H Bushell

Friday, May 21, 2021 2:41 AM

I was at this show. From Ottawa with a small group of friends.. we bought tickets on a bus tour to see the show. Stupid driver got lost in downtown Buffalo and we missed Donovan (much of the reason I was looking forward to the show).. heard the last few minutes of his set as we finally pulled into the stadium parking lot. UGH. Seger was boring, J Geils was ok but yes were worth the whole trip.

BNS

Sunday, October 20, 2013 6:08 PM

I was 15 when say Donovan, J Geils Band, Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band and Yes. It was a hot day in the stands, can't imagine it had to be scorching.

Got there with two songs left for Donovan then J. Geils who were great with Magic Dick burning down the house.

I went to see Seger and it was phenomenal as well. It was just before he cut his hair and turned semi-country. This tour was his most Rock N Roll period.

Then we waited for an hour and a half why they set up the lights and and Snowman. The sound before they came out was painfully loud with waves of white noise. When they finally came out half the people left by the 3rd song. It was almost impossible to understand what what the songs were.

Two years ago I was checking out some DimeaDozen about the 1977 Yes Tour. The writer said this "Without exception audience captures of GFTO tour arena shows have certain
unpleasant properties in common, regardless of taper, equipment or any subsequent remaster. A high occurrence of “swish” and “swirl” primarily in heavy crash cymbals is the most disturbing, but unevenness in PA volume and PA mix afflicts all to varying degrees as well.

The problem in 1977 most likely stems from a road engineer with hearing loss how that got by Yes we can only imagine. Sound system configuration may also be a factor, and if so likely goes back to the engineer’s problem".

One of the posters up above mentioned the noise and the sound that was different to say the least. The hour and a half to set up lights at 4:30 was the other strange thing as the sun still have 5 hours before going down. I don't know who was the overall Tour Manager, but it was surreal to say the least.

Gary Miller

I HAVE ONE OF THOSE JACKETS! I am making some room in my closet so its for sale on EBAY...today! I can't believe anyone else remembers them. Its horrible, but I kept mine for all these years.

howard storey

i was at this concert ,it was the first time i saw yes. the crowd was not really into yes. i remember the bottles and the other stuff flying at the band i was down on the feild and tried to get as close to the stage as i could. one thing that sticks out from that hazy day was the green drum set i had never seen so many drums in one set before. i just saw yes and asia in jamestown n.y. on aug 1 2009 what a difference 32 years makes the concert was great. the crowd was small i sat real close to the stage. it was one of the best concerts i have ever seen. fan for life!

mike rae

This was my 2nd YES show; I was 15 at the time and YES were my favorite band, and although I was uncertain about how I was going to get there, I went ahead and got a ticket....I had later made an arrangement with a friend to get a ride there and back, meeting at The Henrietta entrance of the NYS Thruway.
The day of the show came along, and my Father drove me to the Thruway, where we waited...and waited! I remember that he didn't want me to go, but I was steadfast in waiting for that ride, so he finally departed, but not before he angrily warned me "You'd better not hitch-hike there!"
I ended up waiting another half-hour or so, and still no friend, and so, semi-reluctantly, I started to stick my thumb out for a ride; with my Roger Dean YES logo shirt on, it was pretty obvious where my destination was going to be!
Not too long after I started, a great big Cadillac convertible pulled up; the fellas in the car were definitely going to the show, and not only that, they agreed to drop me off at a point nearest to my house from I-490 on the way back, as long as I was back at their car after the show, which I readily agreed to....I was going after all, though not quite the way that was planned!!
By the time we arrived, we had missed the opener, the legendary Donovan, and managed to walk in for the last couple songs of the 2nd support act, The J. Geils Band. Bob Seger and the Silver Bullet Band came out next, and while I'm not a fan, they managed to fully entertain the big Rock n' Roll crowd there, with the Sax player soloing on top of one of the stacks being the defining moment of their set.
It was roasting out, and it seemed many were unaware that the show was starting when the first strains of The Firebird Suite came wafting through the stacks...it was a marvellous show to me, though it seemed that YES were a bit out of place at this great big rock n' roll show....it seemed many were confounded by the epic "Close to The Edge" and the mystical quiet part of "Awaken" on that hot sweaty afternoon, but I do remember that YES did rock out and ended the show with a BANG!!
And while it has been entered here that it *wasn't* played, I clearly remember that they played "Yours Is No Disgrace" as a final encore; not only that, but Steve Howe really put the extended solo bit on the live "Yessongs" version to complete and utter shame!!
The show was over by around 7PM or so, and I did meet my ride back at their Caddy....not too bad for a still "concert-green" 15 year old!
It would be great to hear that show back again, even some ratty audience tape which has all the noise and chatter of a great big stupid stadium show!!

