ATTN David J. Wimer : "Aliens" is a new song by Chris, never recorded in the studio. Maybe they will put it on the next (last ?) album...

Otherwise, just one criticism regarding the setlist. Why "All good people" again and again ? I can understand them still playing "Roundabout" as a number of fans actually whined about *not* having it on the setlist when the band dropped it for a while some years ago. Go figure....

But ISAGP is well past beyond permanent retirement. Should have included something from MAGNIFICATION in that slot instead. Personal fave : "We agree" (but Chris would probably have vetoed it because it's "too Jonish ;-). But they probably would all have agreed on "Spirit of survival", my second choice, and high-energy enough to fit in the slot between SK and TF.

This was the sixth yes concert that I have attended (Drama Tour - Stabler Arena was my first). Of course we all miss Jon; but, I was very impressed with Benoit and the opportunity to hear songs from Drama which would have been impossible if Jon were there. I know several reviews were criical of Oliver - but for his first tour with Yes and very big shoes to fill, I thought he did a fine job - being the son of Rick, he brings a sense of continuity to the band which I know most Yes fans value. All that I can say is that the show was awesome - yes, there were some minor flaws but its a live show in a more intimate theatre setting. For those that have criticized certain things about the concert, they should have stayed home and listened to the albums if they wanted perfection. For a theatre setting, the lighting effects were well done and accoustics were exceptional. Its been a while since I had goosebumps at a concert - it's a great feeling. I finally had a chance to take my 15 yr. old son to see a Yes concert - all that I can say is a new Yes fan has been born. Thank you Steve, Alan, Chris, Oliver and Benoit for a great evening. I hope your tour continuation in 2009 includes Eastern PA again - we will be there.

Poor show....Poor sound...Oliver is terrible..How did he make a living prior to this?
I am 40 year fan....................
I hope Chris reads this.............
Alan plays tired..............
You are Robotic, whats up Fish??
Mostly same old songs/ setlist
Where is To be Over, Revealing,Ladder,SWOF???

STEVE SAVED THE SHOW!!!
CALL IGOR OR TOM BRISLIN FOR HELP!!!!!!!!!!!!

See you Fri in NYC
You guys need to pull a Rabbit out of your a.... Fri
GOODLUCK!!

Howe's solo's

Australia
The Golden Mean ( Motiff cd)

please add

Australia was played in honor of Michael Tait who was present last night at the hershey show

This is my 14th yes show since 90125. I personally have met most of YES over the years including Tony, Billy, Alan, Jeff, and Rick so I have the greatest respect and love for what YES is and means to all of us. However, the Hershey show was the most poorly rehearsed major concert I have seen lately-and I see tons of concerts. First and foremost there was an obvois lack of rehersal and poor cohesion in the group as a whole. Now that said, the individuals were each very good with the exception of Oliver who just got bye. Igor or even Jeff are much better. Also the sound patches he had were not good. Benoits voice was crisp, clear, and right on. Chris is always one of my favorite bassists and personalities. Steve is the profesional master as always. Alan has seen better performances (I thought he played better at Rosfest with CIRCA). I really think a better prepaired and practiced YES could have shined. Highlights were Machine Messiah and Soon which were pretty on compaired to the rest of the gig. Sincerely and all the best.

To Davey J from Hanover: I know this is not a forum but, if you can say this was the best Starshp Trooper you ever saw, it must be the first Starship Trooper you ever saw. There is no wayyyyyyyyy this version comes within 1,000,000 light years of the versions of the past. IE 1978, 1979

Of course, the big question on everybody’s mind regarding this tour is, “how would Yes fare without Jon Anderson?” The answer is, “Just fine, thank you very much”. I invited two Yes fans I know, my brother and a friend of mine, to go to this show with me and they both said no because they didn’t want to “pay good money to see Yes karaoke.” Well, I’ve seen Yes around 15 times and I can say that they certainly missed out because this was one of the best Yes shows I have been to. Benoit David did an excellent job with the vocals, and as you can see from the set list below there were quite a few great songs that Yes hasn’t played live in a long, long time. My only criticism was that Rick Wakeman’s absence was felt, as Oliver Wakeman seems to be the weak link of this lineup. Oliver made many mistakes throughout the show (most notably during “Heart of the Sunrise”), and his playing seems somewhat tentative. To his credit, however, he did nail the big solo in “Close to the Edge”. I’m seeing this tour again one week from now in Reading, PA so I will be interested to see if his playing improves.

The show took place at a small theater a stone’s throw from the Hershey chocolate factory, and I must say that it’s one of the nicest concert venues I’ve ever been to. The acoustics were excellent. Unfortunately there were many empty seats, probably because the U.S. is experiencing such a bad economic time and the band charged over $100 for the seats up close. Because of the empty seats up front the ushers were letting people trade in their tickets for closer seats, but I chose to hang onto mine as I had a seat in the front row of the balcony so I could see and hear everything really well (and it was also very close to the bar and the restroom:]). As soon as the first notes of Stravinsky’s “Firebird Suite” started playing I experienced a rush of emotion, as I wasn’t sure if I’d ever see the band live again because of the long touring hiatus. I’m not going to relate a track by track description of the show, but I will mention things that stood out to me.

I am only 32 and I first saw Yes during the Talk tour in 1994, so seeing songs from the Drama album was a dream come true for me. The band slightly altered “Machine Messiah” by playing the section at the end in a more mellow way. The Drama songs were the highlight of the entire show for me. Benoit David said that he fell in love with “Onward” when he first listened to the Tormato album, and the song was his “special request” on the tour. I enjoyed seeing it live for the first time. “Astral Traveler” was another highlight for me, as this has always been my favorite song from the Peter Banks era. Steve Howe introduced the song by telling a story about how he had to learn the entire Time & a Word album in a short period of time. An interesting song from the second set was “Aliens”, sung by Chris Squire. I never heard this song before but I enjoyed it – the sci-fi lyrics reminded me of Hawkwind (If somebody knows what this song is from please let me know because I’m really curious – post a note here). Something humorous occurred toward the end of the second set when Chris Squire announced that the band would end the show with “Starship Trooper”, but then he noticed that Alan wasn’t on stage! Steve Howe reminded him that they were doing “Soon” next, and Chris apologized to the audience saying that he was confused because the band had been changing the set around. I enjoyed “Soon” but the impact of it was reduced because everybody thought they were going to hear “Starship Trooper”, and to me the piece is more powerful when it’s included with the entirety of “Gates of Delirium”. It loses something when performed by itself. During “Starship Trooper” Benoit had slight difficulty with some of the vocals and he looked over at Chris, but Chris made a gesture that essentially meant “don’t worry about it.” This made me think that this lineup must have good camaraderie.

Something else

Wow! I can't believe how good last night's show was. I've seen Yes 16 times and the show at Hershey may have been the best. Jon is missed but Benoit David was stellar last night, faithfully (and flawlessly) recreating the melodies of the original recordings. Many people have posted reviews on these shows, so just a few notes:

- Please go see this Yes on this tour! You will not be disappointed!

- As many have noted, Steve is incredible! He was almost as energetic as Chris last night.

- Benoit David sounds eerily like Jon, and sings so well you'd swear it's 1977 again.

- Maybe most importantly, the band is playing fast again! The leaden temp of the last few years has been sped up considerably, to 90125 levels!

- Finally, the great setlist. I'm so happy they added the Drama songs, Onward, and especially Starship Trooper to the set. The best version of Starship Trooper I've ever heard.

Again, please go see this show. The band deserves our support, and they are on fire again! It really does seem like they are doing this tour for the fans, and the Yes spirit was in full display last night!