Ringo Starr en Argentina (Noviembre 7-8, 2011)

Ringo All-Starr Band

Luna Park Stadium

(Buenos Aires, Argentina)

November 7th, 2011

November 8th, 2011

By Marcelo Olguín

“Ole Ole Ole Oleee, Ringoo… Ringoo!!!” was the constant wild screaming from the Argentine fans who sold out twice the Luna Park, an 8,000-seat traditional venue in Buenos Aires.

Argentina is a particularly loyal “Beatle country” and, having received Paul last year playing two packed football stadiums; it wasn’t a surprise that the tickets for these shows sold out quickly several months before the event took place.

     

Sharp at 9.00pm the band came into the stage and introduced an incredibly slim and active Ringo for a triumphant opening of the 2-hour show with “It Don’t Come Easy” (a song that emotionally led me directly to the “Concert for Bangladesh” movie which was an instant hit in Argentina back in the early 70s).

This version of the All-Starr Band may have lacked of the so-called big stars from the past (Greg Lake, Jack Bruce, Peter Frampton, John Entwistle, to name a few) but his members (all of whom repeatedly revered Ringo and thanked him for letting them being there) clearly managed to shape a really compact band of musicians (joined in the South American leg of the tour by the multi-instrumentalist Mark Rivera).

A brilliant rendition of Carl Perkins’ “Honey Don't” was followed by the recent “Choose Love” (“something I do more and more every day” according to Ringo’s introduction).

Then it was the beginning of a (maybe too long) sequence of the All-Stars songs with “Hang On Sloopy” by former McCoys’ frontman Rick Derringer (whose guitar playing is still remarkable), “Free Ride” by the incredible (and energetic) Edgar Winter and “Talking in Your Sleep” by what facial surgery left of Wally Palmar.

One of the peak moments of the night was “I Wanna Be Your Man” dedicated by Ringo to “all the ladies in the audience and maybe some men” and followed by “Dream Weaver” by Gary Wright (who got a huge applause from the crowd when, in a rather good Spanish, mentioned the connection with a certain guy named George Harrison) and a wonderful version of the 80s Mr.Mister hit “Kyrie” sung by a low-profile talented artist like Richard Page.

Then Ringo left the drums and took the lead mic for “The Other Side Of Liverpool” and “Yellow Submarine” (“If you don’t like this song you’re in the wrong venue” said the most famous drummer in the world) which got a standing ovation from the crowd.

More versions of older hits from the members of the band were mixed with “Back Off Boogaloo” and “Boys” (“a song by the group I used to play with… Rory & The Hurricanes who liked it… and the other band liked it too” joked Ringo) which generated another heat moment of the night with the whole stadium cheering and singing at the top of its range.

Needless to say, the party was complete with the last three numbers “Photograph”, “Act Naturally” and a stunning performance of “With a Little Help from My Friends” which was linked by the (false) encore “Give Peace a Chance”, a pleasant surprise.

In sum, the show was great. In fact it was a real celebration for an audience which was full of entire families. Thinking about it, thanks to Paul and Ringo now at least we can join together in some other occasions rather than Christmas, birthday parties and funerals…

Setlist

It Don't Come Easy (Ringo)

Honey Don't (Ringo)

Choose Love (Ringo)

Hang On Sloopy (Rick Derringer)

Free Ride (Edgar Winter)

Talking in Your Sleep (Wally Palmar)

I Wanna Be Your Man (Ringo)

Dream Weaver (Gary Wright)

Kyrie (Richard Page)

The Other Side Of Liverpool (Ringo)

Yellow Submarine (Ringo)

Frankenstein (Edgar Winter)

Back Off Boogaloo (Ringo)

What I Like About You (Wally Palmar)

Rock and Roll, Hoochie Koo (Rick Derringer)

Boys (Ringo)

Love Is Alive (Gary Wright)

Broken Wings (Richard Page)

Photograph (Ringo)

Act Naturally (Ringo)

With a Little Help from My Friends/Give Peace a Chance (Ringo)