02 June 2022 (gig)
05 June 2022
Former Beatle Ringo Starr had an extra special day this past Thursday. Starr was in Boston. Massachusetts to play a concert at the Wang Theater (with his longtime revolving door backing group of musicians, His All-Starr Band), but earlier in the day he was bestowed with an Honorary Doctorate degree from the prestigious Berklee College of Music. Since Starr was unable to attend this year's actual graduation exercises at Berklee, a special ceremony was organized to honor the Rock world's best-known drummer.
Several hours after receiving his honorary degree, Starr made his way to the Wang Theater in Boston, performing for a sold-out house on June 2, 2022.
Accompanying the honorary Dr. Starr this time out are recent longtime members Steve Lukathaer (Toto) and Gregg Bissonette (ex-David Lee Roth Band), alongside Colin Hay (Men At Work), Hamish Stuart (ex-Average White Band), and Edgar Winter.
Starr, who was still glowing from the academic festivities, lightheartedly referred to himself as a "doctor" during the show, which greatly delighted the Beatle-hungry crowd.
Opening with "Matchbox" (a cover of a Carl Perkins song, originally released on the "Beatles For Sale" album), Starr then wasted no time before unleashing his most successful solo single "It Don't Come Easy", before sharing the spotlight with his comrades.
Winter was up first with a slick version of "Free Ride" and Lukathaer followed with the massive 1982 Toto smash, "Roseanna".
Mixing in a dose of Funk to the set, Stuart led the band on a killer take of "Pick Up the Pieces" (pre-song, Lukathaer told a story about meeting the Average White Band at a restaurant as a young musician, and was quite proud to be playing with him after all these years), and Hay rolled out a wonderful version of "Down Under".
Starr then belted out a cover of The Shirelles' ditty "Boys". A personal favorite of Starr’s, he even played "Boys" during his induction into. the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame in 2015. After the sing-a-long friendly "Yellow Submarine", Starr exited the stage and the band continued for a pair of songs in his absence.
After Stuart revived another Average White Band hit, "Cut The Cake" (during which he executed a masterful bass solo), Winter tore off a near 20-minute jam of his instumental "Frankenstein". While Winter was impressive playing three separate instruments (keyboards, drums, and saxophone), it was Bissonette who stole the moment with an outstanding drum solo, where he included snippets of other songs as The Beatles' "The End", and gave a nod to Boston with a little sample of Aerosmith's "Walk This Way".
As Starr returned to the stage, he said that he was extremely reluctant to add the next song to his set, but that his band kept insisting that he did. He recanted and did a wonderful version of the "Abbey Road" pop-gem, "Octopuses Garden". Starr added that this was only the "fourth time" he had ever performed the song live.
The Top-10 1972 hit "Back off Boogaloo" (an alleged nod to "glam rock"), led into a rollicking "I Wanna Be Your Man". While the song (from the second Beatles' disc, "With The Beatles") was only the second time Starr got to sing lead on a Beatles song ("Boys" was his first recorded main vocal, on the Fab-Four's debut album, "Please Please Me"), it was his first crack at a John Lennon/Paul McCartney composition in the studio.
Lukathaer returned to the spotlight and the band added a Reggae feel to Toto's most enduring song, "Africa". Hay's high-pitched vocal range on the chorus added to the tanginess of the song, and he continued to impress with a guitar-heavier version of his old band's smash, "Who Can It Be Now"?
Winding down the show, Starr did a sweet version of his lovingly mournful hit "Photograph" (which Starr composed with George Harrison) and closed out the show with a glorious "With A Little Help from My Friends."
At the song's coda, Starr left the stage, but quickly returned and the band played a bit of the chorus to Lennon's "Give Peace a Chance". A great choice to end the show on a high note, while also giving a nod to his former partner in the Beatles.
