A silly rumor got started years ago that Steve Howe played Steve Hackett's 'Horizons' at this gig. It's even listed on the back of some bootleg recordings. But of course, as those recordings clearly show, he did not play 'Horizons'. He played 'Diary of a Man Who Vanished'/'Clap'/'Mood For A Day' (and then 'Leaves of Green', with JA on vocals)

CJ

Thursday, February 21, 2013 10:10 PM

I was almost 14 when I took a girl to see them for her birthday (of course, she's a fan, but things didn't work out romantically), and I did see younger fans there in the balcony too. I'm glad of everyone's reviews, since I don't remember much of it 15 years later. The balloons were the highlight for me, rumours of Chris being late (hence the half-hour delay), as well as

Joan Jacobson

I'd like to take the opportunity to respond to a few of the messages out there about Friday's show.

To Jason Compton:
There's such a thing as applauding DURING a performance. You applaud when things move you to. Steve was doing some exceptional work and people were applauding it. You apparently didn't notice the audience doing the same thing for Chris, Igor, or Alan...

To Ammonium:
I was in the Orchestra Pit..everyone I talked to got their tickets On-line (as I did). They were the best seats I've ever had!! I was six feet from the stage! Did you see the look that Jon gave the security guard who tried to take the balloon? I don't know if you caught it, but after the balloon was relased back to the crowd, Jon said "He's new". I must say, though, that balloons belong in outdoor venues and not indoor ones. It was way too distracting. Though I must admit it was funny when one bounced off the head of someone in front of me.

To whomever wrote the "noise" that follows Ammonium's message:
I find it hard to believe we were at the same place! I found it to be an EXCEPTIONAL show!! Perhaps you were at the wrong venue..

To the "purists" I've seen complaining about Igor:
Rick Wakeman was not the original keyboard player, Tony Kaye was. So if you're going to get picky..you should be upset that Tony wasn't there, not because Rick wasn't. Igor did a TREMENDOUS job doing Rick's material, and that's no mean feat!

Rich Schmid

I've always wanted to see both Yes and Genesis in a small theatre show. I've waited for over fifteen years to do so. Okay, so I recently got screwed out of Genesis, but Yes (being more realistic and only booking small venues from the start) came through. And this tour will always be remembered if not for anything else.

Although I thought the musicianship was solid and the set list was almost perfect, I have to admit that I was disappointed in the energy level in this concert. Steve had technical difficulties right from the start (he got no volume out of his pedal steel for his solo in Siberian Khatru), and it seemed to really irritate him. He barely moved all night. No kicking and dancing around, no fun at all really. Most of the audience was fairly subdued, as well. The only songs they seemed to really appreciate were the ones that so many of us old Yes fans complain that they play too much - ISAGP, Roundabout and LDR. The guy next to be was actually sleeping during RSOG and Soon! What an idiot.

And I also have to agree with some other reviews I've read that some of Billy's harmony vocals were very odd, and did not fit well. It's going to be a while before he's accepted on stage. Most people in the audience around me were audibly wondering who the hell he was and why he was up there just to play rhythm guitar (which I couldn't hear a note of, anyway) and sing backup. Does a band as good as Yes need a rhythm guitar player or a fifth (and now sixth with Igor) backup vocalist? Come on, we all know the answer is No. I just hope we don't end up seeing twelve guys standing on stage next time around (ala Pink Floyd), because the real members of the group can't play their instruments very well anymore.

I also question the choice of "Children of the Light." I recently bought the KTA2 album, and I am very impressed with the studio tracks. I think they are much stronger than the ones on KTA1. But COTL is probably the weakest, with no real structure to it. Now, "Mind Drive" - this is a wonderful, wonderful song. It picks up my spirits each time I listen to it.

All in all, Yes is probably better to their fans than any other band I know. They've now released four disks (KTA1 and 2) completely aimed at their old 70s fans, full of nothing but solid live versions of classics and new songs that are very intricate, expansive and rich in instrumentation (some of the reasons we love them so much). And now they will release a new disk aimed at their 80s fans, which is more guitar based and somewhat poppy, but still very uplifting. And just look at the set list for this tour. Yes seems to truly care about their fans. I just wish that I hadn't have caught them on what appeared to be a bad night for them. Oh, well.

