Matt Putzel

My first of three Yesshows during the Masterworks tour was at Jones Beach on Long Island. I was very concerned that this show wasn’t going to take place, as the two previous shows were postponed due to Jon Anderson having laryngitis. Once I was sure the show wasn’t going to be rescheduled, the weather became a concern. Jones Beach is a completely outdoor venue. They say they only cancel shows due to lightning, but wouldn’t you know it, there were thunderstorms in the forecast.

As it turned out, the weather cleared up just in time for the concert. In fact, the sky even cleared. I was very interested to see how Jon was going to sing. He had some problems during “Close to the Edge” and he sounded very horse, but his voice did steady itself as the show went on. By the time the band got to “Gates of Delirium”, he was right on the money.

This was the 19th time I had seen Yes overall, and the 15th time since this trek began in October of ’97, and this was the most fun the band was having on stage as I could remember. Even Steve was smiling a lot. As for the performance, it was strong, though I do remember a couple miscues here and there, mostly from Alan, but it wasn’t enough to hamper the experience. This was the first time I saw the drum bit in “Ritual” and it blew me away. Igor was louder in the mix than he had been in previous shows the last few years. He nailed the parts in the three long pieces. One great momemt was during the “Soon” section of “Gates..” where just after Jon sang the line “Soon…oh soon the light,” the moon could be seen coming out from under the clouds behind the band. The light show had been cancelled due to the threat of bad weather, but leave it to mother nature to provide the lighting! It was a real cool scene.

After the show, I had a chance to talk with Chris, Alan & Igor and they were all very friendly and accommodating, however Chris seemed a little perturbed by my question as to why they aren’t playing “Mind Drive”. The only negative thing I have to say is the food prices at Jones Beach are ridiculous. After having to spend $4.50 for a bottle of water (I was very thirsty), they don’t even let you keep the cap. Is that so if you spill it you have to buy more? It was very frustrating.

Nick Connolly

I have been attending Yes concerts since July '71, when they toured with Black Sabbath. Special guests that night were Humble Pie, straight from their opening for Grand Funk Railroad at Shea Staduim the night before. Black Sabbath didn't play that night due to illness, or some other Ozzy nonsense, but I didn't care since my intent was to see Yes. Since that night, I have attended 26 concerts, every tour (except "Drama" which wasn't really Yes), ABWH and of course, the Union Tour (twice). It's almost like seeing a bar band to me. Don't get me wrong. This band has ALWAYS been in my top 3 list (Kansas and Queen are the other 2) and I still enjoy a night out listening to Yes music.

As far as the performance goes, hearing "Gates of Delerium" again after 25 years (last time was with Moraz) was the evening's highlight for me. "Tales" is my personal favorite Yes album so hearing "Ritual" was the #2 treat for the show. Fortunately, I've heard "The Revelaing Science of God" during recent tours (The Ladder). I caught Yes at the Beacon in NYC late last year when they performed "Awaken" which brought tears to my eyes! Igor, you are quite a suitable replacement for Mr. Wakeman. And Steve, awesome! And Chris, what can you say? Keep up the great work! Anyhow, as I've grown quite comfortable with this band over the past 30 years, it's still great to hear them live and I'm pleased to hear Jon Anderson feeling the same way. Carry on . . .

And as far as "Carry On" goes, Kansas rules! Another band I've followed since the beginning. Having seen them about 15 times, I have to say they still play their asses off! Steve Walsh is amazing. And I agree with Robbie Steinhart when he said "Who says you can't rock at 50!" At 50, I still can! Pick up the new album!

What a combination of talent for one show. I hope they all appreciate what this meant to their fans. Don't ever die.

EJ

Every weather report said "chance of rain near 100%". It was supposed to rain everywhere in the NYC vicinity all weekend. Flash floods, gusty wind, the whole bit.

Shows what they know.

It had been raining all weekend & was raining & windy on the way there. As we were riding towards Jones Beach, with the windshield wipers on, my wife & I noticed a small spot of blue sky off in the general direction we were heading. As we got closer to Jones Beach, we got closer to that blue spot. That blue spot stayed over Jones Beach until it became stars later in the evening, punctuated by a stunningly bright & nearly full moon, which popped out from behind the stage (from our vantage point anyway) right around the time the drum section of Ritual ended & led into "Nous Sommes Du Soleil".

And there was very little wind out on the shore. Unbelievable! Jon even thanked everyone for coming out despite the forecast.

I must mention that our windshield wipers were ON on the way home. ;-)

"The weather was truly an answer to a faithful prayer."

Lawrence Perlman

Incredible show....sitting in front row less then 10 feet from Chris Squire (who WAS wearing spandex tight) I felt like I was in a masterclass for bass....He was incredible, not once all night did he even look at the bass. It was an extension of his body and soul. At all times he knew where the video camera was (either just to our left or right)...As a true professional, he wasn't looking at the camera, but was focusing in on my wife and step-daughter (maybe that's why he played so animated)

Mark Barbour

Having seen at least 10 shows going back to the GFTO tour, I was amazed at how rejuvenated Yes was in concert. While I think the Rabin and Sherwood years had their moments, only Steve Howe can bring back the brilliance and fire of the 1970's epics. I never thought having two guitarists worked for the band. The "Union" shows were dreadful. Trevor trading leads with Steve during numbers like YIND was like listening to Ritchie Blackmore have a catfight with Andre Segovia. Billy had a Sammy Hagar clone thing going during the OYE tour (although I admired his work on the "Ladder" show I saw). If Yes is featuring a setlist of twenty minute epics, Steve Howe is the only axeman for the job.

