walter in Austin

Wednesday, March 20, 2013 9:49 AM

This was probably the worst Yes show I've seen in all my years ('79-'13) of going to their concerts. I will confess that I'm not a fan of the "Big Generator" album, but beyond that this show was a bit of a mess. There were technical problems throughout the show (as Rabin admitted at the end to the crowd), and the band was just generally out of sync. They didn't ever smile at each other on-stage, and the vibe seemed tense. Plus, as others have said, Tony Kaye simply doesn't have the chops to play much of the material from albums he didn't originally play on. A very disjointed show, and one that didn't leave a good taste in the mouth.

paul s.

this was my 1st of many Yesshows since becoming a fan in the mid-eighties. i really didn't know what to expect to hear. with the 2 "new Yes" albums, i was afraid that they would not do much from their earlier catalog. over-all i believe they did a good job balancing the set between old and new material. although i do wish they did "I'm Running" and/or "Final Eyes" (2 of the better songs from BG). i also wish that they did "Starship Trooper" in its entirety. overall, i thought it was a very good show. the opening act was old "Popeye" cartoons. i heard that the band did this on the 90125 tour. it was over an hour before YES finally arrived on stage. i guess that Chris was ordering dinner or taking a bath. after the show, i followed the band to the hotel and managed to get Jon, Chris, and Trevor to sign my BG press kit(unfortunately that press kit was to become lost one day). still the 4hr trip to Austin and the show itself was a very memorable experience. even though i think of the world of Steve Howe, i still wouldn't mind seeing Trevor R. back with Yes again. with Yes, you never know.

jimmyp

walked up and bought a ticket the day of the show and got 10th row floor right in front of Squire. Good show. better than 90125. they may as well have tossed on the old classics, as TK wasn't able to hang with the likes of RickW.
It's just not the same without Howe.

Derek

I liked this tour. Saw 'em twice: once in Worcester, MA, and once in Austin, TX. Both shows were good, although they were definitely tighter by the time they got to Austin. They played most of BG at the shows I saw (everything except I'm Running and Final Eyes, which they *did* play at some shows earlier in the tour), and quite a bit of 90125. If you like those albums, this was a good tour.

The older material, on the other hand, was not particularly well done. 'Heart of the Sunrise', in particular, was difficult for me to stomach, mainly because of Tony Kaye. TR played it well, and in Austin the overall performance was tight, so that was all right, but I really didn't like Tony's "version" of the keyboard parts. (They played it again on the Talk tour, and I was hoping that maybe a little Wakey had rubbed off on Tony, but no luck.) I really disliked their versions of all the old material, frankly.