Nathan Rover

Having never been to a Yes show before, I was elated at the opportunity to see my favorite band of all time in concert. I had origionally bought my tickets at Ticketmaster Online, but the billing adress on my mom's boyfriend's card didn't check out, so they dropped our tickets. We had to re-order, and got tickets in the nosebleed section way off to the side. The sound there was very distorted, and it was hard to hear any of the words Jon was singing. The bass and drums were overpowering too. I was very impressed with Igor's performance and thought he kept up well with the rest. Chris was a total nut on stage, bouncing around and during the drum solo, he dropped to one knee facing Alan and spread out his arms as though worshiping his talents. Very amusing.

As far as I could see, I was by far the youngest fan there at 20, but that didn't bother me. Hopefully, this isn't the last time they'll come to this area and I'll be able to see them again with better seats.

Albert Carrasco

What happened to the blue balloons? I'm looking at a punctured one in my hand, right now. Thanks for the unique souvenir, Jon.

Froy: ALL THIS ANGST!?! Lighten up, dude. If the shows make you this miserable, maybe you should stay home.

After everybody's ripping Igor and Billy, I was truly prepared for something wretched. What a surprise. They're both very capable sidemen -- doing exactly what they were hired to do. Rick's gone. Let's move on. Jon put it best at the show when he said, "We've always been lucky to find the musicians we need". And frankly, if Jon, Steve, Chris, and Alan are happy, what does it matter what the know-it-all "purists" think. Stay home and listen to your records and leave the concerts to the grown ups.

The show was great. Jon was so playful and really funny. Chris and Steve haven't lost a step and the small venue made it one of the best Yesshows I've seen dating back to 1976. "Soon" was so emotional and most everything had more punch than the SLO recordings. During "Starship Trooper" Chris and Jon's harmonies got a little out of synch and when they sang the line "this is all confusion", Chris said, "Yeah, it's fucked up". Hardly.

You're in for a real treat if you haven't seen the tour yet. Don't listen to the naysayers. Go with an open mind and enjoy.

Eggman

I am only 14 and this is my first Yes oncert I have ever attended. The other concerts I saw were Paul McCartney and Page/Plant This ranks rightrup there with those legends. I attended the concert with my mother and a friend of mine from school. We were both completely blown away. My friend, being a guitarist himself was completely amazed with Steve Howe as was I. We arrived the concert early and found out our seats were three rows from the last! This would have put a damper on the evning. We moved up to the front of the balcony. We stayed there till the begginning of the show until some peole finally claimed their seats. Wemoved back to more suitable seats as the show began. "Siberian Khatru" kicked it off with great effect beside some occasional mike feedback. I was familiar with all the music this night besides Rhythm of Love ,America, and Soon. My mother didn't take me to this show, I took her. I love all this music and know it quite well. I urged her to go. After Heart of the Sunrise which left me stunned, my friend and I moved up to the railing of the balcony to get a better view. We stayed here for the remainer of the concert, right in the aisle with binoculars in hand. I, for one liked Owner and I didn't see anything wrong with Sherwood, he added a lot to the vocals. I loved all the solo sections especially Howe's and Squire's. What I would give to be in that first row during Squire's solo! Fantastic! Jon stunned me with his crisp voice. He still sounds amazing. I liked the new stuff and loved all the classics. The Revealing Science of God was incredible. Just about every song was incredible. Did anyone notice when Chris leaned into the microphone during Starship Trooper and said something was "fu**ed up." What was that about? As you can tell this show left myself, my friend, and mother in a state blissful shock. If they come around again, I will be there. Hopefully with better seats.

Jason Compton

In Chicago last night, as part of Steve Howe's section he played Steve Hackett's Horizons as I believe the third song in his set. For one thing it didn't seem to go over too well with a few members of the audience (who yelled "hurry it up!" and cheered inappropriately in the middle, as though you would to do a speaker who is boring and you want to "applaud off the stage"). Whether that was a lack of appreciation for Horizons or just their frustration at a "long" one-man acoustical set, I'm not sure.

But I looked on the various OYE concert review pages and though I didn't read all of them, I didn't see any other reference to Horizons. I did see some question marks in his setlist, so perhaps the people doing the reviews were simply unfamiliar with the song? Or is this the first time Howe has played Horizons on this tour?

