26 years, 3 months and 22 days ago Thursday, July 30, 1998 Dallas, Texas Starplex Amphitheatre 20,111 capacity
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Katrina Reyna During the 30th anniversary tour we followed them across Texas. first in Dallas then Austin then finally San Antonio. throughout those 3 days we had AWESOME seats and Billy could look down and see my dad and i. so we kept making eye contact and waving throughout the three days. until the concert in Austin, when i got up on my seat like a crazy person and started yelling Jon's name until finally he noticed me. Then I screamed at him "I'll see you in San Antonio Jon!!" and he just smiled really big at me and waved as did Billy and Igor. So there we were my dad and i on our way to San Antonio. and we managed to get "staff" passes and just stuck around backstage. then i saw Jon and he saw me and just gives me a big hug. i was speechless, i couldn't think!! then we started talking and he invited my dad and i to go talk in his dressing room. i was crying by that point.... it was absolutely awesome. so we talk for about 30 minutes and i tell him about our "staff" passes and he says that he will have to do something about that. so he goes to the road manager and gets us 2 VIP passes. so we go to watch the show from the 1st row instead of out 24th row tickets and we got to go to the meet and greet after the show. which meant autographs and pictures. i had to chance to meet the most inspirational people in my life at 14. and my dad got to also he told me that i got to do something at 14 that he has been waiting 30 years to do. Jon, Steve, Chris, Alan and Igor are the most kind and down to earth people I have met and they all have beautiful spirits, talents, and hearts. I hope many more people get to experiance them and their music. Geb Bennett Friends and neighbors, this has been the most phenomenal three days I can remember in years! It actually started on Wednesday when Jon was supposed to make an in-store appearance. On arriving I found out he had cancelled but the local radio station was there to give away Yes tickets and other stuff so I stuck around. I found three other Yesfans (fancy that!) and hung out talking of all matters Yes. The next night at the Dallas show, who was sitting directly behind us but the same guys. Then we find out that in a city of millions they live just down the street! The Dallas show was stellar, although the outdoor Starplex was much less intimate than the Bronco Bowl where they played last November. We knew the set list but it was a nice surprise to hear Steve play Surface Tension and Sketches in the Sun (my wife couldn't believe there was only one person playing and thought there was a tape accompanying him!). The Surround Sound was interesting but not essential. It was evident on YIND but not much else - maybe it was our location, next to the left aisle about 20 rows back. Like many fans have expressed, I would have liked a more imaginative set list, but being there, seeing, hearing, feeling the magic created by those six individuals was still extremely powerful. On Friday Jon rescheduled his record signing. There was obviously little or no promotion for this event because only about 25 people showed up. This was no problem for anyone because Jon got to spend 5-10 minutes sitting and talking to each person. I must admit I was unprepared for this because I couldn't think of anything to say and probably came off as a babbling idiot. Jon was very nice, though, and when I told him what I did for a living (I'm a paleontologist) we discussed dinosaurs for awhile. His dinosaurs were in an alternate dimension (in a friend's vision) while mine were just extinct, so it was an interesting conversation. Thanks to Jon for forgiving yet another fumbling, awe-struck fan, and for coming out to see us when you had to catch a plane to Houston just a few hours later. Michael Alan Parsons was just great. YES was better. Surround sound didnt matter. Kinda cool though, but Pink Floyd did it better. >{? Wondrous Stories was a special song for me. CTTE totally remarkable. Heart of the Sunrise.... KICK ASS! Yours is no Disgrace ... ( was no disgace ) OK OK I admit it I am a avid fan and ... I could go on and on..and bore everyone. but I wont. Quickly though Alan Parsons Project played Dr Tarr and Professor Feather. Intro (bad ass!) Phychobabble Eye in the sky Step by step and about 5 more I cant remember... 2 were from the new cd - "in the air" Chris Just got back from Starplex and I'm still shaking my head in amazement.The guys sounded incredible. The sound was sorta of muddled early on but was just about corrected by Yours is no Disgrace.Highlights were CLOSE TO THE EDGE(!!!) and Yours is No Disgrace.I've heard people say that the harmonies in the middle section of Close to the Edge were pretty bad but tonight YES pulled it off perfectly tonight.The small( I mean really small) crowd saw a fantastic show tonight by YES. I saw YES in Dallas and Houston in November but tonight topped those shows in my opinion. Howe played to a standing ovation after he played surface tension/sketches in the sun/and Clap. The setlist is unchanged from the other shows so no real surprises except how well the guys performed tonight. |