Much has been said about the songs and weather for this show. I wanted to offer just two comments.

The Sound: I was about 15 rows back in the orchestra, in front of the PA column next to Steve. When Kansas was on, I was worried. The sound was about 5 decibels too high and way too bottom heavy. The sound for Yes was incredible, probably the best I've heard at their concerts. Chris' bass was crisp and punchy, every shake of a tambourine clear and present. While Igor's lead volumes were fine, his chordings could have used a boost. Kudos to the Yes technicians.

Gates of Delirium: I had heard a tape of the third show on this tour and was amazed at how clunky everything got during the battle section. While they didn't stop that performance, they probably should have. Saturday's performance seemed almost flawless. Alan focused on a straight beat and left out a lot of the fills and tricky bits. Igor was a bit late on one the leads he traded with Steve. Other than that, this was a great group effort. Jon's throat trouble must have been the hand of God forcing the rest of the band to work out the kinks in this piece.

All in all, this was a great show from a band running on jet fuel. Igor's really pulling his weight and everything finally seems to be clicking. Thanks, guys.

GGDolls

Kansas:
This show was absolutly amazing. Kansas played an awesome setlist. They still are going strong after all of these years. Steve Walsh was wild and his voice was unbelievable. I especially liked hearing the new Icarus II song from their new album. All in all that was the perfect opening band and I hope they do another tour alone. Setlist For Kansas...

1. Mysteries And Mayhem
2. Paradox
3. Icarus II
4. Icarus - Born On Wings Of Steel
5. Miracles Out Of Nowhere
6. Hold On
7. Not Man Big
8. Portrait
9. Magnum Opus (excerpt)

Encores:

1. Point Of Know Return
2. Dust In The Wind
3. Carry On Wayward Son

Yes:
They were purely astonishing. I have included the setlist and will talk about each song...

CTTE - Well played. I think they could have done a better song to open the concert up but this was fine to use!!! Jon started off a little raspy after his throat problem but soon warmed up and nailed it perfectly!

SS - My highlight of the night. This song has always been my favorite YES song and will continue to be. Steve did an amazing guitar solo at the end of it along with Igor doing a great organ solo. This was definitely one of the best played songs of the night!

GoD - I could not wait to hear this one. I have always wanted to hear this one live and they performed it great. Igor was very much into this song for some reason.

HOTTS - This was great. Alan did a fantastic job on drums for this song. The guy next to me and I were air drum dueting the entire time during this song. It was a lot of fun!

LoG - Nice job Steve! I was hoping for a nice guitar solo by Steve and I got one. Ten points Steve!

Ritual - Great drumming and thats all i have to say. :-)

ISAGP - Jon was so cool during this one. He was like talking about teaching his son this song then he just started singing it and the crowd all stood up and remained standing for the remainder of the song. Chris was very cool during this one. Great bass solo.

Roundabout - This was a great encore. The crowd got into it and that's how every concert should end.

Overall I have to say this blew away every concert I have seen of all the bands I like. It has now reserved its spot at #1. Thanx YES!

Chris Boccalupo

I just got back from Jones Beach where I just saw the best Yes concert of my life. Fantastic!!! Too short, but fantastic. I never saw Yes in the seventies, so this must of been something like that, with better sound. I think my friend has pretty good boot of it.

Some notes and impressions:

It was supposed to rain but it didn't. It was a beautiful night. Jon made mention that there were supposed to be thunderstorms, so since there were not going to be, they would have make them on stage.

Anderson joked about trying to remember all these songs from so long ago. Jon got good laughs throughout the night. He was in fantastic spirits. He said that it was amazing that they could still sing this music in the year 2000, and that was because of the fans.

Jon made mention of being thankful that he could sing again. His voice sounded a little scratchy on CTTE, and might of lacked a bit of strength, but great nonetheless.

Chris is the man! He looks so cool in this show. This is his show. He is playing fantastic. Steve looks like Don Knots, it's true, LOL but he was great.

When Jon was talking about spiritual stuff, there was a shooting star overhead, cool.

Great crowd. Yes got about 5 (at least) standing ovations. They sounded like they almost messed up during Gates, but I'm not sure. The drum solo thing during Ritual was pure magic. It was so interesting to see them work together during that.

Magical, truly Magical.

Ron Z

Wow,

The voice is ok. It took a while, but he warmed up and sounded fine after CTTE.

Never a better moment than the full moon breaking out directly behind the stage at the EXACT correct moment at the start of Soon....

We in the front had to point at it until Jon turned and saw it. Spectacular.