(For those unaware: Horizons is Track 5 on Genesis' 1972 Foxtrot album, and Hackett has revisited it more than once since.) The only bad part was that after hearing Horizons I was all geared up for Supper's Ready. :)

I wasn't sure what to expect out of Billy Sherwood and Igor, having only heard the former's version of Keep It Dark and knowing very little about the latter. But I don't know what all the complaining is about. Sherwood's voice sounds sort of like a Jon Anderson parody but they fill in the parts necessary. And as for the playing, I thought Igor was great on the keys and Sherwood fit quite well into the set.

Many have complained that Sherwood "only played chords"...well, with a guitar virtuoso in Howe on the opposite side of the stage, which would you RATHER have in that role? Of course, you'd want the guy who is "very good", not the guy who, if nothing else, is a world-class guitarist. I don't long for anybody to come and replace Billy or Igor.

The feedback instances (I counted four) were not extremely distracting but of course the experience would have been a bit better without them.

The light show was absolutely first class. Top of the line. Doesn't get any better than this.

The only other concert (save those in basements, etc.) that I've been to was REM, at the larger Rosemont Horizon in late 1995 in support of Monster. What a world of difference. Not only is the Theater a better venue but Yes was so much better as a live band it defies description. They made the audience feel welcome and like it was the fans who were doing them the favor by being there, not vice versa. Let's face it, be it the old workhorses in Anderson, Howe, Squire and White or the young turks in Sherwood and Khoroshev, all of those guys know that they're lucky to be where they are, and it really comes through in the performance.

Final note: Chris Squire must be the biggest ham to ever pick up a four-stringed instrument. And I love him for it.

Ammonium

The show at the Rosemont Theather was great. I won't go into too many details, but Jon was pretty cool about the balloon incident after the guy tried to take away our balloons. What ever happened to them? Did security get them?

It seems that the Yesworld tickets weren't as good as they were for other shows. The first four rows which were in the orchestra pit didn't seem to have any Yesworld people, but correct me if I'm wrong. I got tenth row which is great, but not quite what I was expecting.

There seemed to be problems with the sound board. A few times there were squeeks. Also, it seemed that occasionally Jon's voice was drowned out. At the beginning of the final song it also seemed like something was wrong because everything seemed really soft. When Jon tried playing his 6-string it apparently wouldn't work for some reason so he had to play the song with a 12-string.

I've been reading posts and have seen that Jon says that Offord rolled the tapes in previous concerts. Tonight he said joints instead of tapes. Has this happened before?

I thought that Chris was awesome. He seemed to be the most energetic of anybody and played really well. Igor played well. He, if anything, was too loud at times rather than too soft like in the beginning of the tour. Except for a couple of brief instances I would have done a fairly good job playing Sherwood's parts. Most of the time he looked like a kid just learning to play the guitar by playing one chord and strumming slowing.

The fans seemed pretty good overall. I had some rude people right behind me who started yelling at our row to sit down during the middle of the first song. Everyone on the main floor stood for the next two songs except the people behind me in my section. I don't really see the point in going to a concert if I'm just going to sit there and act boring. Anyways, it was interesting to hear the people behind me complaining about "these people!" when the balloons came by.

Overall, I'd say that it is the best concert I've been to, although I haven't been to many. If I compare everything to the KTA or other live version, these just killed them. I can't believe that Jon needed any overdubs on KTA since he was nearly flawless.

Froy

Just got back from the most uninspired YES show I've ever seen, Im going to get to the main problems of this show

First of all Billy Sherwood is terrible, He can't sing or play guitar In fact he ruined every song he did harmonies on, Why has Chris stopped his marmonies in favor of Sherwood, The rendition of Owner was aweful and needs to be put to sleep, Next Igor was just as bad as Sherwood If anyone says Rick is not missed they are not a true Yes fan , Rick brings the spirituality to the music the melodic sounds Igor is totally lost, during Starship JON looks over to Igor and just smirked It's time to fess up here and get Rick back before it's too late. Did any one feel that after the show that they only heard 6 or 7 songs These 10 min songs hurt the flow of the concert Why after Heart of the Sunrise does Steve do a 10 minute solo then into Leaves again slowing down the show, My point is The set list is stale This band is not tight at all they look totally uninspired Thank god for Soon and The Revealing