Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band played The Lyric in Baltimore, a stately, gorgeous 2500-seat theater built in 1894. Everything about the theater spoke to the high class and caliber of this historic venue - from the boxes adorning the sides of the lower level to the red velvet seats. This venue was perfect for this tour de force that Ringo has out on the road. The comfortable seats didn't get much use, however, as most of the crowd spent the night on their feet.

Ringo brought six veteran pros with him, including four members who are leaders of their own bands. Each of the "All-Starr" band members were truly just that, all-stars, with a ridiculous amount of hits and experience between them and stars in their own right. Steve Lukather (Toto), Edgar Winter (Edgar Winter Group), Colin Hay (Men at Work), and Hamish Stuart (Average White Band) completed the front line, with multi-instrumentalist Warren Ham and drummer Greg Bissonette playing on stage risers behind and aside Ringo's drum kit.

The capacity crowd early awaite Ringo and his band as they early clutched cell phones to capture the magic of the night. Ringo started the night with three straight songs on vocals, "Matchbox", "It Don't Come Easy," and "What Goes On", the latter of which he mentioned is the only song written by himself, John Lennon, and Paul McCartney. Ringo was in exceptionally high spirits and shared a story about how his appeals for his name to be first, having the song listed as Starr/Lennon/McCartney, was met with a sharp "bugger off" by his famous songwriting bandmates. This brings to mind how Ringo is completely affable. He treats his audience like they were old friends who came by to see him, which with a literal lifetime of listening to his music, we all felt like we were. He told numerous stories, straying from one side of the stage to the other, pointing to various people in the audience, engaging with them, asking them about their tee shirt, complimenting them on their blouses, and accepting a bouquet of sunflowers. It was so comfortable and relaxed, it was truly a communal experience. We all look back on footage or remember Ringo's days a Beatle, a "mop top" drummer, member of the fab four, global super-star, whose name and music is embedded in the world's social fabric. After all, there is indeed only one "Ringo" any of us know. For all the accolades and fame, here he was, as engaging, humble, and wonderful as anyone could hope to experience in a modest 2,564 capacity venue.

After the first three songs and joyfully bantering and interacting with the crowd, Ringo took a long stint on the drum kit. Although Ringo was the band leader and headliner everyone came to see, he shared the spotlight with his band mates as they all worked their way through stone-cold hits such as Edgar Winters' "Free Ride", Toto's "Rosanna", The Average White Band's "Pick Up The Pieces" and Men At Work's "Down Under". Ringo came back to the front of the stage for one of his biggest Beatles hits, "Yellow Submarine" before taking a couple song break off stage while the band absolutely crushed the Average White Band's "Cut The Cake" and Edgar Winters' classic "Frankenstein".

When Ringo came back on stage they launched right into one of his other Beatles' hits "Octopus's Garden" backed by "Back Off Boogaloo". Following that, where "Cut The Cake" and "Frankenstein" served as showcases for the considerable musicianship the members of the band still posses, Toto's "Africa" really showed off the vocal chops of all seven band members. It was honestly astonishing to hear that level of singing right in front of you.

This is a show you can't miss if you have the chance. We hope that Ringo, along with any and all of his All-Starrs, return to the DC / Baltimore region agan soon.