Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band Thrilled The Fabulous Fox Theatre Crowd Saturday

Ringo Starr and his All-Starr Band performing at The Fabulous Fox Theatre in Saint Louis Saturday. Photo by Sean Derrick/ Thyrd Eye Photography.

–by Randy Thompson

–photos by Sean Derrick/Thyrd Eye Photography

Rock music can be a lot of things. It can be serious, it can be sad, and it can be romantic. But there definitely is something to be said for Rock and Roll being fun. Ringo Starr is the epitome of a performer who embraces the joy and the energy that this music can give to an audience, and his performance Saturday night at The Fabulous Fox Theatre in Saint Louis drove that point home.

Over the years, Ringo Starr has used that innate ability in order to completely entertain his fans, while at the same time, gathering an ever-changing roster of rock legends on a stage, who share that same philosophy, giving us Ringo Starr and his All-Star Band which is an entity that has existed since 1989. For this go around, he has put together a group comprised of renowned performers who have made their mark in Rock and Roll history.

The concert took place in one of the most iconic music halls in the country.

The Fabulous Fox Theater in St Louis has a rich history of supporting high quality musical entertainment. The acoustics there are amazing, and there is not a bad seat in the house. The set itself was simple in design, while being both colorful and aesthetically pleasing. The performers were always the center of attention.

The 2023 All-Starr line-up includes performers from well-known bands such as Steve Lukather (Toto), Edgar Winter (Edgar Winter Group), Colin Hay (Men at Work), Hamish Stuart (Average White Band), Warren Ham (Kansas), Gregg Bissonette (David Lee Roth Band) and, of course that guy from that little group you may have heard of (The Beatles).

This is a well-seasoned collection of professionals who are comfortable working together as a musical family. They obviously enjoy the act of performing together. Each of these stars has a natural rapport with each other, and they all indicated that it is a privilege to work with Ringo Starr as the conductor of this crew. There is a strong spirit of humor and a relaxed camaraderie that emanates from the stage during the show. The audience recognizes the close and harmonious relationships between the members of the all-star band. They showed their love of each other and their fans by including us all in their jokes whether it was false starts to Beatles’ songs that they didn’t play, a threatened 20-minute jazz odyssey, or Edgar Winter’s unending alliterative announcements.

As they moved through the show, the band displayed a variety of genres that are representative of their musical backgrounds. Included in these styles of music that we heard tonight were classic rock n roll (“Johnny B. Goode”), traditional blues (“Matchbox”), southern rock (“Freeride”), funk (“Pick Up the Pieces”), and pop Rock (“Africa”).

All these classic hits that we know and love were played with a twist. They were each a little different from the hit we heard on the radio or the studio version. Some songs were played a little faster, some had a stronger drum beat while others had a stronger jazz or funk element, indicative of the unique blend of musicians on stage. As Ringo stated at the beginning of the concert, “You’ve heard this before, but you never heard us do it.”

As we wrote this article, we realized that this was the most joyous, fun-loving, and entertaining concert that we have seen in a long time. And it is obvious to us that this is what Ringo Starr and the band had in mind when they came to the stage. Their mission was to make everyone walk away from the theatre smiling, embracing the concept of peace and love, and maybe even flashing peace signs at each other on the way home.

Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band Setlist:

Matchbox (Carl Perkins cover)

It Don’t Come Easy (Ringo Starr song)

What Goes On (The Beatles song)

Free Ride (The Edgar Winter Group cover)

Rosanna (Toto cover)

Pick Up the Pieces (Average White Band cover)

Down Under (Men at Work cover)

Boys (The Shirelles cover)

I’m the Greatest (Ringo Starr song)

Yellow Submarine (The Beatles cover)

Cut the Cake (Average White Band cover)