Ringo rocks Pala

All Starr Band justifies Ringo's current direction

Some people believe that the Beatles broke up because of disagreements between band members John Lennon and Paul McCartney. Others blame their wives, Yoko Ono and Linda McCartney, for the band's dissolution. Another theory is that the suit-and-tie moptops of the early 1960s who successfully transitioned to psychedelic hippies in the late 1960s foresaw the trend towards solo acts in the early 1970s epitomized by Elton John and David Bowie and also including Todd Rundgren.

Lennon, McCartney, George Harrison, and Ringo Starr all had success as solo artists. Starr, who is now 74 and one of two surviving Beatles, currently records and tours with Ringo Starr and His All Starr Band. Their March 14 concert at Pala Casino's Event Center indicates that Ringo Starr has made the right choice in his current musical direction.

Starr is the second former Beatle to be involved in a band with others who made names for themselves in previous musical acts; George Harrison was with the Traveling Wilburys who dissolved after member Roy Orbison's fatal heart attack less than a year after the band was formed. Ringo Starr and His All Starr Band also includes Rundgren, former Santana and Journey keyboard player and singer Gregg Rolie, former Toto singer and guitarist Steve Lukather, former Mr. Mister lead singer and bassist Richard Page, saxophone player Warren Ham, and drummer Gregg Bissonette.

"Everybody on stage is a star in their own right," Starr said.

Ringo Starr and His All Starr Band performed 24 songs, not including an ending snippet, during their two hours on stage at Pala Casino, which was one of only three California shows during their tour of the United States and Latin America which began Feb. 13. One of the Ringo Starr solo songs performed was "It Don't Come Easy," but the agglomeration of skilled musicians gave the audience the impression that it wasn't difficult for the All Starr Band to perform with each other as a group.

"We've all become such great friends," Rolie said after the other band members accompanied him in the Santana song "Evil Ways."

As the former Beatles drummer, Starr was probably the best-known name among the band members. The concert gave the audience an opportunity to hear a musical legend – and to hear other notable rock musicians. The fact that Starr shared lead vocals duty with other members of the band – while joining Bissonette on another drum set during those songs - by no means disappointed the audience.

Anybody who was fortunate enough to have seen the Beatles themselves in concert – and judging by the age of many of the Pala concertgoers very few of them were old enough to have seen the Beatles in person – would have seen Lennon and McCartney sing most of the songs with Starr playing drums during those melodies and singing lead vocals for a handful of songs.

What the Ringo Starr and His All Starr Band format did for the audience was allow them to hear Starr sing a few songs, both some Beatles tunes in which he was the lead vocalist and some of his solo numbers, while also allowing the audience to hear Rundgren, Rolie, Lukather, and Page both on lead vocals and on their other instruments. The audience heard several great musicians, not just one.

In the pre-Beatles days, most bands covered a song written and recorded by other musicians, and even the Beatles themselves covered a handful of others' songs (including "Boys" and "Act Naturally," both of which Starr sang March 14); the All Star Band setup allowed the lead vocals of well-known Rundgren, Santana, Toto, and Mr. Mister songs to be sung by their original musicians.

The band lineup enhanced the audience's experience; they still were able to see and hear Starr on the drums while also enjoying the other artists. The format deprived the audience of some Starr solo songs such as "The No No Song" and "You're Sixteen," but few lasting musical acts are able to perform all of their hit songs at a single concert and the addition of the other musicians' songs was a worthwhile exchange.

If the breakup of the Beatles was in fact due to capitalizing on the evolving format of music acts, the Pala concert of Ringo Starr and His All Starr Band justified the four individual Beatles undertaking the subsequent phases of their musical careers.