This was my first Yes concert and the two things that I remember about this show are the two guys who had second row seats that would repeatedly 'bow-down' before Wakeman every time the stage would revolve so that he was in front of them. Quite amusing. And it lasted for hours.

The other thing was Steve's Clap solo. It being my first time seeing him play live, blew my mind. I'll never forget that solo...with the stage revolving he would stand still for 30 seconds spinning slowly and then jump up and do a 180 and face the other side of the arena in that ever so familiar 'Steve Howe Crouch'. It was one of the most entertaining things I've ever seen. It's kind of strange how something that so many people didn't even see (some people were getting up to go to the bathroom/get drinks/sitting down talking) will stick in my head forever.

We've all probably heard the rumors by now, of them adding "Close to the Edge" to the set list. They didn't play it Friday night in Philadelphia, and there were many requests they add it to Saturday night's show. The guys begged off. Trev's having back problems, etc, etc...(Rick made a nice little joke about Trev being "under a lady chiropractor"...) Our general consensus is that they want it to be perfect if they're going to play it...

OK, the show. What was different this time out? Not too much. They dropped "Hold On" and "Long Distance Runaround" for "Saving My Heart", and I got the impression they played longer solos. "Saving My Heart" was wild--they funked it up. I really liked it...gave me this urge to say things like "groovy man", etc :-) It amazes me how much more I like the stuff off _Union_ live. Trev's solo featured the "Star Spangled Banner" and a lick of "Yankee Doodle" in celebration of his becoming an American citizen. He also played what I'm told was "Dueling Banjos". I've heard it before but never knew that was what it was called. Chris added "the Fish" to his solo since they dropped "Long Distance..." Other than that, the show was pretty much the same as the other two times I saw them (although not exciting in the same way as from the 3rd row :-)

I just got back from Yesfest in Philly over the weekend and there were only a couple of changes in the overall set: The 2nd night at the Spectrum, Steve played a different classical piece in place of "Mood For A Day" and also "Saving My Heart" replaced "Long Distance Runaround." The group is rehearsing "Close To the Edge." Steve said on Saturday that he could play it in his sleep and the group was 'this close' to getting it down.

Of course, the audience wanted to know if "Close to the Edge" was going to be played that night. Steve had hinted at it but wouldn't come out and say yes or no. Rick talked straight and said that they were still 3 or 4 shows away from being ready to play "Close to the Edge" mainly because of Trevor's bad back which was forcing him to miss practices. Rick also stated that he was willing to play some of the more obscure Yes material, including songs from Relayer, on future tours.

The show itself was almost indentical to the other 2 I saw on this tour, but there were a few points of interest worth mentioning:

Trevor's extremely phallic treatment of his guitar neck during the solo to "Yours Is No Disgrace."

Jon announced that Trevor had just become a United States citizen and Trevor played the first 6 notes of the National Anthem at the beginning of his solo (beats being South African, I suppose).

They replaced "Long Distance Runaround" with "Saving My Heart." Not a bad version.

They played the long version of "Lift Me Up" including the extended intro.

Steve didn't play "Mood For a Day" in his solo, but he did improvise a bit.

Only one encore, and no "Starship Trooper." :-(