Last night I headed over to Canada with my friend Don to see Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band kick off their latest tour at the Fallsview Casino in Niagara Falls. Don's mother-in-law is a regular visitor to the Casino and got comped, so not only did we see a pretty good show, but it was free! Of course everyone knows who Ringo is, and though he's approaching 70 years of age, he's still a sprightly lad who knows how to put on a good show. He surrounds himself with other famous or semi-famous rockers of the past in the All-Starr Band, and they run through a bunch of Beatles songs (limited to those originally sung by Ringo, like "Boys," "With a Little Help From My Friends," "Yellow Submarine," etc.), Ringo solo hits ("It Don't Come Easy," "Photograph") and a couple of numbers associated with the various band members pre-All-Starr careers.
This year's team consists of Edgar Winter (who gave us "Free Ride" and "Frankenstein" as his spotlight numbers), Rick Derringer ("Hang on Sloopy" from his days with the McCoys and "Rock and Roll Hoochie Coo"), Gary Wright ("Dream Weaver"), Wally Palmar out of The Romantics ("Talking in My Sleep," "What I Like About You") and some guy from Mr. Mister ("Kyrie"). The show was like listening to almost any classic rock radio station in the country on a particularly pop oriented afternoon. The musicianship was stellar, Ringo was an amiable MC, and I suspect a good time was had by all. It's the kind of show that may not be exactly awesome, but it was fun; and it's pretty cool to be able to say afterwards that you were in the same room with a Beatle (though as these surreptitiously shot photos suggest, we weren't exactly in close proximity). So all-in-all, I had a great time.
Last night I headed over to Canada with my friend Don to see Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band kick off their latest tour at the Fallsview Casino in Niagara Falls. Don's mother-in-law is a regular visitor to the Casino and got comped, so not only did we see a pretty good show, but it was free! Of course everyone knows who Ringo is, and though he's approaching 70 years of age, he's still a sprightly lad who knows how to put on a good show. He surrounds himself with other famous or semi-famous rockers of the past in the All-Starr Band, and they run through a bunch of Beatles songs (limited to those originally sung by Ringo, like "Boys," "With a Little Help From My Friends," "Yellow Submarine," etc.), Ringo solo hits ("It Don't Come Easy," "Photograph") and a couple of numbers associated with the various band members pre-All-Starr careers. 
This year's team consists of Edgar Winter (who gave us "Free Ride" and "Frankenstein" as his spotlight numbers), Rick Derringer ("Hang on Sloopy" from his days with the McCoys and "Rock and Roll Hoochie Coo"), Gary Wright ("Dream Weaver"), Wally Palmar out of The Romantics ("Talking in My Sleep," "What I Like About You") and some guy from Mr. Mister ("Kyrie"). The show was like listening to almost any classic rock radio station in the country on a particularly pop oriented afternoon. The musicianship was stellar, Ringo was an amiable MC, and I suspect a good time was had by all. It's the kind of show that may not be exactly awesome, but it was fun; and it's pretty cool to be able to say afterwards that you were in the same room with a Beatle (though as these surreptitiously shot photos suggest, we weren't exactly in close proximity). So all-in-all, I had a great time.
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