Forgotten Yesterdays
Concert |
 | Yes |
Date
| Wednesday, April 2, 2014 (5 years and 23 days ago) |
Location
| Hamilton, Ontario, Canada |
Venue
| Hamilton Place Theatre (2,200 capacity) |
Lineup
| Geoff Downes (Keyboards) |
| Steve Howe (Guitars) |
| Chris Squire (Bass) |
| Alan White (Drums) |
| Jon Davison (Vocals) |
Setlist
Videos |
Reviews |
Wednesday, January 1, 2014 4:16 PM
"Yes brings another new lineup to Hamilton"
Article by: Graham Rockingham
The last time Yes came to Hamilton Place — in 2008 — the pioneering British prog-rock band was breaking in a new singer from Montreal to replace ailing co-founder Jon Anderson.
When Yes returns in April, the band will have another new frontman, as well as an old friend from The Buggles on keyboards.
Five years ago, the band — anchored by Chris Squire on bass, Steve Howe on guitar and Alan White on drums — spent two weeks in Hamilton rehearsing with new singer Benoit David before kicking off a world tour.
It was a contentious time for Yes fans, who had hoped the band would wait for Anderson to recover from a respiratory illness before performing a series of concerts to mark its 40th anniversary.
Instead, they picked up David, a Montreal tribute singer who Squire spotted performing Yes songs on YouTube.
The band also brought in Oliver Wakeman to replace his aging father, Rick Wakeman, the brilliant keyboard player who helped raise Yes to near the top of the U.S. charts with his distinctive Hammond organ work on the 1971 hit Roundabout.
Still, Yes pulled it off in style, gaining mostly favourable reviews.
The band recorded a new album and continued touring with the lineup through 2011. In January, 2012, "respiratory illness" also felled David.
"I guess, after a while Benoit, didn't feel it was the life for him," Squire, the only founding member still performing with Yes, said in an interview this week from his home in Arizona.
"He was a bit torn about being away from home. So eventually he decided it would be best if he moved on."
Yes had replacements on hand for both David and Oliver Wakeman, who had also left the band. On keyboards, they turned to Geoff Downes, a founder of English pop band The Buggles (Video Killed The Radio Star) and keyboardist on Yes's 1980 album, Drama.
On vocals, they found Jon Davison, a high-voiced singer in an American prog-rock band called Glass Hammer and childhood friend of Foo Fighters' drummer Taylor Hawkins.
"His name had been around for quite a few years as a suggestion," says Squire, 65.
"In fact my good buddy, Taylor Hawkins, always used to say to me, 'If you ever need someone to stand in for Jon Anderson, I know just the guy.' It turns out that Taylor and Jon Davison had been friends since they were five years old. So we gave him a tryout and he's been with us ever since."
Squire added that in the new year, the band plans to record an album of original material, the first with Davison at vocals.
When Yes returns to Hamilton Place on April 2, it plans to perform three of its best-known albums cover-to-cover, starting with Close To The Edge (1972), Going For The One (1977) and closing with The Yes Album (1971).
"All of these albums were milestones for us," Squire explained.
"The Yes Album was the first to gain us recognition in America, Close To The Edge was the first in which we did 20-minute songs taking up the entire side of a vinyl album, and Go For The One was the first we recorded outside of the U.K."
Yes has been nominated as a possible inductee next year into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame. Squire said that induction could reunite the band with both original vocalist Jon Anderson and keyboardist Rick Wakeman.
"Obviously, if the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame thing happened, Jon and Rick would join us," Squire said.
Tickets go on sale for the April 2 concert at Hamilton Place on Monday at 10 a.m.
Article by: Graham Rockingham
The last time Yes came to Hamilton Place — in 2008 — the pioneering British prog-rock band was breaking in a new singer from Montreal to replace ailing co-founder Jon Anderson.
When Yes returns in April, the band will have another new frontman, as well as an old friend from The Buggles on keyboards.
Five years ago, the band — anchored by Chris Squire on bass, Steve Howe on guitar and Alan White on drums — spent two weeks in Hamilton rehearsing with new singer Benoit David before kicking off a world tour.
It was a contentious time for Yes fans, who had hoped the band would wait for Anderson to recover from a respiratory illness before performing a series of concerts to mark its 40th anniversary.
Instead, they picked up David, a Montreal tribute singer who Squire spotted performing Yes songs on YouTube.
The band also brought in Oliver Wakeman to replace his aging father, Rick Wakeman, the brilliant keyboard player who helped raise Yes to near the top of the U.S. charts with his distinctive Hammond organ work on the 1971 hit Roundabout.
Still, Yes pulled it off in style, gaining mostly favourable reviews.
The band recorded a new album and continued touring with the lineup through 2011. In January, 2012, "respiratory illness" also felled David.
"I guess, after a while Benoit, didn't feel it was the life for him," Squire, the only founding member still performing with Yes, said in an interview this week from his home in Arizona.
"He was a bit torn about being away from home. So eventually he decided it would be best if he moved on."
Yes had replacements on hand for both David and Oliver Wakeman, who had also left the band. On keyboards, they turned to Geoff Downes, a founder of English pop band The Buggles (Video Killed The Radio Star) and keyboardist on Yes's 1980 album, Drama.
On vocals, they found Jon Davison, a high-voiced singer in an American prog-rock band called Glass Hammer and childhood friend of Foo Fighters' drummer Taylor Hawkins.
"His name had been around for quite a few years as a suggestion," says Squire, 65.
"In fact my good buddy, Taylor Hawkins, always used to say to me, 'If you ever need someone to stand in for Jon Anderson, I know just the guy.' It turns out that Taylor and Jon Davison had been friends since they were five years old. So we gave him a tryout and he's been with us ever since."
Squire added that in the new year, the band plans to record an album of original material, the first with Davison at vocals.
When Yes returns to Hamilton Place on April 2, it plans to perform three of its best-known albums cover-to-cover, starting with Close To The Edge (1972), Going For The One (1977) and closing with The Yes Album (1971).
"All of these albums were milestones for us," Squire explained.
"The Yes Album was the first to gain us recognition in America, Close To The Edge was the first in which we did 20-minute songs taking up the entire side of a vinyl album, and Go For The One was the first we recorded outside of the U.K."
Yes has been nominated as a possible inductee next year into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame. Squire said that induction could reunite the band with both original vocalist Jon Anderson and keyboardist Rick Wakeman.
"Obviously, if the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame thing happened, Jon and Rick would join us," Squire said.
Tickets go on sale for the April 2 concert at Hamilton Place on Monday at 10 a.m.