John Fitzgerald

This was the second time I saw Yes, and was really looking forward to a great performance supported by tens of thousands of Yes fans, but that was not how it turned out. Bob Seger really stole the show that day with an excellent, rocking set (including the Alto Reed stunt). After that performance, the crowd, having spent the day in the sun and heat, was not ready for a band like Yes, to my dismay.

I remember the setlist being great "on paper", and being totally blown away by Squire's 3 necked bass during "Awaken". But there was no light show (I think Yes came on about 6:00 or so?) and the crowd wanted to boogie, not listen to a bunch of rock virtuosos!

Oh well - I was glad to see them again. I think they cut the setlist short when the 1/2 gallon jugs of "mixed drinks" started flying on stage, as well as the aforementioned frisbees. I remember the band being a bit nervous about the crowd - which was pretty intoxicated by the time they hit the stage.

A disappointment for this then-16 year old Yes fanatic.

S. Dedalus

I can't say I remember the performance well, but I want to back up the other 2 reviews--they brought a lot of memories back. Like the fact that I bought one of those jackets for 5 bucks too! It was indeed horrible--I think it was a used white tux jacket.

The day was gorgeous and the crowd was rowdy, but fun--I remember non-stop frisbees flying everywhere. My group was on the field around the 40 yard line nearest the stage. When Seger's sax guy appeared on top of the tower of speakers, we were amazed. But then, everyone started trying to hit him with the frisbees!

As for the set being short, maybe that was because Wakeman got the same treatment with the frisbees--I remember him watching the crowd as he played, ducking everytime a frisbee came at his head. Fun time.

Mark Dixon

YES did NOT play Turn of the Century (one of my all time favourites) or Yours is No Disgrace. "Yours" was only played on this tour sporadically and in place of Starship Trooper. I don't know why they didn't play "Turn" but my own belief is that this was a long day (a festival of music), with a very rowdy crowd and it was obvious not all the fans were there to see YES. I think they simply cut the show short due to the atmosphere at Rich on that day. I thought the concert was great, but I agree with Dave about the lighting. It was only towards the end of the concert that any effects were visible due to the position of the sun.

Dave Egan

Opening acts were Donovan, The J. Geils Band, and Bob Seger (what a lineup!)

Everyone was great, and Yes were extraordinary... Chris' bass really shook the stadium and was the highlight of the show for me! The sax player for Bob Segers band ascended the PA stacks and appeared at the top (70 feet up?) for a solo towards the end of their set. Before any of the bands took the stage, the PA blasted what sounded like huge swarming waves of white noise that ebbed and flowed VERY LOUDLY for an hour or more as the fans arrived. It would build up to a huge peak, and then stop dead... then start again. It was a beautiful sunny day, which detracted from the beginning of Yes' set, because the sun was still high in the sky... It hadnt set fully by the time they were done, rendering their light show nearly useless. I recall that these horrible jackets were being sold in the parking lot... I know because I bought one... They were $5!!! They were really cheaply made white suit style jackets with the concert info printed in red ink on the back!!! Yikes!!! I wish I still had mine!!! I also bought a pewter yes logo necklace... fancy.