Ringo at Harborlights: All-Starrs Forever

Old rockers never die -- they just go on tour with Ringo Starr, whose "All-Starr Band" has become a traveling country club for one-time hitmakers. Over the years the cast has included a motley mix of certified legends (John Entwistle, Dr. John, and, this year, former Cream bassist Jack Bruce); certified cult figures (Todd Rundgren, Dave Edmunds, and, this year, Procol Harum singer/keyboardist Gary Brooker), and certified has-beens (Randy Bachman, Mark Farner, and, this year, Peter Frampton). Ordinarily you'd wonder what these people are even doing on the same stage. But classic rock radio is a great leveler -- and, one assumes, so is the need for a paying gig.

That doesn't mean that Ringo's tours aren't a lot of fun, as long as you accept the ground rules. Don't expect to hear any songs that the most casual rock fans won't recognize, and don't expect the players to get too ambitious. This is the classic-hits world, where "just like the record" is the ultimate compliment (for the record, Bad Company's 1974 hit "Shooting Star" was the newest song played all night). But you can get a modest kick from seeing the faces on stage, hearing whatever hits you're not burned out on (Cream's "I Feel Free" was a treat), and finding out whether Frampton can really handle the solo on "Sunshine of Your Love" (he can) and whether Bad Company drummer Simon Kirke can really sing (he can't). Besides, everybody likes Ringo, and you gotta see him lead a sing-along of "Yellow Submarine" and comically roll his eyes over the Beatles reference in the lyric of "Shooting Star."

Personally I was glad to see at Harborlights last Thursday that Gary Brooker got the gig, since he got to sing Procol's majestic "Salty Dog" one more time. Jack Bruce didn't exactly exert himself; he's been working with Bill Laswell's experimental crew in recent years, so handling the bass part on "The No-No Song" couldn't have been too great a challenge. He did take a long solo (good), but it was during a 20-minute version of Frampton's "Do You Feel like We Do" (bad). Frampton actually worked the hardest, but he had the most to live down -- my list of acceptable guilty pleasures stops well short of "Baby I Love Your Way." And sporting wire-rim glasses, a bad flannel shirt, and almost no hair whatsoever, he sure didn't look like the teen idol of old.

One can only wonder how many years it will be before the ex-Beatle finally tours with an "All-Grunge Band." Depending on how their careers go in the next decade, you might imagine a Ringo tour circa 2005 with Ben Shepherd on drums, Krist Novoselic on bass, Mike McCready on second guitar, Courtney Love and Ani DiFranco sharing back-up vocals. And on lead guitar would be Peter Frampton -- because he'd still need the gig, and he already has the flannel shirt.

-- Brett Milano