Allison R.

Wow what a show.
The audience was incredible and a fond thank you to the security guards for not making us sit back down when we started to gather at the foot of the stage.
This night saw the reemergence of Trooper (my personal song of victory).

The sound at the Oakdale was ******* amazing. The orchestra could be heard. And the acoustics were great.

One of the top ten shows I have ever been to *in my life*

A great night was had by all.

--Allison

John Valencia

I attended the Yes show at the Oakdale, September first, and to say the least I was very disappointed. Yes is a very dynamic band, and I expected them to be dynamic on the stage, much like any 70`s live material I have of them, such as live at QPR, 1975. I was able to see Yes last year for my 14th birthday on the Masterworks tour, but I really wasn't listening for the sound quality.
Last year, the set was comprised of fundamental songs, like The gates of delirium, Ritual, Roundabout, All good people...etc..etc. This year the set was comprised of the SAME songs, with the addition of 2 new pieces, and And you and I. I will now elaborate on my disappointments in a more conventional way.
SOUND QUALITY- The sound quality was superb, the Oakdale has very nice acoustics.
SET LIST- The set list was extremely disappointing. I, as a devoted Yes fan am very tired of hearing Roundabout, and Starship trooper. I'd much rather hear "The Ancient", "Sound chaser", or maybe even "Awaken". But no. They stick to concise. I personally believe that the set list did not change much because Yes were pressed for time. I mean, they had to record an album, but still. It was saddening to hear the same old routine songs. My friend and I walked out in the middle of Roundabout.
THE WAY THE INSTRUMENTS SOUNDED- Though the band sounded good, the instruments to my ears were not YES like. I guess im stuck to the 70`s sound, but its disappointing to hear "Ritual" with a 90`s sounding snare drum (very tight sounding) and a digital synthesizer. Steve Howe sounded authentic to the albums, but Chris did not. Suprisingly, Jon Anderson had a very clear and neat silvery sound to his voice. The orchestra may have helped brighten some parts up, but I found the orchestra was very unnecessary, and just made for confusion.
Now, this new keyboardist makes me a little sick. Patrick Moraz offers his services and they take Igor? Igor gets arrested for sexual assault, so they pick up another 30 year old kid? If the band Yes ever wants to get on their feet again, they NEED to get Moraz back. Some people say to me, "John, they are trying to move forward, so I'm sure they want to get a new digital sound and not stick to 70`s analog crap."
Well, If they ever want to progress they need to STOP doing the same routine crap in their set list!
THE NEW SONGS- Absolute crap. The new songs were horrible. I almost hate myself for saying this, and I feel bad that I must, but it's true. The second longer song was a little better, but the first one just reminded me of Big Generator. But I will buy the new album just to see the true light: those could be the two crap songs I wouldn't like.
THE NOISE- So many people were screaming during the show, it was terrible!
This was not a typical 70`s show I was expecting. I cannot hate Yes, nor can I expect them to sound like they did on the Tales or Relayer tour. All I can do is hope you go see the show yourself and make your own opinion. They are still a very good band, and they still made a lot of people happy. I'm just very picky and set in my ways.

Matt Lupoli

The Yes show at the Oakdale in Wallingford, Ct on September 1, 2001 was probably the best Yes show I ever went to.

