Everybody was in a party mood at Humphreys for the ex-Beatle’s recent show.
At the show, Ringo Starr performed his hits, including solo songs like “It Don’t Come Easy,” and Beatles classics such as “Don’t Pass Me By” and “With A Little Help From My Friends.”
Starr also played numerous non-Ringo numbers — like Toto’s “Africa,” Mr. Mister’s “Broken Wings,” and Todd Rundgren’s “I Saw The Light.” This likely confused some fans in attendance — myself included — until we realized just who was in his All-Starr Band: Toto guitarist Steve Lukather, Mr. Mister singer Richard Page, and Rundgren himself, among others.
Starr, known as “the funny one” when he was with the Beatles, made good use of his humor during the show. To the people who pulled to Humphreys in their boats, he remarked, “We have the stiffs over there, too cheap to buy a ticket.” To introduce his song “Wings,” Ringo said, “I put out an album in 2012.” When a few audience members clapped, he joked, “Yeah, thank you to you two for buying it.”
In addition to performing their own hit songs, each of Ringo’s band mates got a chance to be center of attention. To introduce his song “I Saw The Light,” Rundgren said, “What a joy it is to be here tonight…a near orgasm. Each one of these guys has become a dear bosom buddy, meaning we can touch each other’s bosoms.” Throughout the night, Rundgren also conspicuously danced, slashed his guitar, and did high kicks.
Toto’s Steve Lukather also had fun onstage, at one point introducing Mr. Mister singer Richard Page as a Bruce Jenner lookalike. And when Page took to the mic, he said “How’s everybody doing? I used to live in San Diego in the early 70s when I was a young fetus.”
Fetuses they are not, anymore. Ringo, at 74, is the second-oldest Beatle after John Lennon — but Starr and his band definitely still rock. They also can still make a point: the band closed with a poignant cover of John Lennon’s “Give Peace a Chance.”
Needless to say, attendees will be marking their calendars for Ringo’s 2015 Humphreys gig.
Photos: Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band at Humphreys