A famous artist from Liverpool is showing his latest work on the Strip beginning this week.
Colourful cultural icon Ringo Starr’s pieces are on display and for sale during “Starr Art” at Animazing Gallery at The Venetian from Friday through Oct. 15. Ringo is also canvassing (boom!) The Venetian Theatre with his All-Starr Band from Sept. 17-27.
The exhibit marks the first time Starr will present original paintings alongside limited-edition and signed works. All sales benefit the Lotus Foundation. Starr’s charity supports charitable organizations for several causes, among them substance abuse, cerebral palsy, brain tumors, cancer, battered women and their children, homelessness and animals in need.
Starr, who turned 85 on July 7, started painting with acrylics and oils for many years before advancing to creating on computer in the late ’90s. His first exhibition of paintings, “My Faces,” was 20 years ago. He has since dabbled in various mediums and techniques, especially spin art, where paint is dripped onto a paper or canvas surface, then spun on a rotating platform.
“I loved spin art the first me I saw it,” Starr said in a statement. “I saw a video of some kids doing it and I thought, ‘I’m going to try that.’ I started with a small canvas and now I’m working on huge ones. It’s always a surprise what you end up with, and of course I love that part of it.”
Starr’s dates at The Venetian are Sept. 17, 19, 20, 24, 26 and 27. The All Starr Band lineup remains the same since Ringo’s most recent appearance in May-June 2024: Steve Lukather, Colin Hay, Warren Ham, Hamish Stuart and Gregg Bissonette.
Starr premiered in Las Vegas at the Aladdin Theatre for the Performing Arts (today’s PH Live at Planet Hollywood) on Aug. 30, 1989.
The ex-Beatle (and co-star in “Caveman”) has played several Vegas venues over the years, including an unforgettable show at Mandalay Bay Beach in July 2006. This was just as “Love” was opening at Mirage. Several fans stood shin-deep in the beach pool, and Starr kept gazing at that crowd. “We’ve played a lot of odd venues,” he said, “but this one takes the cake.”
Since we’re on The Beatles …
Starr’s show at The Venetian was announced just as “Anthology 4” was made public. The new collection arrives Nov. 21, encompassing the first three “Anthology” installments with previously unreleased demos, session recordings and rare tracks. This is 12 LPs, eight CDs, 191 total tracks. I’m as big a Beatles fan as anyone, but if there is an “Anthology 5” out there, I don’t need to hear it.
The Pan-Am bag …
Since we’re still on The Beatles, I carry a replica Pan-Am computer bag as part of a (nod to a Ringo album) sentimental journey. It is inspired by this experience:
Starr remarked about a Pan-Am bag I’d brought to a backstage interview before he performed at Planet Hollywood in October 2017. “Is that a vintage bag?” he asked at the end of that session. I said it wasn’t, it was a gift. This happened a short time after Ron Howard’s “Eight Days a Week” documentary came out.
Starr pointed to the bag and said, “If you watch ‘Eight Days a Week,’ you see us coming off the plane with those bags.” This was during The Beatles’ legendary first trip to New York, and the U.S., in February 1964. “It wasn’t because of who we were. They gave them out to all the first-class passengers.”
“Oh, I know the scene,” I said, impressed that the conversation took new route.
Starr then, turned to his wife, Barbara Bach, seated nearby and said, “Christmas is coming up.” I walked out with Bach to check out the merchandise display, which she had helped organized and was just being assembled.
I said to her, “I should have just dumped my bag and given it to him.” She laughed, “He has enough stuff.”
Orchestral maneuvers
I was excited to see a harp onstage after entering the Tomorrowland-Insomniac Unity show at Sphere on Friday night. This could only mean live musicians were in the production.
I noticed many other performance positions, music stands and such, and thought that some Las Vegas musicians had found a choice gig. Not quite But the EDM performance was still rich with live performance.
This was the Tomorrowland Symphony of Unity, defined as “a visionary orchestral project that redefines the boundaries of music by fusing the electrifying energy of electronic dance music (EDM) with the timeless elegance of classical symphony.”
I love this. We have been talking for years in VegasVille about the need to blend classical instrumentation with electronic music. EDM tracks have a nearly limitless, melodic range. Imaginative musicians can capture that quality and create something special — Carlos Santana mentioned to me once he’d love to perform with a headliner at Electric Daisy Carnival. DJ Ashba has been a front-runner in mixing his rock-guitar artistry with electronic tracks, lighting and production effects.
The Symphony of Unity was launched 10 years ago at Tomorrowland’s “Secret Kingdom of Melodia” in Belgium (if it’s a secret, how did 180,000 people show up?). About 50 musicians are in this orchestra, invigorating electronic tracks with orchestral arrangements. My classical-musician friends who shake their fists (or violin bows) at EDM should check out this presentation, which is staged before that night’s headliners ( Unity runs through Sept. 19-20, Sept. 26-27 and Oct. 17-18.
Cool Hang Alert
Voltaire makes its CHA debut. And there is a Lady Gaga connection to Ashlee Simpson’s show at The Venetian nightspot.
Simpson is backed by a fierce, female band. I’d posted video of Simpson’s polished performance, and Brian Newman checked in with, “That’s @TimStewart’s daughter ripping that guitar!” He’s referring to Tiara Stewart.
Backstory: Some time ago I was introduced to guitarist Tim Stewart at Newman’s “After Dark” show at Nomad Library. This man is an absolute beast. He’s currently featured prominently in Lady Gaga’s “Mayhem Ball” tour, and last year performed a mind-blowing set with his band Damnage at Punk Rock Museum.
His daughter is featured in Simpson’s band, which packs a punch in the residency at Voltaire. The crew is back Sept. 19-20, 24, and 26-27.
John Katsilometes’ column runs daily in the A section. Contact him at [email protected]. Follow @johnnykats on X, @JohnnyKats1 on Instagram.