Upon arrival to the venue, I quickly bought a white yesymphonic t-shirt and a red tour book. Afterwards I went to the W-HCN booth. Last year I won backstage passes from them (which was an experience I will never forget). This year I wanted to see what they were offering. No backstage passes this time, but they were offering front seat tickets. I started talking to a couple in front of me (Dante and Kathy) and they seemed really nice. Then the contest began. In order to win tickets you must answer a yes trivia question, but you must also be picked to answer the question. The first question was, "Not including Igor Khoroshev, how many people have been a member of Yes?" First the lady said 12, then 8, and then finally 9. I said to the couple in front of me, "She's wrong with every answer she picked. It's 13." Lich (the radio DJ) said, "Is 9 your final answer." She said yes. Lich told her the answer was really 13 and then the couple in front of me said, "Wow. You really know your stuff." Other questions were: 2. What was Yes's first single?: Sweetness (the guy who answered the question said "Every Little Thing.") 3. What album went gold from it's advance orders?: Tales From Topographic Oceans (the lady who answered this question said "Fragile") 4. Yes won a grammy for what instrumental?: Cinema (the guy who answered this said "Masquerade.") The couple in front of me was so impressed that I knew all the answers and that nobody else was getting them right. The 5th question was: What is Jon Anderson's birthday? I told the couple that it was probably October 25th, 1944. The lady who answered the question said August 8th, 1949. When Lich said, "I'm sorry. The answer is October 25th, 1944", the couple looked at me with shocked faces. Then Lich picked Dante to answer a question. He asked him, "What is the name of Jon Anderson's first solo album." Dante looked at me as if he didn't know the answer. I started miming to him "Olias Of Sunhillow." He couldn't quite understand what I was trying to say, so he said, "Alias Of Sundillow." Lich said to the other guys, "Hey, is that close enough........o.k. we'll accept that." Dante started screaming from joy. He got his tickets and came over and shook my hand and thanked me for helping him with my yes knowledge. Then he said, "What's your phone number? How can I pay you back?" I said, "No. Forget about it. Go have a good time." Then his wife said, "Nonsense. Why don't you go with him to the front row." I said, "No. Thank you. I 've met them backstage before and my seats tonight are pretty good: 15th row dead center. You guys go on ahead." Then my parents came and found out what was going on. Dante and Kathy were saying, "Your son knew everything." My dad said, "If you think he knows a lot about Yes, then you should visit his web site. He has a web site dedicated to Rush." Dante said, "Rush!! I love Rush. I've seen them like 15 times." Then I said, "I know everything about them but I've never got a chance to see them." Dante said, "You never saw Rush?!!! Oh that's it. When they come on tour in the spring, I will get you front row seats to Rush. I have connections." I was like, "Awesome." Then I gave him my URL ([Link]) and he said, "I'll e-mail you and we'll work something out." I was so glad to help him get front row and my parents were really proud. Then I went to my seat and got ready for the show. It was really nice seeing that orchestra on the stage. Then the band came out and everybody went crazy.

Set List:

1. Orchestra Intro
2. Close To The Edge
I. The Solid Time Of Change
II. Total Mass Retain
III. I Get Up I Get Down
IV. Seasons Of Man
3. Orchestra Intro / Long Distance Runaround
4. Don't Go
5. In The Presence Of
I. Deeper
II. Death Of Ego
III. True Beginner

Matthew S. Putzel

The Yes show at Oakdale Theatre in Wallingford, CT was my second of this tour and 24th overall. The band seemed tired at first, hardly moving during “Close to the Edge,” but still playing flawlessly. Though the band might have been a bit tired on stage, the audience certainly wasn’t. Oakdale seemed packed (though I couldn’t see the far reaches of the balcony from my lower orchestra seat). The sound was much clearer and less muddy than the week before at Mohegan Sun. “Long Distance Runaround” followed, and then the new track, “Don’t Go” which was far better received than it was last week. Jon Anderson announced that the new album “Magnification” would be in our stores around Christmas time, so the band is fully aware of the delayed release date. The energetic crowd started to really get into it during “In the Presence of” as the song once again went over real well. “Gates of Delirium” was played flawlessly, though Chris Squire’s bass and Alan White’s bass drum drowned out the orchestra. Tom Brislin, the touring keyboardist, seemed much more part of the group than last week. He had a real presence tonight that was lacking last week. This time I didn’t missed Igor Khoroshev as much. Tom was very animated and quite entertaining to watch during “Gates.” My fiancé asked me if he was a grandson of one of the members, because he looked so out of place with the veterans on stage. Steve Howe’s acoustic set followed, and it was identical to the set he played last week at the casino. I believe it was a new song from his “Natural Timbre” album (which I do not have yet) and “Mood For a Day.” The crowd really started to get into it during “Perpetual Change” and the energy built up until it reached a climax during “Starship Trooper” which was played with the orchestra (“Wonderous Stories,” which was played last week had been dropped). Many fans rushed to the front of the stage for “Trooper” with Oakdale security allowing them to because they thought the set was finishing up, yet there was still another hour left. The rousing solos from Squire and Howe during the “Wurm” section brought down the house. “And You and I” was beautiful with the orchestral accompaniment, and “Ritual” always goes over well. The show concluded with staples “I’ve Seen All Good People” and the abridged version of “Roundabout” as the encore.

Reviewed by Matthew S. Putzel