I’ve seen loads of Willie shows, and this was up there in the better half. The couple extra songs from “Red Headed Stranger” were a treat. So were most of the newer songs. And so was Willie’s good mood. My favorite moment was when a Willie impersonator stood down in front of the stage (braids, cutoffs and all), and the real Willie swapped headbands with him.

Look for the full review at www.startribune.com/music. Here’s the rather bulky set list:

Whiskey Stream / Still Is Still Moving / Beer For My Horses / Funny How Time Slips Away / Crazy / Night Life / Down Yonder (Sister Bobby on piano) / Me & Paul / If You’ve Got the Money / Blue Eyes Crying in the Rain / Red Headed Stranger / Time of the Preacher / Good Hearted Woman (”Here’s one for Waylon,” Willie said) / Angel Flying Too Close to the Ground / On the Road Again / Always on My Mind / Will the Circle Be Unbroken / I’ll Fly Away / I Gotta Get Over You Again / Moment of Forever / Jambalaya / Hey Good Lookin’ / Move It On Over / Till I Gain Control Again / Bloody Mary Morning / I Saw the Light / I Ain’t Superman / You Don’t Think I’m Funny Anymore / A Peaceful Solution      ENCORE: Mountain Dew

Yes, it was a Beatle, which unto itself was a thrill for many people, especially the youngsters in the crowd. Yes, it was fun. Sort of the Cliff Notes version of Cadott or Moondance Jam — a sampling of classic-rock favorites and Beatles classics in two fast-paced hours.

But I had higher expectations musically, especially considering that all the band members save for Gary Wright had done an All Starr tour with Ringo Starr before. Maybe more rehearsal is needed. Or more jamming. Or something to become more of a band and less of a bunch of semi-famous hired guns. And some of these All Starrs could use a vocal tuneup. Edgar Winter was pitchy on “Free Ride” and “Dying to Live”,  Wright was rough on “Dream Weaver” (but much better on “Love Is Alive”) and Hamish Stuart is not a lead singer of All Starr caliber.

On the other hand, Colin Hay was in fine voice and spirits. And Billy Squier was a pleasant surprise. I knew he’d rock the house on “The Stroke” but he showed versatility on guitar all night long.

And Ringo? He was in good spirits, good humor and good voice (for Ringo). And he was very much in the moment even if he is a figure so associated with an indelible past.

Here is the set list:

1. Billy Shears (Ringo) 2. It Don’t Come Easy (Ringo) 3. What Goes On (Ringo) 4. Memphis in Your Mind (Ringo) 5. Lonely Is the Night (Squier) 6. Free Ride (Winter) 7. Down Under (Hay) 8. Dream Weaver (Wright) 9. Boys (Ringo) 10. Pick Up the Pieces (Stuart) 11. Liverpool 8 (Ringo) 12. Act Naturally (Ringo) 13. Yellow Submarine (Ringo) 14.  Dying To Live (Winter solo on piano) 15. A Song for You (Stuart solo on acoustic guitar) 16. Frankenstein (Winter) 17. Never Without You (Ringo) 18. Choose Love (Ringo) 19. The Stroke (Squier) 20. Work To Do (Stuart) 21. I Wanna Be Your Man (Ringo) 22. Love Is Alive (Wright) 23. Who Can It Be Now (Hay) 24. Photograph (Ringo) 25. With a Little Help from My Friends/Give Peace a Chance (Ringo)

What did you think of the show? Please post your comments here:

What was up with the sound guy? Why did he bury Knopfler’s voice in the mix for soooo long? As I stated in my review, exceptional band, great guitar shadings by Knopfler and a fair balance between Dire Straits and solo material. This show was on par with Knopfler’s 2005 Orpheum performance and much more satisfying than his collaboration with Emmylou Harris in ‘06 in the same building.

Here is the set list from Saturday:

1. Cannibals 2. Why Aye Man 3. What It Is 4. Sailing to Philadelphia 5. True Love Will Never Fade 6. The Fish and the Bird 7. Hill Farmer’s  Blues 8. Romeo & Juliet 9. Sultans of Swing 10. Song for Sonny Liston 11. Marbletown 12. Speedway at Nazareth 13. Telegraph Road  ENCORES 14. Brothers in Arms 15. So Far Away 16. instrumental (title???)

What did you think of the concert? Please post your comments here:

What a surprise! I had no great expectations. But it turned out to be a highly entertaining, crowd-thrilling, Wham-tastic show.

GeoMike’s dance moves have improved. Yes, he was a bit winded after some of the more uptempo numbers. He was in pretty good voice (he’s lost some range and his voice wasn’t assertive enough in the first set but it was after intermission). And he put together a wonderfully stylish light show and production.

