery Western," originally recorded by Mountain, which, judging by other reviews, was apparently performed earlier in the tour, and, of course, "Norwegian Wood." In listening to the tape on the way to the concert, I was surprised to discover that I accidently left Procol Harum's "A Salty Dog" off the tape as well. Well, guess what three songs the band skipped? They re-created my tape, song by song, to the letter! If I had known that I would have had that kind of control over the set list, I would have included a couple of nice surprises on the tape, as well!)

The Mohegan Sun Casino was an interesting venue to see the show. The room was no bigger than the Meadowlands Hilton's ballroom where the annual Beatlefest "Battle of the Bands" is staged. I bought my tickets within the first half hour they went on sale, and yet I was in the last row! (By the way, last night was my first, and probably last, visit to one of Connecticut's casinoes. For the heck of it, I dropped $10 in a slot machine before the show started. I won $4.25 back, decided that I didn't need seventeen quarters, and promptly lost the winnings. I am very pleased to report that, upon losing the ten bucks, I felt no compelling need to buy another roll of coins. I guess there is no need to worry about me becoming a compulsive gambler! )

The show, itself, was very enjoyable. (Question, how come EVERY time I see Ringo live, he sounds like he had been inhaling helium? He doesn't sound like that on the records, or when he is being interviewed on television.) The band's appearance, as well as the appearance of many in the crowd, told me that we are all getting older. I wondered aloud whether the song "A Whiter Shade of Pale" was about Gary Brooker's or Peter Frampton's hair color. Brooker, by the way, was dressed in a white shirt and a dark suit. Before the show started, I saw him walk down the aisle next to me, and I assumed he was a member of the casino's management (I'm not kidding).

Ringo did seem to enjoy himself, Jack Bruce was awesome on the bass, and Frampton pretty much lived up to the glowing reports about his guitar playing. I must admit that the guitar solo at the end of "White Room" did not quite match the standard Eric Clapton had set.

The low point of the show was actually reached, well into the playing of "Do You Feel Like I Do." Like the version found on "Frampton Comes Alive", the song turned into an extended jam. Frampton, Brooker and Bruce all traded solos. However, after the first 15 or 20 minutes, the song really began to drag. My friend Mike, a die-hard Frampton fan back in the 8-track era of high school, turned to me and echoed the words of Dave Persails, a man wiser than me: "You know why they used to play this song on the radio, don't you? So the dee-jays could take a p*ss!"

The opening act was by the other Eric Stuart fellow (the one with a "U"). He did three acoustic guitar songs, all were depressing. After his set, and before the All Starrs took the stage, he went to the back of the room and gave out free copies of his CD.

Eric Stuart was the opening act. He sounded pretty good. The sound in the casino was pretty good. It was held in what really is the Bingo room but they rename it the "Event Center" for the shows there. This was the first "big name" show they've ever had. But they handled it well. Eric played maybe five songs and got off.

Ringo started with "It Don't Come Easy" and the whole show offered no surprises from all of the set lists I have seen elsewhere. But my impression of the show....well......it just didn't seem as much fun as the other three All-Starr shows I've seen. For what ever reason (maybe casino rules?) there was no intermission. The show seemed a little rushed, although when Frampton did "Do You Feel Like I Do?" I wished it rushed a little more. All the musicians except the drummers did a solo and Jack Bruce's was poor. He even stopped to sing "I'm so lame" or "I sell Glade" I really couldn't make it out. (It was to the tune of "I'm So Glad"). Gary Brooker was outstanding! His songs were my favorite. The man has class and was a true professional.

As far as Ringo was concerned I was very disappointed. As the "greatest rock and roll drummer in the world" he was just going through the motions. Simon Kirk did all the drumming. Ringo didn't play any fills, dropped a drumstick, came in at the wrong time on a few songs and basicly coasted with his drumming the whole show. If Kirke wasn't there he could not have carried it. He was playing a Ludwig set with only one tom-tom. Where the second tom-tom usually is, Ringo had a "fake hi-hat". A high-hat without a pedal that he used as a ride. This just seemd lazy to me,so he wouldn't have to cross his hand over to hit his hi-hat. It was very disappointing that he didn't put any effort into it.

He did the usual songs with no surprises. I wanted to hear "Don't Pass Me By" or "Octopus' Garden" or "What Goes On." Ringo had said that he didn't want to do "Octopus' Garden" because it was too much like "Yellow Submarine" but I can't buy it. He coasted and took the easy way out. This was my least favorite of the Ringo shows.

Peter Frampton's guitar work was very good, although I really don't care for his songs. Simon Kirke did a nice job on his songs. Hard to believe that he never sang them. Mark Rivera did his usual outstanding job and was great on the organ on "Whiter Shade of Pale". After the show we played in the casino for a while and I won $40 which helped defray some of the $68 I paid for the concert.

On a scale of 1 to 10, I give this show a 5.

I am so glad I went. Things were completely different. Ringo and the band put on one of the strongest performances I've seen. All of the criticism that I had with Monday's show were addressed. Ringo's drumming was outstanding! He was aggressive and seemed to be having a great time as did the rest of the band. Ringo pointed out that this was the last show (#30) of the tour and that he had a great time playing with this band. The show seemed much more relaxed and not rushed as was the case on Monday.

The three "intermission" songs that were not played on Monday were worth the return trip alone. Gary Brooker was great doing "A Salty Dog". The crowd really took to Gary and his songs, once again, were highlights of the show. It was kind of funny, Monday Gary wore a very classy black jacket with a white shirt under it. He looked very sharp. Last night he wore a red and black jacket and had a baseball cap on his head turned sideways. Before Gary played "A Whiter Shade of Pale" Ringo introduced him by saying "I played on a lot of pretty good songs in the sixties but this is an all-time favorite of mine" Gary pointed out that it was 30 years to the day that "A Whiter Shade of Pale" was released. When I saw the show on Monday it was 30 years to the day that Sgt. Pepper was released.

Jack Bruce dedicated "Theme From An Imaginary Western" to the late Felix Pappalardi who had produced a number of Cream albums. It was a touching version with Jack on piano and Peter Frampton on guitar. Peter Frampton brought out Bob Mayo from his band as a guest and did a nice job on a song that I didn't recognize. The rest of the show was the same as Monday but seemed a lot more spirited. Jack Bruce did a nice solo during "Do You Feel Like We Do" and played a few notes of Cream's "Politician" that got the crowd cheering. Peter actually worked in a bit of Sly Stone's "Thankyouforlettinmebemyselfagain" into it.

The audience at this show was completely different from the casino show. I think there were a lot of "High rollers" at the casino who were there because they got free tickets. The true music fans were at this show and spent a lot more time on their feet cheering and dancing around. It was great to see the wide range of people there. There were grandmothers as well as families who brought their young children. Ringo even joked that being the last show, he needed to yell "What's My name?" a few times to get it out of his system. He was very funny and a lot more animated and my friends really enjoyed his humor.

It was a beautiful night at Jones Beach which is an outdoor amphitheater. It was a little chilly but not cold and Ringo joked that this was supposed to be a summer tour. I give this show, on a scale of 1 to ten, a 9!