In our world today, it’s easy to forget what life is all about. Negativity and greed pulsate through our society like an enslaving drug in constant control of who and what determines our self-worth. If there was ever a moment to take a break from that, and reflect upon all I have to be grateful for, an evening spent singing along to a music legend full of peace and love, was it.
Ringo Starr is extraordinary. He’s a professional with a protruding heart. He and his band inspired a crowd that otherwise seemed like they would remain seated in their seats, to stand up and sing along to almost every song. With Ringo’s sweet sense of humor and lighthearted attitude, it was impossible for anyone to fell disengaged at this concert. Peace signs flooded the Ordway’s intimate music theater the entire night, and every time someone flashed one to Ringo, he did the same. It was an evening revolved around love, baby, peace and love.
Ringo is a true band man. He didn’t make the concert it all about him; it was more about his All-Starr Band, comprised of guitarist and founding member of Toto Steve Lukather, keyboardist and original lead singer of Santana Gregg Rolie, Men at Work’s Colin Hay, Graham Gouldman of 10cc, vocalist and saxophonist Warren Ham and drummer Gregg Bissonette, who has played with David Lee Roth Joe Satriani, and more. They came off as the ultimate cover band, with deep roots of originality. Some of my favorite moments of the night were the performances of Toto’s Africa, Men at Work’s Down Under and Santana’s Evil Ways.
Photograph was my favorite Ringo moment of the night. He is the only artist that can make a song with a sad subject line feel happy, and that is what I love most about Ringo Starr as an artist. My best friend Alicia and I felt like we were on another planet, and this song in particular was nice one to sway side by side to.
Dancing to Yellow Submarine was an insane amount of fun, as I imagined it would be. It felt very surreal to see an actual Beatle perform this song live. I was in shock that I was seeing Ringo in the flesh, and I spent the majority of the night obsessing over that fact. So many fans were jumping around and cheering just like us, and Ringo noticed. He embraced the crowd for their enthusiasm often throughout the night. I think he understands how overjoyed his fans are to see him play the songs that are so representative of music history.
Don’t Pass Me By was another great performance. Ringo was at his most intense during this song, as he should have been — he composed it for The Beatles’ White Album. I thoroughly loved watching this All-Starr jam session of a concert, and their epic finale of With a Little Help From My Friends was the perfect close to the night.
It was very nice to take a mental break from the robust negative interaction that seems to be consuming our society for a few hours. I loved being one with the crowd; all lost in the same moment together — separated from any sort of bad energy. For me, the evening shed some light on the importance of togetherness, and it was a very special moment that I will never forget.
