Seeing Ringo on home turf -- Sara's concert review

 

There is just something special about seeing a Beatle in your town.   Something special about hearing him say the name of your town on the stage.    It just is a neat experience and was something I got to do this past Friday night when Ringo Starr and His All Starr Band came to St. Louis, Missouri and performed at the Fox Theater.   

The last time Ringo Starr came to St. Louis was in the summer of 2001.   He had played at the Fox Theatre that time as well and I did not go to that concert.   I had seen him the summer before, at Riverport Amphitheater from the 4th row.    I was in a tough place financially in 2001 and thought I could skip the concert that year and make it the next time he was in town.   I had no clue that it was take him 13 years to return to St. Louis!    

Before I knew that he was coming to St. Louis, I had already bought VIP  tickets for the show in Mississippi in July.   This concert was the same band and the exact same set list as the show I had seen in Mississippi.   My feelings towards the band members and the song list did not change at all.  So I will not get a whole lot into the songs this time.  But here was my experience.

My mom and I got down to the Fox Theater in St. Louis and walked past the City Diner, which is next to the Fox.  Who do we see?  None other than our Beatle friend, Lanea Staggs and her daughter and niece.   We squeezed past the crowd at the door and got into the booth with them and had a meal.  If you are in St. Louis, I would recommend this restaurant because it is a fun place.  It is decorated in 50's and 60's kitchen decor, with lava lamps on the tables.  They were playing Beatles music while we ate.   It was a fun way to get even more excited about seeing Ringo!

The Fox is a beautiful theater.   I have seen tons of Broadway plays there, but very few concerts.  There was a table of Ringo merchandise for sale and only one guy running the table.   It was packed!  There were tons of people with credit cards and they were having issues.   Word of wisdom:  if you go to a concert and plan on buying merchandise, always bring cash.  It is much easier for everyone.   There is a funny story about me throwing money at the guy and running up the stairs, trying not to push any old people with canes as I went to my seat.  

My mom decided to see if the Fox had free wifi, and she found Ringo's wifi listed!   This got us so excited!  We tried to guess his password without any luck.   Haha!

 

This time we did not sit on the floor, instead we sat in the Mezzanine, which was cheaper and we had a better view of Ringo playing the drums.   I have no problem with the location of the seats, but gosh the people around me were boring!    No one stood up the entire show.   No one!    I wanted to dance, but I couldn't because people were behind me.   Seriously!?!     But we did have an amazing shot of Ringo playing the drums (unlike in the 2nd row).

Ringo sings "Boys"  photo by Sara Schmidt

Ringo was so entertaining!   He kept laughing and joking around.  He seemed to really be in a good mood Friday night.   The thing I really like about Ringo's performance is that you can tell that he doing it because he wants to.  He is having fun.     He isn't trying to impress critics or anything like that, he is just playing because he loves to play.    I feel like that comes across in his concert and I appreciate it. 

By the time Ringo got to "Yellow Submarine" I started to feel a bit emotional.   Here was Ringo performing a song that was written by Lennon-McCartney and I am singing it along with him.   I just hit me that we don't know how much longer Ringo will be performing.   And while I hope it is for a long time to come, it won't last forever.   And I realized that there will be a time when I will cherish the moment of singing "Yellow Submarine" with Ringo in the town where I live.   I know it is silly,  but I think about that sort of thing....just how special it was for me to be there at that moment.

I about died when Todd asked if Beatle Bob was in the audience!  Beatle Bob!   He is at every single concert in St. Louis (and elsewhere because he was in Arkansas as well) and he dances this crazy dance for every. single. song.    And there they were talking about him on the stage!   

Todd and Ringo   Photo by Sara Schmidt

Ringo and the band talked several times about how they singed "the wall" backstage and how Ringo knew that he had played there before because he found his name on "the wall."    I have never been backstage at the Fox Theater, but my mom tells me that you can take a tour of the place and go backstage and see "the Wall."  It might be worth it to see what Ringo and the rest of the band wrote!  

I have to say again, like I did in about the Mississippi show, that Richard Page (from Mister Mister) is a great singer!   I can't believe how he sounds just like the guy I would hear on the radio in the 1980's.  His voice hasn't changed at all.   

Richard and Ringo.  Photo by Sara Schmidt

I really want to encourage everyone to see Ringo in concert.   I have read that Ringo's ticket sales have really gone up this summer.   That is great news!   I have heard that a lot of people, however, are skipping Ringo's concert because Ringo's show isn't as good as Paul's and because Ringo doesn't change his set list.    Paul and Ringo both put on great shows, but they are vastly different.   Ringo isn't Paul and Ringo's ticket prices show it.   But come on, guys, Ringo is so good!   You really need to see him and appreciate the greatest drummer in rock n roll.

Peace and Love!

Peace and Love Ringo!   Photo by Sara Schmidt

*All photos (except for the one of Richard and Ringo by the Wall) were taken by me, Sara Schmidt.  Please ASK ME before you post any of my photos on your facebook or blog.   I will say yes, but I just like to know it before I see my photo just out there.   Thanks for understanding!