Mother Nature tried but couldn’t damper or kill the spirits of the sold out crowd that gathered to witness possibly the biggest or most important show in the history of Artpark. When a Beatle comes to town, it’s a big deal. When Ringo Starr and his All Star Band was announced as one of acts to perform the 2014 season, back during the doldrums of February, excitement began to build that a Beatle would be playing a local favorite outdoor venue. Seeing a Beatle perform live tends to appear on many people’s “bucket lists.” Tickets sold out immediately and the anticipation was building for months leading up to the show.
Fans stood in line starting at 7am to get coveted front of stage access. The one thing we all hoped for was cooperative weather. The beauty of the shows at Artpark, compared to other venues, is the stage that overlooks a stunning gorge facing our neighbor up north (Canada) and there are no coverings to obscure the sights and sounds of the natural setting. However, sometimes mother nature can be the enemy and tried very hard on this day to curtail what was to be a memorable night of music.
As the band was set to take the stage at 7:45pm, rolling thunderstorms blew through and Artpark President George Osbourne took the stage to direct people to take shelter and wait out the storm. Not many people left their spots as a sea of umbrellas became the new sightline. After about a 45-minute delay, the crowd erupted as the band made their way to the stage. You could see relief and joy in people’s faces that yes, Ringo was truly in the house and now ready to finally appear before their eyes.
Ringo came out and went into the Carl Perkins cover “Matchbox,” which was a cover done by his former band The Beatles. In fact, Perkins was covered again when the band did “Honey Don’t.” Starr expressed his love for Perkins, calling him “one of the greats.”
What truly makes these shows special is the talent Starr surrounds himself with. This band has been the same since 2012 (minus Mark Rivera who is currently touring with Billy Joel). The show doesn’t just focus in on Beatles or Ringo numbers, artists play their respective hit songs as Steve Lukather (Toto), Greg Rolie (Santana), Todd Rundgren and Richard Page (Mr. Mister) had their own spotlight at various times throughout the show. Gregg Bissonette has been holding down the drum spot for quite a while and does a great job providing the soul and backbeat to the band.
Warren Ham did a masterful job filling in for Rivera and turned in a fantastic solo at the end of “Roseanna” and a clarinet solo at the end of “Africa.” Page (primarily a bass player) was able to also dive into one of his original songs on acoustic called “You Are Mine,” which garnered a positive response.
What everyone came for was seeing a living legend, Ringo Starr. The show lived up to every bit of hype it accumulated leading up to it. He made a few references of how he appreciated the fans braving the weather and even threw out some wristbands before “Honey Don’t.” Its shows like these that music fans appreciate; unpretentious and just a really fun show had by all the musicians who took part. And of course Ringo, who came on the stage with a smile on his face and left with an even bigger smile on his face. As a music fan, could you ask for anything more?
Setlist:
Matchbox (Carl Perkins cover)
It Don’t Come Easy
Wings
I Saw the Light (Todd Rundgren cover)
Evil Ways (Willie Bobo cover)
Rosanna (Toto cover)
Kyrie (Mr. Mister cover)
Bang the Drum All Day (Todd Rundgren cover)
Boys (The Shirelles cover)
Don’t Pass Me By (The Beatles cover)
Yellow Submarine (The Beatles cover)
Black Magic Woman / Gypsy Queen (Santana cover)
Honey Don’t (Carl Perkins cover)
Anthem
You Are Mine (Richard Page cover)
Africa (Toto cover)
Oye como va (Tito Puente cover)
Love Is the Answer (Utopia cover)
I Wanna Be Your Man (The Beatles cover)
Broken Wings (Mr. Mister cover)
Hold the Line (Toto cover)
Photograph
Act Naturally (Buck Owens cover)
With a Little Help from My Friends (The Beatles cover)
Give Peace a Chance (The Plastic Ono Band cover)
We would like to thank Elizabeth Freund from Beautiful Day Media for the credentials to review the show.
