Starr played hits from his time with The Beatles as well as his solo career. (Credit Patrick Gustavson)

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Rock and roll and peace and love were in full force on Saturday night at the Oakdale Theatre thanks to legendary drummer Ringo Starr and his “All Starr Band.” 55-years after the Beatles made their debut in America, Starr is still going strong.

In addition to The Beatles drummer, the band consisted of Steve Lukather of Toto and Colin Hay of Men At Work on guitar, Graham Gouldman of 10cc on bass, Gregg Rolie of Santana and Journey on the keyboards and prolific session musicians Warren Ham on saxophone and Gregg Bissonette on drums.

Despite all the prowess on stage, the true attraction was Starr, who brings his catalog from The Beatles as well as his solo career. At 78, he is still singing and drumming, acting as the front man on his own songs while stepping behind the kit on the others’.

Vocally, he has not missed a beat. Since he never had much vocal range to begin with, he has never had to strain his voice and sounds as good as ever. This also means the songs were played to their true integrity.

But what left a bit to be desired was his drumming. It is understandable at age 78 that he is not the drummer he used to be. He either played straight fours or added his trademarked creative fills. There were two songs where he was off the stage altogether, 10cc’s “I’m Not In Love” and Santana’s “Black Magic Woman,” which is simply far beyond his skill set.

However, it was enjoyable to see him get behind the kit and take the lead on his Beatles staples “Boys” and “I Wanna Be Your Man.”

As for the other All Starrs, Rolie stole the show. His vocals are identical to the way they were in the late 1960, and his songs were the most intense, with “Black Magic Woman” getting arguably the biggest applause of the night.

Though not the lead singer of Toto, Lukather did a great job taking the lead on the verses of “Rosanna,” “Africa” and “Hold the Line.” He also showed he is one of the most versatile and under-appreciated guitarists in rock history, doing his best Carlos Santana impression on Rolie’s songs.

While it appears Hay has slowed down physically, his vocals are still pristine, nailing the high notes on Men At Work staples like “Down Under” and “Overkill.”

Gouldman was the most underwhelming of the big four All Starrs. It is a peculiar selection, as 10cc is a group with a niche fanbase, with only two worldwide hits. “Dreadlock Holiday” put the show and crowd to a halt, despite being the fourth song of the set.

Though Ham and Bissonette had the least star-power on the stage, the group would have not been the same without them. Ham was the primary backing vocalist and had the undesirable task of hitting the high notes on the Toto tunes “Rosanna” and “Hold the Line.” Though you could sense a bit of a struggle, it is understandable, and he still does an admirable job. He also nailed every saxophone part, particularly on Starr’s “Photograph.”

Since Starr is not the best drummer at his current age, a second one is more than necessary, and Bissonette has been handling the job for 10 years. He is like a swiss-army knife: he can play anything. He nails the “Porcaro shuffle” on “Rosanna” as well as the Latin-inspired parts on the Santana pieces. There is no way Starr could do these parts justice on his own and even called Bissonette “the glue that holds (them) altogether.”

It is strange to see a musician like Starr drum on 1980s classics, but the band gelled tremendously as if they had been playing together forever. They had a great combination of party and dancing songs, rockers and legendary hits.

Towards the end of the show, Starr said (somewhat jokingly) that he hopes to tour for another 20 years, and here is to hoping that he does.