Aymeric Leroy

(cont'd)
More memories... At the time I was heavily anti-YesWest and particularly hated Rabin (my feelings towards him are more serene now)... I'd obviously been very disappointed by "Union" and I remember a few of my friends decided not to attend the show as a sort of retaliation for it being such commercial drivel. I had modest expectations myself, although given the line-up of musicians there were bound to be some memorable moments. I remember being in London in February '91, and coming across a poster near the Marquee (which still existed back then) that advertised an upcoming show by Yes mentioning the line-up as "Anderson-Howe-Wakeman-Squire-White". Strange... Anyway, given my bias I couldn't wait for Rabin, Kaye etc. to exit the stage leaving the "respectable" Yesmen on their own, so I was disappointed that, contrary to what I'd expected, there weren't different combinations of the musicians performing the pieces with the original line-up each one was originally recorded by. They tended to pretty much all play on everything, except when Steve Howe quit the stage in obvious protest during the Rabin-era songs. The only exception was "Long Distance Runaround" - for about 3 minutes, the "Fragile"-"Close To The Edge" line-up was left on its own, and I can't say how much I enjoyed this brief moment. But I surprised myself thinking the concert as a whole had been very good indeed. That's when I learned that a Yes concert is always good regarless of what album they've just put out. That's why I also went to see them on the "Open Your Eyes" tour...

Aymeric Leroy

I was at this gig... It didn't take place at the Palais des Sports, but at the somewhat smaller (but still respectably sized) "Le Summum". I have a vivid memory of Bill Bruford in classy suit banging on some percussive item and "dancing" during "Owner Of A Lonely Heart" which I thought was a great attitude. "Awaken" was an unforgettable moment. I still have my ticket for this show if needed.