Rhea Frankel

Thursday, February 21, 2013 9:44 PM

I went to this show! I wrote about it on my blog at [Link]

Jimmy M.

This was the era when there seemed to be a new Yes CD coming out every other week. Besides Open Your Eyes, there were Keys To Ascension 2 and the BBC Live release. I remember OYE kind of snuck up on me. I was driving through the wet streets on a rainy fall night and the title track was being played on Philly's FM station 93.3 WMMR. This would be the last time I would hear a NEW Yes track played on ANY radio station! Just days away were their scheduled shows at The Tower Theater in nearby Upper Darby. I attended the first show on Saturday Evening October 25th. The new guy, Igor K., was fine if not as flashy as Mr. Wakeman. Billy Sherwood was back in the band as well(I'd first heard of him bandied about as a possible replacement for Jon Anderson in 1989 and had first seen him perform on the Talk Tour in 1994). He handled alot of vocals and guitar stuff on the few Rabin tunes still in the set(OLH and ROL)and other things as well. I didn't mind them pretty much dumping that stuff after this tour since they didn't sound quite as good without Rabin. It was great hearing all the classics performed yet again. Standouts/surprises on this evening were Leaves Of Green and The Revealing Science Of God. The low point was the group of people behind me who literally would NOT shut up during the whole show! This is an annoying trend I've noticed over the last five years or so. The most amazing thing about this whole trend is the fact that most of the offenders are all older fans like myself(30s or 40s)! Is my generation really THAT ignorant and THAT starved for attention that they have to DEPRIVE the rest of us of our musical experiences? An extra demerit point for each of them being so-called Yes fans!

Mark Chapman

I was fortunate enough to make it up to Tower for the Saturday show. I have never driven up to Philly from D.C. for a show, much less the Tower, which I've known about for some time.

I have seen Yes quite a number of times, and this show on Saturday was the best by far (even though I would like to have seen some of the early tours like Going for the One, Relayer, or TTO). I was sitting in the first row of the second orchestra section. Although sitting up close is always nice, I had had a fourth row seat for Fairfax, and sitting back a little ways was nice, too. The only problem was that the permanent orchestra (soft) seats sink down a bit compared to the movable hard seats in the front section. So I was actually a bit obscured, looking over people in front of me, even though the floor is slanted. I couldn't even see Jon all of the time because of head blockage. But most of the time it was OK.

Anyway, this was a stupendous show, mostly due to the size of the theatre. Whereas there were probably about the same amount of people at the Fairfax and Philly shows, Tower was packed, and it seemed like everyone there had a great time. The set list was the same, although I THINK Steve threw in a different song at the beginning of his solo. Perhaps someone else will clarify this.

A local DJ came out and announced the show, and reminded everyone that it was Jon's actual birthday. He told everyone (everyone who was seated 15 minutes prior to the show's beginning) that we would sing 'Happy Birthday' to Jon after the end of 'Soon.' We all did that and it was a very nice experience. I think Jon really enjoyed it.

I felt that all of the band members were really into the show this night. Steve was much more animated than he had been at Fairfax. Igor-Ivan seemed a lot more loose, and his solo was much longer than at Fairfax. I enjoyed his playing. I really have no complaints about the show except for the various screams from...as is often described...creatures who occupy the lower-end of the evolutionary scale. (There was one guy in particular near me who I would really, really like to have killed. Sorry for the negative comment...but try going to a Worldwide Wrestling match instead, you idiot.)

Anyway, I thought 'America,' 'Soon,' and 'Revealing Science of God' were awesome experiences this Saturday night. Jon didn't skip a beat starting RSG right after we all sang 'Happy Birthday.' It was really quite a moving experience. I was in heaven.

The audience really tried to get the group back out after the thunderous version of 'Starship,' but to no avail. Too bad! I think everyone could have listened for another two hours.

I don't really collect too much memorabilia, but I had to get a second T-shirt, I was so excited by the show.

Hope most of you get to experience such a great Yes show sometime!

