Keith Nelms

Thursday, February 16, 2017 5:03 PM

I saw this tour at the Arie Crown Theatre, Classic Lineup, everything, everyone was in top form, [Link]

Keith Nelms

Thursday, February 16, 2017 5:01 PM

I saw this tour at the Arie Crown Theatre, Classic Lineup, everything, everyone was in top form, [Link]

Keith Nelms

Thursday, February 16, 2017 4:54 PM

I saw this tour at the Arie Crown Theatre, Classic Lineup, everything, everyone was in top form

TheKohser

As a friend of Tom Brislin, I may be biased in saying this, but he really did a bang-up job on the keyboards that night. He is an animated performer in his own right, and the fact that he so faithfully rendered (while creatively interpreting, at some junctures) the Yes music, was just amazing.

Thank you for the side-stage passes, Tom . . . it was really cool to have you, Squire, and White sign my Fragile LP. A night to remember forever.

Tayo Lopes

Just let me say........this ranks right up their with some of the best Yes concerts I have been to. "Gates", "Ritual", and "In The Prescence Of" are three of the best sounding songs I have ever heard any band ever perform. Simply a perfect sound with these 3 songs. The rest of the show was not perfect....only great.

Keithcob

Bands that were big in the 70's and 80's don't die or fade away, they just drag in 40 and 50 year olds that want to recapture their glory days of their 20 and 30's. The band may look old, and the clothes they wear may resemble something that would be found in the closet of a fashionably challenged senior citizen, but the music remains the same...

Ok, here goes. It's been awhile since I've reviewed a concert for anyone, in fact, the last review I did was for the Nine Inch Nails/David Bowie escapade from four years ago so I may be a little rusty.

The setup:
Yes played last night at the Mann Music Center in West Philadelphia with the Mann Orchestra. Take the best of Beirut and Belfast and drop it around a park with a music venue and you have the Mann. The stage setup had the band in front of a plexiglass deal which housed the orchestra. Very Mettalica like. The concert started with the orchestra jumping into some orchestra song. This lasted about two minutes until the band wheeled their walkers, er, strolled out onto the stage. The Yes lineup is Jon Anderson(the cosmos,the stars, and everything), Chris Squire (spandex and all), Steve Howe, Alan White, and some high school looking kid on keyboards. I couldn't believe my eyes, the kid on keyboards literally looked as if he got off the school bus and came right to the concert. I swear I saw him carry ing an Eastpack filled with books.

The costumes:
Jon Anderson looked like a cross between a not-completely-dressed Bozo the Clown and a misguided karma sutra wannabe in his baggy red clown looking pants with gold circles and his oversized purple meditation shirt. He still sports his half beard/half goatee on his mug. Of all the Yes players (besides Doogie Houser on the keyboards) he has aged the years the best. Steve Howe wore what could almost be mistaken as a leopard print silk shirt with flowing black pants. Man, does he look ancient! He reminded my of Christopher Lloyd in Back to the Future without the snow white hair: "Marty, I need a charge of 1.21 gigawatts shoved up my ass immediately so I can play this guitar!!!!". He can still play though. Jeesh he's good. Alan White. What can I say? Stay off the drugs and crap and you don't age so much. Still looks like he did on the Union tour. Just a little grayer. He had a non-descript outfit. Chris Squire. What the F? This guy still wears spandex!!! Dude, that went out in the 80's bro just about the same time your waistline went out. To compliment this somewhat archaic wear was the standard black flowing jacket (it was 85 degrees in that place last night!). But it wasn't quite here where Chris excelled. No, it had to be the black cut-off shit-kicking boots that Chris brandished with the rolled down white socks!! Yup, white. Hell, he looked like he was trying out for Olivia Netwon John's 'Let's Get Physical' video! Doogie Houser (aka Mike or Tom somethingorother from New Joisey) wore what any typical 17-year old would wear to school: Jeans, some sort of shoes, and a long sleeve rugby looking shirt. Uh, kid, get with the times, where is your spandex?? It was like the segment of the Electric Company where they have the four boxes with a kid in each and the annoying shrilly song playing in the background 'One of these kids is not like the other' but in this case it was 'One of these kids is not like the other geriatric f's up there on stage'. Doogie played very well. I was impressed with his ability. He's no Rick Wakeman but he held his own. In fact he dropped his Trapper Keeper with the Britney Spears stickers on it onto the stage. This was just before his voice cracked like Bobby Brady during Ritual (sha nah nah nah nah nah nah, shA nAH naH N@H!; just kidding, he did fine).

The seat:
I was 12th row right center. I was so close I could see the N'Sync pin on Doogie Houser's shirt.

The Concert:
After we all played 'Guess who's the worst dresser?' the band jumped into Close to the Edge with the or