Von Sebastian Dingler - Saarbrücker Zeitung

Thursday, May 23, 2024 10:29 PM

[GOOGLE TRANSLATE from original German to English]:

Yes, with a new cast, but old magic

The formation around band veteran Steve Howe played many classics in front of almost 1000 fans at the Luxembourg Rockhal.

Saarbruecker Zeitung
24 May 2024

Luxemburgwith the bands of the late sixties or early seventies, it's one thing: either they have disbanded long ago or they continue to play cheerfully in almost original line-up. Yes is different again: there is no one there anymore from the people who founded the band in 1968. Guitarist Steve Howe, who first joined the band in 1970 and is now the head of the band, is the last remaining member of the classic band that recorded the successful albums Fragile and Close to the Edge. Deceased and retired members were gradually replaced by younger musicians. In addition to Howe, only keyboardist Geoff Downes has a longer Yes tradition in the current formation, since he first joined in 1980.

When the band was performing at the Rockhal in Luxembourg, "Machine Messiah" was the first song from the controversial "Drama" album, the first with Downes. It was a big blow for fans at the time, as their two favorites, singer Jon Anderson and keyboard magician Rick Wakeman, were no longer there. Even worse: the pop duo The Buggles came in as a replacement, who started with "Video Killed the Radio

Star" had a number one hit. For Anderson, whose extremely high-pitched voice was the hallmark of Yes for decades, the almost identical Jon Davison is there today. Born in 1971, the Rockhal quite modestly refrained from any kind of exposed role, knowing full well that at best he is regarded by the fans as a substitute. He did his job well according to the circumstances, as did the latest Yes members Jay Schellen (drums) and Billy Sherwood (bass).

In all this, one should not forget: the band's music simply has a great magic and should be performed as long as it somehow works. This made the almost a thousand fans in the Rockhal ignore the fact that Davison doesn't sound like Anderson, that Downes doesn't have the finger skills of a Rick Wakeman and that Schellen's drumming doesn't come across as very original. In addition, today's standard drum sound unfortunately sounds quite powerful compared to the records from the seventies. This had a negative effect, for example, on the oldest number of the evening, Time and a Word.

It took the band a little while to warm up at first – at first it was not the best with the accuracy. But then the 77-year-old Howe proved that he is still at full height, except for small wobblers. Vegan nutrition and transcendental meditation apparently keep the guitarist young; his appearance is also becoming more and more guru-like with his semi-bald head and long white hair. It makes one involuntarily think of Loriot when he parodied a spiritualized intellectual – Howe could have served as a model for him. Owner of a Lonely Heart, the biggest hit of the band, could not be expected at the Rockhal – after all, it was recorded by a Yes formation that had nothing to do with the current one at all. With two exceptions, the good old songs of the seventies were played, including a evaporated but successful medley from the extensive double album Tales from Topographic Oceans. In the end, the audience jumped out of their seats, especially since they were presented with two of the best Yes songs, Roundabout and Starship Trooper, as an encore. There was standing applause for the bandleader Howe, whose solid lifestyle may give him many more active years.