Head Tale

Remember how, in the old days, you’d try to maximize your $14.99 (or $19.99 or more!) when buying a cassette or CD?

To do this, instead of blowing your cash on an album by a single artist that might only have 1-2 songs you like, you’d pick an album with a title like “Biggest Chart Toppers Ever!” or “MuchMusic Countdown 1991” with a bunch of hits by various artists.

We were fortunate that Ringo Starr & His All-Starr Band happened to be playing in Punta Cana while we were there last week and after seeing a once-in-a-lifetime concert with Paul McCartney a couple summers ago, this was a “twice-in-a-lifetime” chance for me to see the only other living Beatle.

For the past 25 years, Ringo has formed an ever-changing band out of the secondary players from popular bands of the past or front men from one- (or two) hit wonders.

I knew this wasn’t going to be a full-on Ringo concert going in but what I didn’t think about too much was that a Ringo Starr concert gets you the equivalent of that old Various Artists cassette tape…which is actually kind of cool.

To put it another way, I probably wouldn’t pay to see Toto or Mr. Mister but getting to see a crack band play those band’s biggest hits (plus songs by Todd Rundgren, Santana and of course, Mr. Starkey as well!) was an amazing experience, made all the better by the fabulous setting on an outdoor terrace at the Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.

I think there was only one song I didn’t recognize and when I got back to Canada and looked it up on YouTube (where a full Ringo concert with pretty much the setlist we saw is available), I realised that’s because it was an original one of the players wrote and Ringo allowed to play on the tour…

(Here’s the setlist for the entire concert we saw in Punta Cana.)