Posted on 08/10/2013 6:50:28 PM PDT by virgil283
"...All I saw were old farts like me. Thousands of them. Some ex-hippies, some corporate bankers and yet others not definable. But rarely very rarely younger than 30-40. I was surrounded.
And then the music started. Three of the five original members of Yes played for three hours straight. Close to the Edge was performed in its entirety, from beginning to end. They then played from The Yes Album and their encore was one of my favorites; Roundabout.
The lead singer was no Jon Anderson, but he did try hard. And the keyboardist was not Rick Wakeman, but still enjoyable. The other three original band members, Steve Howe, Alan White and Chris Squire were fantastic...."
Yes Album;
(Excerpt) Read more at iowntheworld.com ...
Anyway, the opening act was YES.
One of my obsessions in High School; saw them 9 August 1976. Then I ignored them for a long time; but gravitated back to them in recent years.
I just bought ‘Fragile.’ My wife doesn’t like them either.
I never fail to sing “Roundabout” when I drive through a roundabout.
I’ve seen them more times than I can remember from 1972 through the current tour. And I’m quoted in the booklet in their boxset “The Word Is Live”.’
Glad I put the IIRC in there as I obviously didn’t.
I like the way ‘We have heaven’ segues into Heart of the Sunrise. Sort of like ZZ Tops LaGrange kickstart.
Occasionally I like to burst into song myself, say when my wife needs to get up or my daughter has a friend in the car.
Not the one I saw with all of the original members. One of the best concerts I’ve ever seen. I’ve seen Rush, Satriani, Jeff Beck, Steve Vai, Eric Johnson, REO, The Beach Boys, Stu Hamm, Ozzy, BOC, The Black Crows, Savage Garden and a few other notables.
I’d place Yes among the top of all of them. Unfortunately my two worst concert experiences were due to poor mix (Primus opened for Rush - couldn’t hear a thing from them, but Rush filled the stadium with sound). Same went for Dylan, couldn’t hear him until I walked down to the main concourse - I was 10 rows up from there and it sounded horrible.
I love this band, seeing them first when I was very young (the Eagles opened for them), and then multiple times over the years. I've seen Steve Howe multiple times solo, and Rick Wakeman solo. You may or may not like their particular brand of music, but they are each exceptional musicians. Steve Howe is an incredibly versatile guitarist, and has lots of influence from Chet Atkins, as well as Julian Bream (classical). He is also an awesome slide guitarist. Wakeman, in addition to what he's done with Yes, and his solo stuff, also did the piano on Cat Steven's ‘Morning has broken’ and mellotron on David Bowie's ‘Major Tom’. Squire is right up their with the best bass players ever in rock and roll. The original drummer for yes, Bill Bruford, is absolutely phenomenal. Alan White is also fantastic, although in a very different style.
Anyway, as you can tell, I'm a fanatic...
Thanks for posting.
The universe seems to not want me to see Yes.
My first missed Yes tour was when the roof of Kansas City’s Kemper Arena caved in a few days before the concert. Then there was another tour’s appearance that was cancelled when Jon Anderson had breathing problems. Then there was an appearance I missed due to Chris’s blood clot.
But I have seen them 3 times now, the last time with Oliver Wakeman on keyboards and Benoit David on vocals. I went all out with the meet & greet and my seat was front row center. Oh, and Asia was the opening act. GREAT CONCERT!!!
Great band that’s changed over the years, but it was never “right” without both Chris and Jon in the band. I liked AWBH and the JA-less Yes, but I LOVE the combination of the two.
Mark
Tony Kaye is not amused.
;-)
Mark
Did you see Trevor Rabin?
No, I never saw that incarnation of Yes in concert.
Mark
I am probably one of the few that actually thinks “Drama” was not a bad album at all.
“Tempus Fugit” is definitely one of their best songs ever, and probably Squire’s greatest moment on bass.
And “Machine Messiah” is Steve Howe at his heaviest.
Alan White isn’t an original member either. Bill Bruford is the original drummer.
I remember that, I missed it too.
I had the pleasure of meeting Steve Howe on the first Asia tour (day before the played at Starlight in KC) and Rick Wakeman on a tour with his son (in Seattle). And got to laugh at Alan White when security demanded his ID to get in at that show. Alan saying, "Hey, don't you know who I am !?"
Yes - South Side Of The Sky
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XC-FrJ8W0Yc
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