"Is Ringo the b
est drummer in the world? He isn't even the best drummer in The Beatles."
The classic line many thought John Lennon said (but was in fact said by UK Comedian Jasper Carrott in 1983) adds to the character given to Ringo Starr, the butt of the jokes. Ringo himself plays into this and has some fun with it. At one point during his concert at Stir Cove Friday night, Ringo mentioned that he had written several songs while in the Beatles, they were just never recorded. Not only did Ringo sing Beatles songs and solo stuff, his supporting band brought their own "Starr" power and put together an amazing set.
Ringo came bounding out on stage after the rest of the band took their places and opened with 'Matchbox', a Carl Perkins cover and then lead into 'It Don't Come Easy' & 'What Goes On', the only song written by Lennon-McCartney & Starkey, before introducing the other musicians playing. This version of the All-Starr band, which changes every tour, featured Greg Rolie of Santana, Steve Lukather of Toto, Hamish Stuart of Average White Band and Colin Hay from Men at Work. The band got almost as good a reaction as Ringo himself.
In addition to The Beatles songs everyone came to hear, we were treated to 'Black Magic Woman', 'Oye Como Va', 'Pick up The Pieces', 'Cut The Cake', 'Rosanna', 'Africa', 'Down Under' & 'Who Can It Be Now'. Of Course, the largest ovations came from the well known Beatles songs like 'Yellow Submarine', 'Don't Pass Me By' & 'With A Little Help From My Friends', which is the song everyone was waiting to hear. When he wasn't out front, Ringo took his place behind the drums, which drew a large ovation from the crowd the first time it happened.
The crowd ranged from toddlers to people that were at Woodstock and remember seeing Rollie & Santana perform these songs live. It was a great night to breath in some Beatle air and enjoy a concert like nothing you're likely to see again.