As others have already posted (Michel and Adam) the sound at the Metropolis was attrocious. The instrumental portion sounded like a Steve Howe solo set with random noise thrown in the background. The low end of the rhythm section was totally muddy. One couldn't distinguish between Squire's bass and White's drumming (other than the cymbals). Sherwood's guitar was barely audible. Khoroshev's keyboard sound was spotty. At times it came through loud and clear, especially when he pulled lead-lines on the Nordlead II. At other times, it was just another component of the rumble. The P.A. also wreaked havoc with Andersoon's voice, at times it sounded like it was coming out of an AM clock-radio that was tuned to the wrong station and pumped to full volume. Oddly enough Chris, Billy and Steve came through loud and clear in the vocal mix. (Chris's rich baritone was especially welcome during "And You and I" and "Hearts.")

Despite the crappy sound, it was obvious that I was watching a group of world-class musicians giving it their all. The band played with unparalleled aplomb, vigor and virtuosity. I cannot stress how skilled they are at their craft. From that perspective, the show delivered a heap of riches.

However, this performance was nowhere near as transcendent as their last stop in Montreal during the Open Your Eyes tour. It was the same band, the same level of excellence, but the feeling was entirely different. And this left me wondering why. Please understand that this is not an attack on the group, but merely a reflection of my own feelings.

I have never been particulary fond of either "Perpetual Change" or "Awaken." Although I can appreciate the instrumental qualities of these two songs, they have never resonated emotionally for me. I was hoping that seeing them performed live in all their glory would change this, as was the case with seeing Wondrous Stories performed live on the last tour. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. Perpetual Change struck me as an ELP-esque showcase of virtuosity, Awaken as a bombastic Floydian soundscape meant to dazzle through production values. In sum, these two tracks, which comprised a good half hour of the show, struck me as soul-less and sapped the positive vibe out of the show. There was more emotion in the 30-second snippets from "Ritual" and "Time and A Word" than in 30 minutes of the above.

And now for the good news. The rest of the material was rock solid. The songs from The Ladder translate very well live. "Lightning Strikes" and "Face to Face" had the crowd dancing and proved to be upbeat romps that delight. "It Will Be a Good Day" was touching in its simplicity and was well served by the extended instrumental outro. "The Messenger" was a surprise to me. It proved to be the first unexpected highlight of the evening. The thundering vocal harmonies and pounding rhythm section truly "brought the message" home. I fully expected "Homeworld" to rock live, and I was not disappointed. This is "Starship Trooper '99," it packs the same wallop as that classic track from "The Yes Album." I'm hoping to see this song on future tours, maybe even as an encore.

"Hearts" from 90215 was another unexpected pleasure. The contrasts in this song really shone on stage and provided another unexpected emotional wallop.

"Yours is no Disgrace", "And You and I", and "I've Seen All Good People" were the emotional and musical highlights of the show. "Yours is No Disgrace" was masterfully performed and served as the triumphant entrance following Stravinsky's "Firebird Suite" and the retrospective slide show. "And You and I" was the show stopper. As "Cord of Life" reached it's climax, one could feel the crowd hold it's collective breath in awe. And as always, the crowd was singing along during the "give peace a chance" section of "Your Move," another reminder of the tangible difference between the music of Yes and that of the other members of the prog-rock fraternity.
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Date : Sunday, December 05, 1999
City : Montréal, Québec, Canada
Venue : Métropole (Metropolis)
Capacity : 2,500
Lineup : Jon Anderson, Steve Howe, Billy Sherwood, Chris Squire, Alan White


Igor Khoroshev

Firebird Suite, Yours Is No Disgrace, Time and a Word (excerpt), Homeworld, Perpetual Change, Lightning Strikes, The Messenger, Nous Sommes Du Soleil, And You And I, It Will Be a Good Day, Face To Face, Hearts, Awaken, I've Seen All Good People, Cinema, Owner Of A Lonely Heart, Roundabout


--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Christos Tsirbas:
As others have already posted (Michel and Adam) the sound at the Metropolis was attrocious. The instrumental portion sounded like a Steve Howe solo set with random noise thrown in the background. The low end of the rhythm section was totally muddy. One couldn't distinguish between Squire's bass and White's drumming (other than the cymbals). Sherwood's guitar was barely audible. Khoroshev's keyboard sound was spotty. At times it came through loud and clear, especially when he pulled lead-lines on the Nordlead II. At other times, it was just another component of the rumble. The P.A. also wreaked havoc with Andersoon's voice, at times it sounded like it was coming out of an AM clock-radio that was tuned to the wrong station and pumped to full volume. Oddly enough Chris, Billy and Steve came through loud and clear in the vocal mix. (Chris's rich baritone was especially welcome during "And You and I" and "Hearts.")

