by Tim McMahan,  Lazy-i.com

A friend of mine who lives in Utah asked how “Ringo and friends” were last Friday night. “Did you get the idea folks were excited to see a living Beatle, or were just there for the fireworks?”

No doubt some folks there were excited to see a Beatle, and most of them were up by the stage. I never got anywhere near the front of the enormous crowd, having entered the seething, sweat-slicked morass at around 9:30 to the strains of Ringo’s “Photograph” (which just so happens to be my favorite Ringo song, co-written by George). 

I had heard the rest of the concert from my back yard as, for some reason – maybe it was something in the winds – this was easily the loudest Memorial Park Concert in recent memory… as heard from my house about a half-mile away from the stage. 

Earlier that afternoon, while working on my laptop in the back yard, I experienced the funk-intensity of the All-Starr Band’s soundcheck in the form of Average White Band’s “Pick Up the Pieces,” played over and over and over as if the band was performing on the other side of my fence. I now know how Noriega felt during the 1989 Panamanian standoff when U.S. forces tortured him day and night with loud rock music outside the embassy where he was holed up. At least Noriega got Van Halen and GNR. After a half-hour of AWB, the music stopped, then five minutes later on came Toto’s “Rosanna,” on repeat. I took shelter inside. 

The Omaha World-Herald didn’t even try to estimate the concert’s crowd size, simply saying “Thousands came to see a former Beatle…” but if I had to guess I’d say it was well over the usual 50,000 who usually attend these concerts. Ringo and his band sounded great, and it was inspiring to watch the 84-year-old on stage singing as if he were still in his 30s, doing jumping jacks in the sweltering heat clad in a denim jacket.

Except for two people (me and Teresa), I can’t tell you how many were there for the music, the fireworks or just to see a functioning Beatle in action; but I can say the fireworks were impressive….

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This being Independence Day week, it’s looks thinner than usual show-wise, especially if you like indie music. There’s Fishbone at The Waiting Room tomorrow night. The Sydney has a semi-interesting indie band Thursday night called Tonguebyte. And Anna McClellan also plays at fabulous O’Leaver’s Thursday night with Nutrition Fun, which was the name of a band she was in with Noah Sterba and others who released a couple albums on Unread Records before the pandemic. More on those shows later…

BTW, The Slowdown has no shows at all booked until July 10 – what’s that all about? 

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Read Tim McMahan’s blog daily at Lazy-i.com — an online music magazine that includes feature interviews, reviews and news. The focus is on the national indie music scene with a special emphasis on the best original bands in the Omaha area. Copyright © 2025 Tim McMahan. All rights reserved.