hi tapers...will whoever taped this show and any other shows of this "New Drama Tour" please post/upload or trade out copies of their tapes ASAP so we can all get copies of your marvellous works...and yeah the singer is no Jon but he makes a damn good trevor Horn :)
thanks guys (and gals)
dave ;]

This was my 10th time seeing the band,and I really enjoyed it. I took my camcorder and was told by security after the first half hour to put it away, so I did. I pulled it back out for the encore, and a differnt guard told me to stop. He then waited for me at the end of the aisle and made me delete what I had recorded. This was my first time filming at this type of venue so I didn't know what the rules are and did delete, but managed to save Roundabout, all 5 minuites that I was able to get. Too bad becausse it sounds and looks sweet. I would love to get my hands on the recordings that were made of this show. I was at the Steve Howe Trio show a few weeks before and have 6 songs filmed. I wanted to enjoy the show and not worry about the camera and sitting still so that's why I didn't record it all. I would love to trade that for a copy of this if I can. JH

To begin with I was very sceptical about this tour. At this stage in the band's career no Jon Anderson means no Yes to me. I am not sure why they would even tour without Anderson. With that being said I did not plan to attend this tour but a friend convinced me to go check it out. Fortunately, I was able to get good seats 10 minutes before the show started at the box office. The place was 3/4 full.

As the lights went down I was expecting Benoit David to let me down and hopefully the rest of the boys would salvage the night. Yes opened with Siberian Khatru and it was amazing. Steve Howe was firing on all cylinders and Benoit sounded great. If you closed your eyes it could have been Jon Anderson singing. Song highlights for me were Siberian Khatru, Astral Traveller, and Machine Messiah.

I was surprised by two things at this show. First, I must say Benoit David did a great job. I can tell he loves and respects the music. A nice surprise. The second surprise was not so great. I was taken back by how under-rehearsed the band seemed. There were several miss cues in the set. Songs like I've Seen All Good People, Tempest Fugit,and Roundabout all had serious bumps. Very loose set. The boys were also looking and waving at each for cues more times then I could remember. Lyric sheets were dropping on the floor (don't they know their own lyrics?). And Oliver seemed off all night. He seemed to be a note or so late for some of his solos. I felt like it was rehearsal I was watching rather than the actual show. Anyways, the first night is always the hardest and these guys are only human. I am sure as the tour moves on these guys will tighten up the music and the show will rock. I will leave it there.

My brother and I have seen Yes a few times since 1971, we agreed Benoit David was amazing, he sounds more like Jon than Jon. Steve Howe more animated than I have ever seen him, enjoying himself, his playing was spectacular. Squire will have lost some of that weight by the end of this tour, his singing was great. Best sound I have ever heard at a Yes concert, loved it! Worth the money, go see them!

No Yours is No Disgrace or Starship Trooper. Maybe they will play them later in the tour. Parallels & Astral Traveler are worth the price of admission.

First reports in say that Benoit David did a very good job of singing (but not imitating) Jon's parts. Steve apparently was most impressive, while Chris was not as animated as usual, but held the whole thing together. What an excellent set list... nice to see 'Drama' material revisited and the inclusion of "Parallels" at last! And a new (Squire?) song about aliens was debuted.