Grace’s growing Beatles obsession has spawned many conversations (“Who died first?” “Where is Paul right now?”), including ones about what Paul and Ringo are up to these days. Especially since I went to see Paul in Albany last summer, Grace’s interest in actually seeing one of the real Beatles has been on the rise, and I figured an opportunity to take her would be something I wouldn’t pass up. While Paul is hitting the basketball arenas, Ringo is taking on the casino circuit, and lucky for us, we’re not that far from Foxwoods. Grace and I drove up, had dinner in the food court, wandered around the outskirts of the gaming floor (“Daddy, what’s that smell?”), and then took our seats in the theater. We walked down to the stage to get a closer look before the show, and one of the ushers offered Grace a drink ticket (“Have a Coke!”) if she could name one song she thought she’d hear that night. “I Wanna Be Your Man,” she offered. That’s my girl, no easy answer for her. And, since he had the setlist, he could confirm that indeed we would be hearing that song tonight.

I didn’t realize the true meaning of “All-Starr Band” until the strains of Toto’s “Rosanna” echoed through the venue… Not only are Ringo’s bandmates talented musicians in their own right, but throughout the concert, they each play multiple songs from the bands they’re known for. So in addition to “Yellow Submarine” and “Don’t Pas Me By,” we got “Kyrie” and “Broken Wings” by Mr. Mister,” “Africa” by Toto, Todd Rundgren doing “Bang on the Drum All Day,” and many, many more. Grace was a little confused by all of the non-Ringo material, but she seemed to really enjoy the evening – and told me when she was ready to go, right after one Toto cover too far…