WASHINGTON – About halfway through the show with his All Starr Band, Ringo Starr reached into the crowd to retrieve a sign proffered by a fan.
“I agree!” he said with a smile as he held up the white poster board that read, “Ringo for President 2024.”
It isn’t too farfetched a thought – except the pesky fact that Starr was born in Liverpool, England – given the enduring love from tens of millions around the world as well as the 3,000-plus who filled The Anthem in D.C. Tuesday.
Starr is in the midst of a fall leg of his tour with the All Starrs, which began this most recent run in May and will end Sept. 25 in New York.
His compilation tours, which began in 1989 and have continued steadily with a rotating cast of familiar names equipped with their own catalog of hits, remains a novel idea. Why not pair the iconic Beatles drummer with a crop of versatile players who want to have as much fun as he clearly does onstage?
Need a break? Play the USA TODAY Daily Crossword Puzzle.
This current assembly offers another multitalented bunch: Colin Hay (guitar; Men at Work), Steve Lukather (guitar; Toto), Warren Ham (horns, percussion, flute; Kansas), Hamish Stuart (bass; Average White Band), Gregg Bissonette (drums; David Lee Roth) and Buck Johnson (keyboards; Aerosmith).
The 19-song, 100-minute show attracted a multigenerational crowd primed to stand and video (and stand and video some more) and sing along with Starr-fronted Beatles treasures like “Yellow Submarine” and “Octopus’s Garden,” solo hits like “It Don’t Come Easy,” and “Photograph” and immediately identifiable radio classics from the band.
Perkins cover – rockabilly toe-tapper “Matchbox” – kicked off the show, but soon the animated Starr, who bounced out from backstage and flashed peace signs, settled in for his own track, “It Don’t Come Easy.”
A diminutive figure in rock-star-cool black pants and jacket over a T-shirt bearing – what else? – a peace sign, the 84-year-old Starr showed the benefits of his healthy lifestyle as he sway-danced onstage whenever he clasped the mic and jogged up to his drum riser in the middle of “Back Off Boogaloo” to pick up the beat with Bissonette.
Starr remained onstage for the majority of the show, only bowing out to “have a cup of tea.” Meanwhile, his ace cast showcased their versatility through a winding jam of Average White Band’s “Cut the Cake” and, with the spotlight on Bissonette, a roll call of vintage rock songs (“We Will Rock You,” “Rock and Roll” and a masterful meshing of the drum fills in “Golden Slumbers”/”Carry That Weight”/”The End” and Van Halen’s “Hot for Teacher”).
(From left): Steve Lukather, Warren Ham, and Beatles legend Ringo Starr perform with Ringo Starr and His All Starr Band at Austin City Limits Live in Austin, Texas on June 9, 2024. Starr and his band are in the midst of a fall tour.
Your point of view caught my eye and was very interesting. Thanks. I have a question for you.
Thanks for sharing. I read many of your blog posts, cool, your blog is very good. https://accounts.binance.com/register?ref=P9L9FQKY