Ringo Starr has fun with his friends at an infectious Milwaukee concert

All that promotion of peace and love seems to be paying off in good karma for Ringo Starr.

The legendary drummer, who turned 83 in July, had a bounce in his step at the Miller High Life Theatre in Milwaukee Saturday. I mean that literally: from running on stage at the night's beginning and off stage at its end; to swaying to every song he sang from center stage; to busting out some jumping jacks near the end of grand finale "With a Little Help From My Friends."

"I can promise every one of you, you'll know at least two songs," Starr said during his introductory comments.

Yeah, he had dad jokes, too.

Naturally, the majority in the capacity crowd — spanning from OG Beatles fans to some teens and young kids — knew most of the 25 songs performed across the two-hour-and-15-minute set. True to the tradition of Starr's shows with his All-Starr Band, an ever-changing supergroup established in 1989, the concert touched on several songs mostly related to the evening's players, including Colin Hay of Men at Work and Steve Lukather from Toto, with lead vocals swapping constantly.

But Starr was behind the mic most, for 13 songs, and he was only off stage for two of them — for a juice break, he suggested. He tried not to sing out of key and, for the most part, he succeeded, even if his voice was barely above karaoke bar quality.

But the best, and most important, part about a good night of karaoke is having fun.

Starr certainly did Saturday, frequently flashing peace signs for Starr-centered Beatles gems including "Yellow Submarine," "What Goes On," and "Octopus's Garden"; and Starr originals "It Don't Come Easy," the John Lennon-written "I'm The Greatest," and George Harrison collaboration "Photograph."

And sure, Starr's drumming wasn't terribly flashy — he's been in victory-lap mode with the All-Starr Band for ages now, with little left to prove. Drummer Gregg Bissonette's beats frequently locked in with Starr's Saturday. But it was again a pleasure watching Starr having fun behind the kit, especially for bouncy rock gems that influenced him, like Chuck Berry's "Johnny B. Goode" and the Shirelles' "Boys," with Starr singing the latter as he played.

For "Johnny B. Goode," lead vocals were in the care of the All-Starr Band's most impactful addition since the band's last Milwaukee gig in 2018: Edgar Winter, back in the fold this year for the first time since 2011. It was a blustery performance that he dedicated to his talented late brother Johnny; Edgar did him proud running around the stage and whipping out a sax solo.

Along with several other spotlight-seizing moments Saturday — saloon-piano sizzle on Carl Perkins' "Matchbox" (which the Beatles covered with Ringo on vocals), groovy organ for the Isley Brothers' "Work to Do" — Winter took the reins for his own "Free Ride" and "Frankenstein."

The latter nearly didn't happen, due to technical difficulties with Winter's keyboards that spanned over six minutes. Winter and even the roadie were so frazzled by the end that he strapped on a backup keyboard upside down.

But, wow, was it worth the wait: a 15-minute opus that saw Winter dazzle not just on keys, but sax and drums, too, including a drumming duel with Bissonette that became the latter's biggest show-stopping moment, transforming into a flurry of famous drum breaks from classics like the Beatles' "Come Together" and Rolling Stones' "Honky Tonk Women," with Lukather matching him on guitar.

The only other new addition to the All-Starr Band since the last Milwaukee stop was Hamish Stuart, who led the group through Average White Band's "Pick Up the Pieces" and "Cut the Cake." Funky fun that they were, Stuart's commanding moments were downright subtle compared to Lukather, who's basically become the All-Starr Band's second in command since joining in 2012.

Lukather preceded "With a Little Help From My Friends" with a flash of Led Zeppelin's "Whole Lotta Love," and brought a gnarly solo to Starr's other Harrison collaboration of the night, "Back Off Boogaloo."

But he reserved his biggest showboating for Toto songs "Africa," "Hold the Line" and "Rosanna." An especially indulgent blues guitar solo for "Rosanna" was supplemented by Warren Ham hamming it up with some vocals and dropping some sax and harmonica solos before the song's end. Ham also busted out the clarinet for "Africa" and the flute for one of Hay's shining moments, "Down Under" — one of three Men at Work songs Saturday that included "Who Can It Be Now?" and "Overkill."

"All these songs are from a while ago, but here we are still playing them, and that's a good thing," Hay said at one point.

And it felt especially good watching a Beatle having fun playing them.

5 takeaways from Ringo Starr's Milwaukee concert

• Even with all the peace and love talk Saturday, Starr (and Lukather) still got a little cheeky. At one point when Winter was giving a speech about rock's impression on young people, Starr mimicked playing a violin with his drumsticks. He also at one point invited Lukather to pick a song to play next — but after Lukather strummed the immortal guitar lines for the Beatles' "Day Tripper," Starr cut him off. And Lukather had his own playful fake-out when introducing "a 20-minute jazz odyssey" (with the band, Starr included, getting in on the act with some avant-garde jamming), before they all performed “Africa."

• Before Starr sang a cover of Johnny Russell's "Act Naturally," a fan in the front row gave him a white cowboy hat. He wore it for the full song. But before that, Starr busted out a terrible Texan accent to say "Howdy, how y'all doing tonight?" while the band busted out some notes from Roy Rogers and Dale Evans' "Happy Trails" as he did a slow strut across the stage.

• Along with plenty of people wearing Beatles shirts, one family (including a couple of kids) dressed up as Sgt. Pepper's Lonely Hearts Club Band, with mom sporting a fake mustache with her costume.

• The last time Starr was in town, the band started the show at 8 p.m. sharp. This time out, with huge (but fast-moving) lines down the street from the theater entrance, Starr and company delayed their start to accommodate the crowds, taking the stage at 8:14 p.m.

• Starr probably has heard every kind of accolade imaginable, so you've got to hand it to Winter for the creative and ridiculous euphemisms he spouted Saturday. "Not only is he the greatest drummer in the greatest band that's ever been, he is the passionate planet-wide purveyor of peace and love. … The revelational, the revolutionary, the radiantly shining and ever-rocking Sir Ringo Starr," Winter proclaimed. He also called Starr "dashing, daring, dynamic."

Ringo Starr and His All-Starr Band Miller High Life Theatre setlist in Milwaukee

1. "Matchbox"

2. "It Don't Come Easy"

3. "What Goes On"

4. "Free Ride"

5. "Rosanna"

6. "Pick Up the Pieces"

7. "Down Under"

8. "Boys"

9. "I'm the Greatest"

10. "Yellow Submarine"

11. "Cut the Cake"

12. "Frankenstein"

13. "Octopus's Garden"

14. "Back Off Boogaloo"

15. "Overkill"

16. "Africa"

17. "Work to Do"

18. "I Wanna Be Your Man"

19. "Johnny B. Goode"

20. "Who Can It Be Now?"

21. "Hold the Line"

22. "Photograph"

23. "Act Naturally"

24. "With a Little Help From My Friends" / "Give Peace a Chance"

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Contact Piet at (414) 223-5162 or [email protected]. Follow him on X at @pietlevy or Facebook at facebook.com/PietLevyMJS.

This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Ringo Starr has fun with his friends at infectious Milwaukee concert