Concert Review: Ringo Starr and His All Starr Band at Wildhorse Saloon, Nashville, TN 7/6/2008

The ageless Ringo Starr came to a packed Wildhorse tonight along with his All Starr Band. Having to sit through a near two and a half hour set of 27 classic (well, mostly classic) songs performed by six rock stars of high stature is tough work, but someone had to do it.

The first question I'd ask Ringo (if I had the chance) would be "What fountain are you drinking from?", because the man is 68 years old and looks not a day over 40. His "All Starrs" all look a little bit more their ages, but I'm here to tell you these guys can still rock. This version of the "All Starrs" consisted of 80's hit maker Billy Squier on lead guitar, Colin Hay (of Men at Work fame) on rhythm guitar, Hamish Stuart (of Average White Band and Wings fame), Edgar Winter (The Texas Tornado) on keyboards and saxophone, and Gary Wright on keyboards. And they all sing, too. Gregg Bisonette played drums solo when Ringo was up front singing and double drummed with him when the other band mates took their turns front and center.

The concert started out with a short teaser of "A Little Help from My Friends", just in case anyone was not aware that we were watching an original Beatle at work. Ringo kept the spotlight for three more songs, most notably his 70's hit "It Don't Come Easy". By this point we had also gotten a good feel for the "All Starrs", who were all backing him up nicely. I was immediately impressed with Squier's guitar work and Winter's honky tonk piano in "Memphis in Your Mind". Someone said "we're just getting warmed up" and they weren't kidding.

Next, Ringo sat behind the drums and up came Squier, who proceeded to rock out "Lonely Is the Night". His guitar was jumping with power chords and his voice was in fine form, although he wasn't hitting a few of the really high notes. But what he has lost in vocal range was made up with attitude. Squier was the main power supply of this show.

And so the pattern was set. RIngo does a few numbers, then his "All Starrs" each get a turn, and so it goes. Next up was Winter doing his hit "Free Ride", which was fun to hear and very lively. Most of the songs were played extremely well throughout the evening. The band members all have very different styles but backed each other up tightly. It was interesting to watch all the interaction. Colin Hay was up next doing "Land Down Under". By the way, he's Scottish, not Australian. Then Wright followed with "Dream Weaver", which was good but really slowed down the pace, so much so I was thinking it could have been better placed elsewhere in the show. Next was "Boys" by Ringo, who noted that it was from that other band he used to be in. Then Stuart got his first turn and performed the funky "Pick Up the Pieces", with real nice sax work by Winter.

Next up were three more songs by Ringo, which ran right into what I'll call halftime. He did the unremarkable "Liverpool 8" off his new album, "Act Naturally", his famous rockabilly song which the Nashville crowd took a liking to, and "Yellow Submarine", which I definitely could have done without. It works for me in a cartoon movie, but not during a rock concert.

There was no intermission per say, but Winter and Wright each did a song completely solo. Winter did the old blues classic "Stormy Monday" on the piano. His playing and singing were both great, conveying lot's of feel just like a good blues song should. Wright followed with "Your Eyes", a song I had never heard of and won't mind if I never hear again.

The second half was in the same format as the first, but I thought the song selection was much better. Winter did "Frankenstein" which shows off his prowess on the strap-on synthesizer, sax, and percussion. Stuart did the lively "Work To Do", which showed off his vocal skills, Hay did the song that broke it for him, "Who Can It Be Now", and Ringo did "Oh My My", and "Give Peace a Chance" (still spreading the peace and love message after all these years).

But the second half highlights for me were Squier's "The Stroke", Wright's "Love Is Alive", and my favorite Ringo songs of the evening, the George Harrison tribute "Never Without You", "Choose Love" (with great guitar work by Squier), "I Wanna Be Your Man", "Photograph", and perhaps THE highlight of the night that got everyone on their feet, the full version of "A Little Help From My Friends" (I had been singing that song in my head earlier in the day in anticipation).

So it wasn't a flawless show, but it was a great show nonetheless. In addition to his performing, Ringo's personality shone through, making him the perfect emcee. He was the gentle Beatle after all. And the déjà vu factor was priceless for those of us who grew up with these guys. The crowd was smiling as they were heading out the door, knowing they had seen a living legend, up close in a club rather than an arena or stadium. I won't be forgetting the experience anytime soon.