Jim

I attended the YES show last night at the Tower and,in a word, it was incredible. All the guys were in top form, and they we as tight as I have ever heard them. After seeing the show, I have developed some comments and questions the group may be interested in, so here goes:

#1: Although noone can replace Wakeman, Igor was more than I expected. I was ready for some lame Wakeman imitation, but was very surprised when I heard him. He seems to like to play on the jazzier side, and is not prone to bouts of overbearing playing as Wakeman is. He seems partial to piano, and I have never seen a YES keyboardist sit during the show. Although in saying that I do miss Wakeman's out in front approach. In addition, I don't think Igor played a many keyboards simultantiously as Wakeman does, which is also sort of a draw back. Also, I think there were some samples programmed into his keyboards. I remember two instances, but at the moment only one is jumping out. During the keyboard solo in AYAI, he played the main part with his right hand, but it did not look like he was playing with his left, but you could still hear the two note chords (I think that is the correct term) being played during the solo. (Definition of two note chords: what Tony Kaye plays while Wakeman solos during this song on the Union tour). This reminds me of another observation. I realize that this is Igor's sixth show or something, and his familiarity with the music is therefore limited, so I cannot critisize him for this, but did anyone else notice that the large majority of his solos (except ROundabout and ST if I remember correctly) were virtual copies of the studio solos? Wakeman usually shakes them up a little, but Igors solos were practicly note for note from the album. I imagine tha this will change when he gets more used to the music. Overall, however, he was an incredible player whos only possible direction is up.

#2: Billy Sherwood's role seems to be to take up Squire's slack in singing, and fake Rabin's presence. It seems that Squire has admitted that his voice has not stood the test of time like Anderson's has, and has let Billy take over some of his sining parts. However, this is only speculation. I think Billy's main role is to take up Steve's slack in being the typical rock guitarist because Steve refuses to be one. I think his presence can only add more depth and variety to the music in the future. He also provides a way to fill out the guitars (especially in the area of overdubbing) to sound more like the albums.

#3: Steve Howe. I know he does not enjoy playing the Rabin stuff, that much is obvious, but could he at least ACT like he does. He looks completely disinterested in playing it. On Owner, He really needs to play the begining power chords better, but the ending solo is incredible. He seemed to be a little undermixed at the beginig, but that was fixed quickly. With this in mind, I noticed something about Heart of the Sunrise. Now, I may be udderly wrong about this because I was focusing on Squire and wasn't really paying attention to the others at this time. During Squire's solo, Howe's guitar line comes in quietly and builds in intensity until it is as prominent as the bass, then the drums come in and the two go into the opening riff. Now, my question is, didn't Howe come in rather abruptly during this part? I remember thinking, when the drums came in, "I don't remember hearing STeve come in." Did anyone else notice this? Moving on...I am very interested in how he goes about playing the various guitars on the songs, a I noticed some peculiararities about this show. First off, (outside of the Topographic tour) I have never seen Howe put anything besides his Sitar on a stand. His (what appeared to me as his) Martin 0018 was on a stand. Is this because he is admitting that he is getting too old to keep switching around in the middle of songs all the time? Does anyone know what prompted him to do start putting other guitars on sta

Luis Mazier

This a brief review of Saturday night's outstanding show at the Tower Theater.

I have been keeping up with previous reviews so I will try not to go over the same material.

The set list was the sames as previous nights except for the audience singing "Happy Birthday" to Jon Anderson right after the completion of "Soon". {An addition to the set list} The first song played by Steve Howe on his acoustic solo set, I believe it is called "Second Initial" which only appears on his "Not Necessarily Acoustic" release from 1994.

Initial comments on the show. The band's sound mix sounded very good. Khorosev's sound from his keyboards were just right. During TRSOG, his keyboard parts sounded great. I guess the band solved a problem that plagued them in earlier shows. Steve Howe seemed to have some problems with his equipment, he kept having frequent conversations with his guitar technician. He had to tune his guitar before "Leaves of Green".

Chris Squire definitely looks like he is enjoying himself during this tour. He just could not contain his happiness. Jon stood in the front and danced on his platform. the stage was shrouded with white tapestries. The light and slide effects were just right to go along with the initmacy of the show.

The Set.
Rhythm of Love: Suprisingly, this song worked very well. Billy Sherwood handled Rabin's vocals and guitar leads very well. The ending with Howe, Sherwood, and Khoroshev trading leads made seem like classic Yes piece from the 70's.

Siberian Khatru and America: Sounded like the KTA set. It was just so good to hear them live again. Steve Howe's solo at end of Siberian Khatru was energetic, including his little leg kicks.

Open Your Eyes: Howe played an instrument that looked like an electric sitar (?)

And You and I: Included the original acoustic beginning, even though the crowd noise was loud during the opening.

Heart of the Sunrise: Strong piece. Squire's bass solo was very stirring. He played it with much enjoyment over the crowd's reaction.

Second Initial/Masquerade/Clap: Steve Howe at his masterful best.

Leaves of Green {ending from The Ancient}: Extremely nice to hear this piece. Anderson Khoroshev helped out.

Keyboard solo: Ivan show some flair on the piano.

Children of Light: Makes me want to buy the album.

