Phil

Saturday, March 24, 2018 5:54 AM

Sadly,Steve played Clap at Brighton NOT Mood for a Day.The latter is an absolutely fantastic piece and one I've not heard him play since QPR and Reading (?) in 1975! Rather like Roundabout,Clap is good too but somewhat overplayed these days imho.This was,however,the only slight negative in what was otherwise an outstanding concert.I went because of the Tales material,which was a revelation,but the whole band and performance were superb from start to finish.

Dan

Thursday, March 22, 2018 12:23 PM

Yes at The Brighton Centre last night, a celebration of 50 years. A most excellent display despite (as I said in my report from their 2016 tour) the ethics of "who's in the band and is it really Yes without so-and-so" ?

The current Steve Howe-led ensemble (singer Jon Davison, bassist Billy Sherwood, keyboardist Geoff Downes, guitar maestro Steve Howe and drummer Jay Schellen deputising for an ailing Alan White) took the audience through selections from the first 10 years out of 50, culminating in a sizeable chunk of Tales From Topographic Oceans. Alan White, recovering after back surgery, came out and gamely drummed for the last part of "Ritual : Nous Sommes Du Soleil" and the inevitable encores of "Roundabout" and "Starship Trooper". It wasn't great to see one of my favourite drummers as a shadow of his former self - however, deputy Jay Schellen did a marvellous job behind the traps for the majority of the concert.

My main observation is that this version of the band have really started to impose their own personalities on the fabulous and complex Yes catalogue, going way beyond being a "cd-quality" tribute band just going through the motions.

The future ? I'll await and observe with interest - the legend of Yes is far from over yet...

Great set list, though :

Set 1 :

The Firebird Suite

Yours Is No Disgrace
I've Seen All Good People
Sweet Dreams
South Side of the Sky
Onward
Clap
Wonderous Stories
Parallels
And You and I

Set 2 :

The Revealing Science of God (Dance of the Dawn)
Leaves of Green
Ritual (Nous sommes du soleil)

Encore:

Roundabout
Starship Trooper