Andy Acunzo

Wow. That's about all I can say. I just got back from the show, and was blown away. Since my friend and I had cut ourselves off from Yesnews since the tour started, when we saw Steve's Telecaster brought out and then Jon said "This is one we haven't played for 25 years, The Gates of Delirium," we just lost it. It was utterly amazing, just a wild ride. I had goosebumps during Soon. After it ended we just shook our heads in disbelief, asking each other if that really just happened. I said I could leave right then, I already got my money's worth. Then Ritual later on?! You gotta be kidding me! We were again in shock for 27 minutes. What a joy. It was like seeing the Relayer tour, and since we're both 27 this is the closest we'll get to that. I can't believe everything they played was from 1970-74, but I'm not complaining. Some of the tunes had rough spots, but I can't believe the intensity which they attacked the pieces with at their age. Amazing. I don't know if I should ever see Yes again, because I don't see how they can top what I witnessed tonight.

HoG5

I'm really at a loss for words about this show. More than splendid. How good you ask? Well, Jones Beach SUCKS. I mean it BITES. They do not sell beer. That's just f***ed up. Can't a man enjoy a beer while listening to his favorite band? Well, I had Howe side back of first orch, but I sat with my 2 friends Pat & Danny (Danielle) in the last row of the orchestra behind Chris (Section E row ZZ). Yeah....I was the one smoking pot. The sound was much better there, and overall the sound was fine, except during Ritual; Chris once again was drowning out Steve.

Set was the same as all others; one day maybe we'll get Southside. Performances were amazing, Everyone was in great shape and was earnestly playing their best in years. Alan though, seems to take a few shortcuts. His playing is stilll good, but I'll always perfer Bill.Jon took a few 1/2 of CTTE to warm up, but his voice sounded clear & relaxed; most noticeable during Soon.

Chris has taken Wurm and added his usual flair, almost stealing it awway from Steve. Chris always wailed here, but this was truly amazing Chris was a freak tonight....unusually hyper & vibrant.I loved CTTE, during the prelude section into I Get Up...; Chris was doing this little exten riffing which added MORE atmosphere to the song. Chris Squire still is a spectable to behold.

Steve was remarkable. I had some doubts as to wether he could pull it off as the only guitarist (other than Jon's occasionl guitar).He cooked. His fingering during Ritual (when Chris wasn't drowning hin out) oh...those chords! Steve hasn't been this good in 20 years; he smiled A LOT. He was having a great time..they all were.

Just as the battle sequence of GOD began, the moon began to break out from behind these dreary looking clouds, then as the band went into Soon, the moon broke was big & bright. Quite a moment; one i'll never forget.

Well, the only way I can convey how good this show was is to tell you that the girl I cam with, Danny; in celbration of National Nude Day, removed her shrt for ALL of GOD, and a few other times. She was standing right next to me for the entire show; dancin' like she was on acid at a Dead concert. Those ta-ta's were flailing aound... AND I NEVER KNEW SHE WAS TOPPLESS!

(But remember, I probably have a better chance of seeing her ta-ta's than I do of seeing GOD again)!

She had to tell me as we were leaving. People 100 feet away came to thank HER for the show.

Since my 1st show was Drama @ MSG, this is probably the best of the shows i've ever seen; along with a few of the Union shows.

I have to go now; I am numb.

Don Eg

Between the worries of whether Jon would be ok for the show and the forecasted heavy rain, it turned out to be an amazing day......Saturday morning we heard Jon was ok and the show would go on, but we wondered how well he would be considering that he had a "serious" throat condition just days before. In addition, the threat of heavy rain was still with us. So we drove the 1-1/2 hrs from NJ trying to keep an optimistic attitude. We were grateful that the drive was reasonably dry, but were nervous that the predicted round two of downpours would hit for showtime......... instead, things continued to dry out and the rain continued to hold off.........Kansas played and it stayed dryout....hopefully the rain would continue to hold off.......Then Yes came on. Jons voice was a bit rough to start, which was a concern at first, but he sounded fine the rest of the night. Then the moon popped out over the stage relieving any threat of rain. So as it turned out, what was potentially a disaster of a day turned out to be an amazingly good day, and evening......Was surprised at how much I enjoyed Kansas............as for Yes, well there are plenty of reviews to read.......all I can say is don=92t miss this show if you have a chance to go!!.............on to Wednesday!.......

AC

Hi everyone. I was at the Jones Beach concert and was just blown away at the musicianship of the band. It was my 2nd Yes concert - the Ladder tour at the Beacon was my first. I'm 24 and a relatively new fan.

CTTE was rather rough at first - Jon seemed to need some time to warm up but was in full form by the I get up, I get down part. Leaves of Grass was absolutely beautiful. Chris' bass work during Ritual (and HoTS, etc) was fantastic. Igor's keys were suprising well represented in the overall mix although he didn't get much solo time compared to Howe and Squire.

With the full moon rising over the stage and reflecting off the water that surrounds the stadium, it was really a magical experience. As Jon said - its great that this kind of music can still be played in the year 2000. I'm really happy that the band has stuck around long enough for me to get into them and go to concerts. Hell Gates is older than I am.

btw - I was on ground level but somewhat near the back - did Chris have black tights on? If he did I was glad I wasnt up front.