He even one-upped his buddy Elton John, who features Pamela Anderson on video doing a pole dance in pasties during “Bitch Is Back” in his Vegas show, by using Dita Von Teese on video doing a stripper routine in pasties during “Fantasy”.

It’s easy to quarrel with the Whamster’s song selection because he did so many obscure — at least to American audiences — numbers and skipped some of his bigger hits.

Here’s what GeoMike played:

set one  1. Waiting (Reprise) (played offstage) 2. Fastlove 3. I’m Your Man 4. Father Figure 5. Hard Day 6. Everything She Wants 7. One More Try 8. Different Corner 9. Easier Affair 10. Too Funky 11. Star People

intermission

set two 1. Faith 2. Spinning the Wheel 3. Fantasy 4. Feeling Good 5. Roxanne (the Police) 6. Kissing a Fool 7. Amazing 8. Flawless 9. Outside (he was dressed as a cop) ENCORE 10. First Time Ever I Saw Your Face(the Roberta Flack hit) 11. Careless Whisper 3. Freedom 90

What songs did you want him to do that he didn’t? What did you think of the show?

Usually the only new wrinkles at a Steve Miller Band concert are in his face. But the 64-year-old blues-loving rocker has added a new band member this year — Sonny Charles, formerly of the Checkmates Ltd., and a new flying V guitar that he recently purchased in San Antonio. On Thursday at Target Center, Charles mostly danced while singing backup and also took the lead vocals on three exciting, fresh-sounding old blues/R&B numbers. The arrangements were creative (even on a Bo Diddley song) and Charles was entertaining and soulful. As for the rest of the Miller show, it was, in a word, crowd-pleasing.

The sound system wasn’t kind to Joe Cocker but he delivered nonetheless. One way to measure Cocker’s performance is to count how many times he jumps at the end of a tune. Four jumps for “With a Little Help from My Friends,’ two for “Cry Me a River” and “Unchain My Heart,” and one for “She Came in Through the Bathroom Window.”

Here are the set lists: 

Cocker

1. ?? 2. Feelin Alright 3. The Letter 4. When the Night Comes 5. Up Where We Belong 6. You Are So Beautiful 7. Summer in the City 8. Come Together 9. Hymn for My Soul 10. You Can Leave Your Hat On 11. Unchain My Heart 12. With A Little Help from My Friends 13. She Came in Through the Bathroom Window 14. Cry Me a River

Miller

1. Swingtown 2. Abracadabra 3. Serenade 4. The Stake 5. Shu Ba Da Du Ma Ma Ma Ma 6. Mercury Blues   7. Hey Bo Diddley (Sonny Charles lead) 8. Let the Good Times Roll (Sonny) 9. Ooh Poo Pa Doo (Sonny) 10. Fly Like an Eagle 11. Wild Mountain Honey 12. Winter Time 13. Dance Dance Dance 14. Rock N Me 15. The Joker 16. Jet Airliner ENCORE 17. Take the Money and Run 18. Space Cowboy 19. Jungle Love

What did you think of the concert? Please post your comments here;

It’s funny how DBT’s shows at First Ave are starting to seem repetitive, what with the whiskey bottle and the non-stop pace through 2-1/2 hours and Patterson always saying how happy he is to be there (and no doubt he is). However, when it comes to the set lists, they’re constantly changing them. Even the songs here that they’ve done lots of times before, like “18 Wheels of Love” and “Road Cases,” were newly rekindled with the stories Patterson told beforehand.

To be honest, when they started up “18 Wheels” I was thinking I’d heard it enough, but then he added the sort of “Part II” or epilogue to the story about Chester’s death (his 350 lb. stepdad), and it nearly brought me to tears, it was just damn beautiful. The cover of Jim Carroll’s “People Who Died” is an all-too fitting finale after “Let There Be Rock” and (now) “18 Wheels” and all the other songs about death in the DBT canon.

Here’s the list:

 Puttin’ People on the Moon  /  3 Dimes Down  /  That Man I Shot  /  Self-Destructive Zones  /  The Company I Keep  /  Ghost to Most  /  I’m Sorry Huston  /  Road Cases  /  72 (This Highway’s Mean)  /  Righteous Path  /  Love Like This  /  The Living Bubba  /  Zip City  /  Ronnie & Neil  /  Hell No, I Ain’t Happy  /  Gravity’s Gone 

ENCORE: Women Without Whiskey  /  18 Wheels of Love  /  Marry Me  /  Home Field Advantage  /  Let There Be Rock  /  People Who Died

Seriously, I’d love to get a bootleg of this show from any of the folks who had the recording towers. Please email me, chrisr@startribune.com, I might have some things worth trading.