Hi Steve,I read Mark's review regarding Ringo's L.A.. show Sat. night. I was there too. The other "mystery" musican, besides Mark Hudson, that joined them on stage at the end.... was Tommy Shaw of STYX. Here's a photo of him with John Waite and Billy Bob Thornton at LAUNCH website (photo is not from Ringo's show). At first I thought it was Tom Petty! lol!
I also want to point out that the merchandise stands were practically empty. Ringo's last tour, two yrs ago, had coffee mugs, drum sticks, and tons of stuff!...this time there were only t-shirts, key chains, baseball caps and a teddy bear which I think I bought the last one. At the end of the show, they were out of programs!
So last night was absolutely amazing for me! I met up before hand with a few members from Paul McCartney's message board and we had dinner at the Hard Rock Cafe. This was only my second concert ever (the first being Paul's in October!) I was once again amazed at the wide age ranges seen at the show, and I was probably in the younger half there (I'm 19). When I got there I stood in several lines for about a half hour trying to get my ticket upgraded but they didn’t have any seats left (yeah right!!)... It started at just about 8:15, and then finally, the moment we had waited for, Ringo came out!!!! They started to sing It Don’t Come Easy, and they sounded GREAT!! The sound inside was great (though at times the music did overpower the lyrics and it was a bit hard to hear the words!), and I loved every minute! There were only a few of us who brought signs, and he definitely mine (I had written "Ringo can I have a hug" just in case he was feeling generous... It didn't work, but I was still so happy he saw it! I loved the Ringo For Governor and the "You're 16 was #1 when I was 16" signs!! The audience closer to the stage seemed to be really into the show- standing and dancing for most of the time, while those far back, weren’t. I stood up and I didn’t care what people behind me though! His band is amazing!!! They sounded so good!! Sheila E really is an amazing drummer!! She broke many sets drumsticks… Highlights were Never Without You, Yellow Submarine (when EVERYBODY was standing up and I couldn’t see a thing!), and It Don’t Come Easy… Mark Hudson came on stage at the end to do With A Little Help From My Friends. There was another guest Starr at the end too, some blond guy that I didn't recognize. Oh and despite the “no cameras allowed” warning on the tickets, they were selling disposable cameras inside!!!! I was so mad I didn’t bring my good camera! I did bring in 2 of my own disposable cameras though!! I'm sure someone else will post the set list which was the same as the previous shows! Truely a wonderful night!
(9/8/03) From Mark Askren:
Hi Steve, I just got back from the concert in LA and I wanted to write this down before I forget. Ringo was absolutely fabulous tonight, and both he and the band performed superbly. The set list was essentially the same as the set list for the Saratoga, CA, show. I know that Colin Hay has received a lot of criticism for his guitar playing, but I felt he played wonderfully. In fact, his playing of "Never Without You" appeared to match Clapton's playing nearly note for note. Sheila E. was fantastic; I have never seen a drummer play with such enthusiasm. She broke two sets of drums sticks in addition to throwing some out to the crowd. Members of the audience threw a beach ball around as well as held out signs saying "Ringo for Governor." Mark Rivera really impressed me with his virtuosity, both on the saxophone and the other instruments that he played, and Paul Carrack was sensational on piano. We got an impromptu encore of "Who Can It Be Now?" with Ringo singing the refrain. "That's the only part I know," he said, to glowing applause. And during "A Little Help from My Friends," Mark Hudson and someone else that I sadly didn't recognize (forgive me) joined the stage. The only drawbacks to the show that I recall were relatively few. I don't think that the sound system always carried the voices as well as the instruments. This was particularly true for John Waite, whose lyrics sometimes seemed to be drowned out by the music. But John gave a strong performance anyway, especially on "Missing You." I also didn't see any evidence of the mysterious flyer that supposedly is circulating around for a live CD. That doesn't mean that it wasn't there; I just didn't see it. Here's the set list again: It Don't Come Easy (The band started playing before Ringo entered, but he got there on time.)
Honey Don't
Memphis in Your Mind
How Long (Paul)
Land Down Under (Colin)
Isn't It Time (John)
Love Bizarre (Sheila)
(extended drum solo)
Boys
Overkill (Colin)
Act Naturally
Yellow Submarine
Here Comes the Sun (all the band except Ringo)
Never Without You
Don't Pass Me By (Ringo on piano for the first verse)
The No-No Song
Tempted (Paul)
When I See You Smile (John)
Glamorous Life (Sheila)
(another extended drum solo)
I Wanna Be Your Man
The Living Years (Paul)
Missing You (John)
Who Can It Be Now? (Colin, with Ringo singing an impromptu encore after the song ended)
Photograph
Don't Go Where the Road Don't Go
A Little Help from My Friends (joined by Mark Hudson and others on stage)