As part of the ongoing tour for his latest record, "Postcards from Paradise" – released in March – Fab Four drummer Ringo Starr returned to Milwaukee with the latest incarnation of his All-Starr Band for a performance Saturday night at The Pabst Theater.
Starr was also inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame earlier this year as a solo artist. He'd been inducted as a member of the Beatles in 1988, but was, until April, the only member of the band not inducted as a solo performer.
Though the show is theoretically about one of the two surviving members of The Beatles, Starr -- who certainly appears from his onstage demeanor and banter to quite clearly be the boss -- takes a backseat for the bulk of the night, which can be frustrating for die-hard fans hoping for a deeper dig into Starr's career with the Beatles and as a solo performer.
The current All-Starr band, which includes Todd Rundgren on guitar, Santana's Gregg Rolie on keyboards, Mister Mister's Richard Page on bass and Toto guitarist Steve Lukather -- among others -- is as taut as you'd expect considering the combined accomplishments, stature and experience of its members.
Starr put together his first All-Starr Band in 1989 and this current incarnation was assembled three years ago.
After opening with Carl Perkins' "Matchbox," which Starr sang with the Beatles, Ringo's early solo hit, "It Don't Come Easy" and "Island in the Sun," which Starr described as the first song written in collaboration with his All-Star Bands, each member performed a trio of his own hits, including Mister Mister's "Broken Wings," Rundgren's "Bang on the Drum," Toto's "Africa" and Santana's "Evil Ways."
During these songs, Starr played drums, but always in the sonic shadow of drummer Gregg Bisonette, who despite having a drum riser at a lower altitude, clearly took the lead.
Sure, Starr looked like he was having a great time during these moments, but he seemed almost like an onlooker, more like a proud mentor reveling in the accomplishments of his pupils than a bandleader at the helm.
About halfway through, Starr returned to the spotlight for The Shirelles' "Boys," another tune he performed with The Beatles, a massive audience sing-along on "Yellow Submarine," "I Wanna Be Your Man" and "Don't Pass Me By," the first song he wrote that the Beatles recorded.
Later he added his solo-era cover of "You're Sixteen" and "I Am the Greatest," written for him by John Lennon.
To close out the two-hour performance (there was neither an opening act nor an encore), Starr came back out front for "Photograph," his cover of Buck Owens' "Act Naturally" and the appropriate "With A Little Help From My Friends," which morphed into his band playing a few choruses of "Give Peace a Chance" to end the night.
The show was a walk down memory lane for the packed house, most of whom appeared to enjoy the non-Ringo material as much as the Beatles' tunes, but for this lifelong Beatles fan, I'd have preferred less All-Starr and more Ringo Starr.
SET LIST
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Matchbox
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It Don't Come Easy
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Island in the Sun
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I Saw the Light
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Evil Ways
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Rosanna
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Kyrie
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Bang the Drum All Day
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Boys
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Don't Pass Me By
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Yellow Submarine
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Black Magic Woman
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You're Sixteen
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I'm the Greatest
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You Are Mine
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Africa
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Oye como va
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I Wanna Be Your Man
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Love Is the Answer
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Broken Wings
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Hold the Line
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Photograph
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Act Naturally
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With a Little Help From My Friends/Give Peace a Chance
Born in Brooklyn, N.Y., where he lived until he was 17, Bobby received his BA-Mass Communications from UWM in 1989 and has lived in Walker's Point, Bay View, Enderis Park, South Milwaukee and on the East Side.
He has published three non-fiction books in Italy – including one about an event in Milwaukee history, which was published in the U.S. in autumn 2010. Four more books, all about Milwaukee, have been published by The History Press.
With his most recent band, The Yell Leaders, Bobby released four LPs and had a songs featured in episodes of TV's "Party of Five" and "Dawson's Creek," and films in Japan, South America and the U.S. The Yell Leaders were named the best unsigned band in their region by VH-1 as part of its Rock Across America 1998 Tour. Most recently, the band contributed tracks to a UK vinyl/CD tribute to the Redskins and collaborated on a track with Italian novelist Enrico Remmert.
He's produced three installments of the "OMCD" series of local music compilations for OnMilwaukee.com and in 2007 produced a CD of Italian music and poetry.
In 2005, he was awarded the City of Asti's (Italy) Journalism Prize for his work focusing on that area. He has also won awards from the Milwaukee Press Club.
He has be heard on 88Nine Radio Milwaukee talking about his "Urban Spelunking" series of stories, in that station's most popular podcast.
