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Story and Photos by Andy Argyrakis He first got his feet wet with Rory Storm and the Hurricanes, graduated to The Beatles and kept the solo flag flying long after The Fab Four's dissolution. But Ringo Starr is one of the few to strike gold in a group again, albeit an ever-shifting but closely related list of classic rock collaborators known as His All Starr Band.Believe it or not, that latest musical life is currently celebrating its 30thanniversary, filling the main part of the State Farm Center Theatre in Champaign on name recognition alone. Besides the beat keeper and sometimes singer, this line-up featured frequent faces Gregg Rolie (Santana and Journey, although he only focused on the former), Steve Lukather (Toto), Colin Hay (Men At Work) and Hamish Stuart (Average White Band, Paul McCartney), alongside famed sidemen Warren Ham and Gregg Bissonette. In keeping with the All Starr Band tradition, everyone had a chance to tackle their most popular tunes, starting with the master of ceremonies carrying Carl Perkins' "Matchbox," his own "It Don't Come Easy" and The Beatles' "What Goes On." Starr then took his seat behind the drums, accompanying Rolie through "Evil Ways," Lukather for "Rosanna," Stuart on "Pick Up The Pieces" and Hay towards the land "Down Under." And that was merely the first of three full rotations between players, which meant the mega-hits from the 1960s, Ô70s and Ô80s kept right on rolling, including a tease of "Day Tripper" to introduce the jolly "Yellow Submarine," AWB's "Cut The Cake," Santana's "Black Magic Woman" merged with "Gypsy Queen," Men At Work's "Overkill" and Toto's "Africa." All the while, the guys gelled like the genuine band they've become and appeared to be enjoying themselves at least as much as the all-ages audience. The more than two-hour show also made sure to spread a message, mainly Starr's platform of "peace and love" sprinkled throughout several additional standards from the psychedelic era and beyond. As for the All Starr Band formula, it could be easily summarized in the communal chorus of "I get by with a little help from my friends," who may be three decades into their discovery of one another's extensive catalogues, but are as enjoyable as the day the concept was conceived. Upcoming concert highlights at the State Farm Center include The Head And The Heart (Sept. 14); "We Will Rock You" (Sept. 18); Alessia Cara (Oct. 7); Miranda Lambert (Oct. 10); Jim Gaffigan (Oct. 17); Flo Rida (Oct. 19); Young The Giant (Oct. 24); "Jersey Boys" (Oct. 25) and MercyMe (Nov. 10). For additional details, visit www.statefarmcenter.com. |
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