What a night & a great venue....
My son's first concert....he was 6...& loves YES...His favs are CTTE, In The Presence Of, Roundabout , & Starship Trooper....
Anyways, we were on the grassy area...and heard about the bees the next day! What a trip that must've been...it was on the news in Niagara Falls..(where we stayed)but he was reall excited....it was a great show....but I almost always say that about Yes...

The Keyboard player, btw...was awesome...He had the sounds for all the classic Yes stuff down real well...almost perfect...certainly closer than any keyboard player I've seen do that (even Wakeman sometimes...)
His solo during Trooper was outstanding. Close to the Edge w/ an Orchestra to open the show was truly insprirational.

Well, I suppose I can throw in my two cents and give a review of the show. About a week later it's still fresh in my mind. I can say this..... SIMPLY MARVELOUS!!! I remember seeing YES in Buffalo's Memorial Auditorium around 1984 during the 90125 tour (the first show was rescheduled because of an illness??) and the stage show was phenomenal so I anticipated a quality setup and I was not disappointed one bit! The black backdrop with small lights emulating stars along with the green florescent colored YES symbol blended in very nicely and gave it a nice outer space feeling.

I was given my ticket because my best buddy had a prior engagement he almost forgot about so he gave me his extra ticket. I sat in the middle of the theatre (just to make a short story long, the venue named "Artpark" has only recently begun to host major rock acts because for many years the arty-farty types panned rock acts as "not quite being art" therefore opera and musicals took precedence, Then all of a sudden came the day when the cash cow no longer produced milk and there were big budget cuts which almost closed the place down.) and I will admit the acoustics are not quite ready for stadium style PA systems so I knew this one was going to be loud.

And it was.....

From the opening bars of Close to the Edge all the way to Roundabout, this was total quality. I felt most relaxed when Steve Howe played an acoustic solo (I could listen to that all day!) and it felt comforting having a brew in your hand chilling out and listening to some pleasant acoustical playing. I also enjoyed Chris Squires bass playing (man is he a John Entwistle fan or what!!). I'm a big fan of bass players so I was looking forward that night to hear Squire live again.

All in all it was just plain damned awesome!! Good thing I didn't sit in the grassy area of the theater. In case you didn't hear, several fans were attacked and stung by a vicious array of bees, wasps and yellowjackets and several ambulances were called for fear of allergic reactions but only one went up (maybe they were Genesis fans??). One of the local radio stations the morning after suggested they should have called in the SWAT team!! (get it??).

My wife and I attended the 08/22/2001 Symphonic Concert at ArtPark Theatre in Lewiston, New York. Amid the nite Sky and having front row tickets, it was a fairy tale dream. The Boys were at peak performance this evening with smiles and reached notes aplenty for all. The majority of the crowd proved the 30year tale of Yes with most men sporting gray hair, if any, left on their domes. If there were any of the younger population, they were with their elders to be sure.

With the fine Lady Jane sitting front row in attendance, and keeping rhythm with Jon, Jon was in his glory and at home with mostly older tunes from the earlier albums and some excellent renditions from the Topographic years. Squire was having fun and seemed to be enjoying the music as he played. Howe was/is as impeccable as always. Does this man ever miss a note? Does this man sleep among his Martins?

The stage set was simple. There was some light displays and a spartan backdrop, but nothing elaborate to detract from the scene. It was pleasing to see a return to the original logos of Roger Dean's famous YES script be displayed rather then the newer unfamiliar yes logo. Sort of a welcome retrospect.

Even the newer tunes from the Magnification Arrangements seem to reflect a return to the complex individuality of YESteryear. Oh to long for the sound of Rick Wakeman. It does take a Symphony to insert the Wakeman flair. The symphonic accompaniment was quite enjoyable, but difficult to hear and fully consume at front row decibel levels. None-the-less, a front row seat to history is beyond explanation. It is a private concert in one's living room. It is a special exhibition meant for me alone, as group members seemed to be looking at me for approval of a job well done, only to be met with a kids beaming eye looking back at them through 49year old lenses.

The performance of "Ritual" from Topographic was truly a standout as White, Anderson and YES, even Chris Squire hammered out a heart pounding, hormone producing, tribal sound that scared all the wildlife within a 3mile area, but left humans drooling for more. Their encore was thunderous and everyone was on their feet for the classic. True YES fans already know which classic.

A final handshake bestowed upon my wife and me as front row luckies, by Jon Anderson, as what seemed to be a thank-you to us for allowing him to entertain us, was the sweeeeet touch of the class this man has in showing the love he has for his fans. That love which is so evident in his messages and joy that he so musically declares...

A Summary of YesSymphonic North American Tour 2001 ???? --> YES...