You know you've got serious clout when you can waltz into Houston, Texas sporting a giant peace sign belt buckle, wow a crowd with a peace, love, and good times infused musical set, including its own built-in #peacerocks hashtag and not get run out of town by an angry conceal and carry mob.
Of course, it helps if you happen to be Ringo Starr, a living part of rock and roll history and former member of that "other" band. No, not Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, as Ringo joked to the Cynthia Woods Pavilion audience on Friday night, that other, other band; the long-haired (for the time) four-piece band that changed the face of rock and roll, popular music, and pop culture in general.
Ringo isn't really on tour to make money and promote a new record. He’s more concerned with just being Ringo and sharing music and his life-long philosophy of peace and love. You've got to admire this, especially from someone who could be tuned out and relaxing on his own personal island, counting his money for the rest of his days without a care in the world.
Ringo isn't on this quest alone. He brought a group of friends along who've written their own pages of rock and roll history. Ringo Starr’s All Star Band is a revolving line-up of legendary musicians who've joined him on tour to help spread the word of peace, love, and the simple joy of music. The 2014 line-up of the All Starr Band includes Steve Lukather from Toto, Gregg Rolie, one of the founding members of Santana and Journey, legendary musician, songwriter, record producer, and recording engineer Todd Rundgren, founder and lead singer of Mr. Mister, Richard Page, Warren Ham from the bands Bloodrock and AD, and Gregg Bissonette, who among others has played with David Lee Roth.
It would be easy and lazy to dismiss Ringo and his All Starr Band’s tour as an attempt to milk past success; that is, if you’re a cynic, a music snob or God forbid, both. This would be the minute segment of the population Ringo referred to at Cynthia Woods Pavilion on Friday night, when he asked the audience to sing along to the next tune, but not before adding, "If you don’t know the words to this song, you’re in the wrong place." Certainly, there was not a soul in attendance who didn't know what song was coming next as Ringo and his All Starr Band launched into a cathartic and jubilant sing-along of "Yellow Submarine" with the Houston audience. Sure there’s going to be inevitable nostalgia involved with anyone with the history of Ringo Starr and the members of his All Starr Band, but not just for the songs of the past. There is also nostalgia for how music can be about more than pop charts, who is trending on social media or who’s handling their new found fame in the most unabashedly arrogant way. The "Yellow Submarine" sing-along was a reminder that it’s about how the common thread of music and the spirit of the songs can dominate the moment, resonate over time, and bring people together who ordinarily wouldn't agree on any given topic or even intentionally interact on a daily basis. This point was validated throughout the night as the multigenerational crowd, sang and danced along to a wide spectrum of tunes that had become a part of their lives.
There were cover songs and plenty of Beatles tunes (the aforementioned "Yellow Submarine," "Don’t Pass Me By," "I Wanna be Your Man," and Ringo solo material ("It Don’t Come Easy," "Wings," "Anthem," "Photograph") to please the crowd. Even though the tour is billed as Ringo Starr’s All Starr Band, Ringo is secure enough and gracious enough to take a back seat and share the spotlight with the rest of the members of the band, allowing them to take center stage and treat the audience to the music they've created over the years.
The All Starr Band lived up to the moment, sharing the common thread of timeless music with the Houston audience. If you came of age and experienced your musical awareness in the shadow of Woodstock, then the All Starr Band played the music that was the score of your youth (“Evil Ways," "Black Magic Woman," Oye como va") courtesy of Gregg Rolie. If your musical awakening occurred during the relevant years of MTV, then the All Starr Band took you on a trip to "Africa," reintroduced you to "Rosanna" and showed they could still "Hold the Line" courtesy of Steve Lukather. Richard Page reacquainted you with "Kyrie" and taught you to fly again with "Broken Wings." If you found your musical identity during the erratic ‘70s or early ‘80s, then the All Starr Band, with Todd Rundgren’s lead, reassured you that "Love is the Answer," they "Saw the Light," and you don’t have to take life too seriously when, as Ringo could attest, you can just "Bang the Drum All Day."
Ringo and the All Starr Band ended the night with a crowd pleasing medley of two communal favorites "With a Little Help from My Friends" and "Give Peace a Chance." Ringo closed the show with a final reminder to everyone that love and peace were all that really mattered. As the crowd dispersed, you could only hope that those closing remarks carried the same resonance and appeal of the music Ringo and his All Starr Band had spent the evening and the last few decades performing for their fans. Maybe that’s just wishful thinking, but then again, it’s Ringo, and he’s got some serious clout.
For more information about Ringo Starr and his All Star Band, visit his website.