Ringo!

You can argue all you wish. John was better, Paul was better, George was the real genius. But you cannot argue that anybody hates Ringo. Ringo Starr and his All Starr Band swept into town last night and played two hours of hits, hits and more hits.

Jesus, this concert was fun. Fun Fun Fun. Backed by Todd Rundgren, guitarist Steve Lukather of Toto, keyboards man Gregg Rolie of Santana, bassist Richard Page of Mister Mister,drummer Gregg Bisonnette and multi talented Warren Ham on drums, sax, and keyboards, Ringo was just being Ringo. He bobbed his head while drumming, he hopped from foot to foot while singing, he told lousy jokes, he bantered with the crowd. Dammit I was like a teenager again. I saw Ringo!

The fun part of this concert, however, was the backup band. I never realized a lot of stuff. Toto was not a bad band. I always thought I hated them, but after hearing their songs again with Steve Lukather doing the heavy lifting, I found myself singing along to Rosanna, Hold the Line and the song I really thought I hated, Africa. Nope, loved it. Downloaded it.

Todd Rundgren, like Ringo, is just plain goofy. He Saw the Light, he Banged on the Drum All Day and told us Love is the Answer. All the while he looked like he was having fun.

Richard Page ,of a band I do not care for, Mister Mister played his group's two hits. Broken Wings and Kyrie. And a new song, You're Mine, which I actually liked.

And Gregg Rolie, the lead singer on classic Santana songs of the 70's (and he was at Woodstock, I am not worthy) did Oye Como Va, Black Magic Woman and a kick ass version of Evil Ways. He sounded at age 67 like he was 27. Perfect. Makes me want to see Santana again, or at least watch Soul Sacrifice at Woodstock for the 1000th time.

And Ringo. He sang Yellow Submarine and he sang With a Little Help From My Friends. And a bunch of other stuff like Photograph, Act Naturally, and any other song he sang as a member of the Beatles.

I've seen Paul sing A Day in the Life and now I've seen Ringo sing With A Little Help From My Friends.

And with the tragedy of John Lennon and the early passing of George, I guess that's the best it's going to get. And I'm fine with that.