Despite the crappy sound, it was obvious that I was watching a group of world-class musicians giving it their all. The band played with unparalleled aplomb, vigor and virtuosity. I cannot stress how skilled they are at their craft. From that perspective, the show delivered a heap of riches.

However, this performance was nowhere near as transcendent as their last stop in Montreal during the Open Your Eyes tour. It was the same band, the same level of excellence, but the feeling was entirely different. And this left me wondering why. Please understand that this is not an attack on the group, but merely a reflection of my own feelings.

I have never been particulary fond of either "Perpetual Change" or "Awaken." Although I can appreciate the instrumental qualities of these two songs, they have never resonated emotionally for me. I was hoping that seeing them performed live in all their glory would change this, as was the case with seeing Wondrous Stories performed live on the last tour. Unfortunately, that didn't happen. Perpetual Change struck me as an ELP-esque showcase of virtuosity, Awaken as a bombastic Floydian soundscape meant to dazzle through production values. In sum, these two tracks, which comprised a good half hour of the show, struck me as soul-less and sapped the positive vibe out of the show. There was more emotion in the 30-second snippets from "Ritual" and "Time and A Word" than in 30 minutes of the above.

And now for the good news. The rest of the material was rock solid. The songs from The Ladder translate very well live. "Lightning Strikes" and "Face to Face" had the crowd dancing and proved to be upbeat romps that delight. "It Will Be a Good Day" was touching in its simplicity and was well served by the extended instrumental outro. "The Messenger" was a surprise to me. It proved to be the first unexpected highlight of the evening. The thundering vocal harmonies and pounding rhythm section truly "brought the message" home. I fully expected "Homeworld" to rock live, and I was not disappointed. This is "Starship Trooper '99," it packs the same wallop as that classic track from "The Yes Album." I'm hoping to see this song on future tours, maybe even as an encore.

"Hearts" from 90215 was another unexpected pleasure. The contr

All I can say is, oh my god. Absolutely incredible. I have never seen anything like this. The band was so tight, the audience so pumped. No wonder they love playing Montreal!

Jon sounded like an angel. Steve was particularly inspired, although I thought his stage persona could use a good overhaul. He never smiled. Not once. He acted like he was just there because he had nothing better to do. His attitude during "Hearts" was very annoying: he only played the steel during the chorus, and he would saunter slowly off stage between these brief passages with his hands behind his back.

He played great, though, and the audience loved him, so I don't understand why he had to be such an old sourpuss.

Chris was the madman of the night, jumping, leaping, smiling, and looking rather silly in his white medical smock and matching shorts. But, he was brilliant, and alot of fun to watch. The bass pedals shook the place like a freight train.

Billy was great, pulling off some fantastic solos, and sounding like Trevor when he sang "Hearts". He, Chris, Igor, and Alan did a kick-ass version of "Cinema" to kick off the encore. Hard to believe four guys can make that much noise! Billy, you belong here. Don't let anyone tell you otherwise!

"Awaken" was the best I've ever heard it: better than the Union show, better than the Keys album. pure magic.

Igor really showed why he belongs in Yes: brilliant keyboard work, and he came alive in the second half of the show, jumping around like a madman.

Alan was rock steady all night. It's amazing how good he is, how tight. just perfect.

The audience tried mightily to get a second encore, but the band wouldn't come back. Oh, well.

A friend taped the direct tv show for me, and I was a bit disappointed with that: Jon, Steve, Igor, and Alan seemed to be sleepwalking through it. But tonight in Montreal Yes came alive. They blew the roof off the dump.

What a fitting end to the millenium.

now, off to bed....