Easton, PA is a small town in eastern Pennsylvania, near Nazareth and the New Jersey border; it's about a 90 minute drive from Manhattan. The show took place at a gorgeous, renovated theatre that was probably built in the 1910s. It is the smallest venue on the tour (the CEO announced that from the stage before the show) with a capacity of about 1500, according to the House Manager. He told me he didn't know how the CEO of the theatre managed to book Ringo; Ringo and the All Starrs were the most expensive tickets they probably ever offered but the high ticket price was due to the fact that they were a major act; despite the high ticket price he said that there was a waiting list for any tickets that might be available. The All Starrs arrived about 4:15-4:30, while Ringo and Barb were driven in from New York and arrived around 4:45. Sound check started at 5:30. A side note about the "solo" spots in the middle...tonight jogged my memory. One song is "Love Will Keep Us Alive" that Paul Carrack sang (think he wrote it too...) and the other is Colin Hay's "Waiting for My Real Life to Begin". They didn't do "Angel on the D Train" tonight. So now you can fill in your set lists, readers! The show started on time, and the audience was very enthusiastic. Ringo seemed to be in a great mood, and that carried around the stage, as everyone looked more comfortable and relaxed than in Boston and New York. The band seems to be gelling and there was more playfulness on stage tonight, more rapport both within the band and with the audience. Colin seems to be doing better with the unfamiliar guitar parts. Perhaps being in a smaller market and out from under the microscope of the big city newspapers and critics helped. Ringo made mention that the theatre reminded him of a place he played a long time ago called the Liverpool Empire, and "it was just like this, I love it!" The audience responded well, but they kept sitting back down during the songs. Ringo commented it was a two-fer, a show and an exercise class as he demonstrated by doing squats and clapping his hands, "you know, like this all night long...up/down/up/down" One older woman sitting near the front came forward with a bouquet for Ringo. The security guard was blocking her bodily, and Ringo saw what was going on. He walked over and told the guard to stop it, to let her by. He took the flowers from her and took her hand, and when she walked away he scolded the security guy saying, "What was she going to do, beat me up with this?" as he shook the flowers at him. A few fans had signs; one had a Ringo Rama sign that he pointed out, and three ladies in the front had a sign that when he introduced Memphis In Your Mind with "I don't know if you know that I have a new CD out called "Ringo Rama," up went a sign in the front that said We LOVE It! He pointed it out and said, "Yes, and we love it too!"After Sheila's spot, she was reintroducing Ringo saying he was gracious, humanitarian, going on and on and Ringo quipped, "You just got paid today, didn’t you? She said "Yes, and thank you for the check."
Ringo wore blue jeans with gold embroidery on right pocket area, black “7” shirt, and white shirt with black embroidery of flowers. Colin wore a paisley shirt; John wore tan trousers and yellow/red shirt with Sanskrit writing. Sheila wore black top and striped trousers.
On John Waite's "Missing You" when John came to center stage, he said something like, "someone gives me a microphone and I feel like Tom Jones," and started to sing, “It’s not unusual”. Ringo quipped, "well I’ll tell you one thing, you’re never gonna split those pants!" John came back with, "look who’s talking, the skinniest guy in the world!"
The crowd didn't really know the chorus, and John, taken aback started to sing in the middle of the song, “it’s not unusual..." Afterwards, Ringo said “John, I like the new arrangement.”
Ringo loved the State Theatre and its sound, and commented during the show that the theatre reminded him of the Liverpool Empire. He mentioned that in the early days, the playing the Empire would've been the goal of the Beatles. As you know, at 1,500 seats, the State Theatre is probably the smallest venue this time around, but I think everyone in attendance got more than their money's worth, even at $150 for the top tickets. Beatlefan called the prices "hefty," but the show was sold out clean, without filling the house with last-minute comps that some of the fanzines like to report!