It took 12 years, but the Beatle was finally back in Niagara Falls Sunday night. Playing to a sold-out crowd of 5,000 people, Ringo Starr brought his All-Starr Band to the OLG Stage at Fallsview Casino for another stirring night of nostalgia, humour and some pretty solid rock and roll. Starr had previously launched three All-Starr Band tours at Fallsview’s Avalon Theatre in 2008, 2010 and 2012 and this was his first visit since, playing the new OLG Stage for the first time.
For local Beatles fans, it had been far too long. They came out in force, sporting their shirts and jackets and singing every Fab Four tune word-for-word with him. In just two years, the OLG Stage has already seen some legendary names – Billy Joel, Rod Stewart, John Fogerty, etc.
But when there’s a Beatle in the house, it’s another level. You could feel the charge in the air when Starr sat behind the drum kit for the first time on the third song. He was playing along to Toto’s “Rosanna,” but once he started with that familiar lilt of the head, it sent chills.
There’s just something about seeing the drummer for the greatest band in history, doing the things you’ve seen in all those black and white clips. Seasoned fans know the drill with these shows – in addition to his solo stuff and a handful of Beatles songs, Starr plays along with hits from his guests. In this case, they were all players who were part of previous Niagara Falls shows – Steve Lukather from Toto, Colin Hay from Men at.