Long Distance Runaround/The Fish/White solo: Squire solo was energetic. It was extermely crowd-pleasing oriented. His bass playing was flawless and energetic. White and Squire combined some old classics into their solos.

Owner of a Lonely Heart: this came out OK. Probably the tune that did the least for me, personally. Sherwood did a good rendition of Rabin's guitar work. I guess at heart I am stuck on the Yes of the 70's and late 90's.

Soon: What a dramtic piece. Between Howe's steel guitar parts and Sherwood's acoustic parts. Jon's vocals just could carry you away.

The revealing Science of God: A must for all Yes fans to hear live.

I've seen all good people, Roundabout: Good work on the pieces. Howe plays the Mandolin. Roundabout with a very acoustic feel.

Starship Trooper: Terrific. The ending with Howe and Sherwood playing twin leads and trading lead guitar licks was very nice.

Unknown

I took Patti to her first Yes concert last night (my 8th). Yes sounds better than ever!! We both enjoyed every part of the show that lasted almost three hours.

Jon's voice was strong and clear. He still give me goosebumps with the "in the city" lines in "Heart of the sunrise."

Steve dazzled the crowd all night long. He played the slide incredibly all thru "And you and I" ( I thank God everyday that Rabin is gone).

Chris played, sounded and looked great.

Hey!! Why don't they turn Igor up? The only time that he could be heard was when nobody else was playing.

Alan was great as always. And there was some guy named Billy standing beside Chris.

Hope I don't have to wait another three years for the next tour.

Dave Westbay

Well, Saturday night I went to my first show of this tour, in Philly, and I have a few comments. A couple of minor spoilers too, which I will save for the end of this note.

The band was in very good form. Steve was especially hot, playing some intense solos. Jon only flubbed the lyrics a couple of times, but his voice sounded in excellent shape. Chris, Billy, Alan and Igor all played very well with a minimum of miscues (although the show was not flawless). Actually I don't mind the occasional slip-up; it shows that the band is not just a machine, but a collection of imperfect human beings. I prefer to see how they handle the mistakes; that shows their character. The band didn't let anything throw them off track; they put on a fine show.

The light show was quite effective - not overwhelming, it complimented the music nicely throughout. The sound mix was a little erratic; it sounded very loud at the beginning, but seemed to moderate as the show went on. I don't know if they turned it down or I just got used to it. There was STILL the often-reported problem of Igor not being loud enough, at least at times. He is playing well enough, so I don't know why he seems to be the victim of this recurring difficulty. Speaking of Igor, here is my first impression: he hasn't quite got all of his nervousness worked out yet, IMO. He seems stiff on stage at times, especially when playing his solos within the songs. He recreates the studio versions a little too faithfully for my tastes sometimes; maybe he'll feel more comfortable putting his own touches on them as the tour goes on and he settles into the band. His short piano solo had the jazz influence I would associate with Patrick Moraz; maybe he will bring some more of that into his playing of the rest of the set. He certainly seems capable of handling the job; I wouldn't mind if he sticks around for a while.

The band needs to figure out what to do with Billy Sherwood on stage. He gets a couple of chances to step out front, but for a full member of the band he sure looks like a sideman. He doesn't get a solo spot like the rest of the guys; even Igor gets a couple of minutes by himself, and he IS just a sideman (at least for now). I think that Billy and Igor should work up a duet that they could do in the show. And, Billy and Steve should do more dual-guitar stuff. Why not take advantage of the fact that they have two competent guitarists on stage, which they failed to do properly on the Union tour? It could only expand the possibilities to make the music more interesting, including the older songs. Yours Is No Disgrace is a perfect example of a great two-guitar song, and I DON'T mean the way they did two separate solos on the Union tour. I'm talking about trading phrases the way Howe did with himself on the original. I'd love to see them work this one up, maybe for the next leg of the tour, when and if there is one.

OK, the spoilers: although this was my first show, I have seen the set lists for the previous ones and talked to people who went to some of them. The biggest difference was that Steve added a song to his solo set: a country piece that I recognized from his "Not Necessarily Acoustic" album but whose title I don't recall. He played that first, followed by Masquerade and Clap. I'm also told that Igor's solo had previously come as an extended intro to Children of Light; this time it was before Long Distance Runaround. Other than that I believe the set list was the same as since Boston. My favorite "surprises" of the set were "Leaves of Green" and the full-band version of "Soon." These pieces both sounded terrific and should have been done this way on previous tours. The light show worked best on Revealing Science, complimenting the lyrics especially well in spots. A last note: Saturday was Jon Anderson's birthday, and radio DJ Ed Sciaky came on before the show to let us know when we were to sing Happy Birthday to Jon (right after Soon). It was a nice m