I have been a Beatles fan since I was three years old and until high school The Beatles were all I listened to. When I was 12 I got one of the best birthday presents I’ve ever received, tickets to see Paul McCartney live. Although I don’t remember much of that show I do remember being still struck with the magnitude of being in the same room as one of my idols. This week I was lucky enough to see Ringo Starr and His All Starr Band in Stockton, CA.. I’m really pleased that I am two for two on seeing the (living) members of my all time favorite band. It’s incredible to think about being in the same room as either of those incredible musicians…almost too big to wrap my head around. I find myself trying to down play how big a deal this is. My head says things like, “well you didn’t meet either one of them so really it’s not that cool.” But to my head I’d like to say, “this is really really cool to have seen my idols live, I probably won’t ever meet them, and that’s ok, but I can check seeing the living half of The Beatles off of my bucket list.”
So I saw Ringo Starr….holy shit, that’s incredible to be able to say that. It’s so surreal to be in the same room as someone who you’ve idolized your whole life, granted Ringo isn’t my favorite Beatle but he’s still a Beatle. He’s surprisingly small as well, when he came on stage I was struck by how short he was compared to the rest of the All Starrs. I think his voice has gotten better with age, and his dancing was adorably hilarious (lots of swaying from side to side and some occasional arm swinging). Seeing Ringo was a very different experience than when I saw Paul. The latter’s show was mostly Beatles songs with some of Paul’s new stuff mixed in, Ringo’s show was a meandering adventure down memory lane. Ringo was accompanied by several accomplished musicians that have other amazing titles to their name besides backing up a Beatle. This particular All Starr Band has been together for nearly five years, past All Starr Bands have included: Joe Walsh, Levon Helm, Billy Preston, Peter Frampton, and Sheila E to name a few. The current All Starr Band is made up of Steve Lukather of Toto, Gregg Rolie of Santana and Journey, Todd Rundgren of Nazz, Utopia and The New Cars, Richard Page of Mr Mister, Gregg Bissonette, Mark Rivera, and Warren Ham of Bloodrock, Kansas, and AD. It’s a pretty incredible group of musicians and I got a huge kick out of listening to all the oldies that they played that night, and my partner was really jazzed when they played Africa.
Listening to Ringo play some of his past solo work made me think about how The Beatles would have been different if Ringo had recorded more of his own songs. Although I am a huge Lennon/McCartney fan I am aware of how their names dominated the track listing of every Beatles album. I’m curious if The Beatles would have cultivated a more country blues sound if Ringo had recorded more of his own songs. To my surprise there is only one song that was listed as Lennon/McCartney/Starkey, Don’t Pass Me By off The White Album. Ringo did say that he wrote lots of songs while he was in The Beatles but none of them were recorded except for that one. Hearing about that made me curious what the dynamic was like in The Beatles. Did Ringo feel self-conscious about his writing? Was he not supported by the rest of the band? Were John and Paul more interested in their own songs than Ringo or George’s? Thinking about that makes me squirm a little. In my head I’ve had this picture of the four of them always being chummy and supporting one another’s ideas, but as I’ve grown older I’ve realized how innocent idea that is. Obviously there was some support and chumminess going on or The Beatles wouldn’t have worked together for as long as they did, but to hear that maybe they weren’t as supportive as I hoped they would be makes me a little sad.
Anyway, I don’t want this post to be about my broken fantasies, the concert is what I’m here to talk about. Ringo is a hilarious dude, and brings a lot of charisma to his show. He talked to the audience quite a lot, as did the rest of the band, and made some goofy jokes. I was seriously impressed with that man’s energy. He’s 75, on tour, and was doing jumping jacks on stage! I hope that I’ll be doing that when I’m his age. The Bob Hope Theatre, where he played, is relatively small but I really enjoyed having a more intimate show. I saw Paul McCartney at the Rose Garden in Portland and there were huge screens up so that people who were far away, like my family, could actually see him. It was amazing to see Ringo in a smaller venue.
At this point I feel like I’ve crossed off most of the people who I need to see before I die. I find myself laughing at the thought of what will happen after I cross Mumford and Sons off of that list. Somehow I imagine myself floating around not knowing who I’ll put on the list next, but I know that there will be many more artists that will end up there, and honestly Mumford and Sons will be at the top until I see them at least ten times…. Until that happens it’s pretty amazing that, at 23, I can cross seeing The (living) Beatles off of my list.
Photo © Autumn Micketti
Autumn Micketti 