Haakon Faanes

This ultimate performance is always going to be the most memorable Yes concert to me. I was sent to NY by my employer to make a 2 weeks application audit of our NY branch (at that time I worked in a norwegian bank in Oslo, Norway). Strolling around in NY the 1. day, I found by a coincident the advertisement about the concert going to take place 1 1/2 week later. I spent 2 hours in ticket office queue in Radio City Music Hall (Huh, I believed US was in front in most technical aspects!). On Sunday, 4th. I got a phone call from my wife telling me that we have got our 2. child, which we later called Sarah. (Due date was, I beleive 3 weeks later, but no 2 usally arrives earlier). Nevertheless, I toled her that I was not completely finsihed my worrk and that I had to stay until Tuesday (which was not 100% correct, but the likelihood that she reads this is quite small, I hope). So I had the oppurtunity to watch them on Monday and return to Norway on Tuesday. I don't know the reason, but Yes sounds much better here than in Norway. The only one I can compare this one with, is the concert in Oslo in 1977. Brilliant! For the first time I experienced "South side of the sky" live, which after what I have been toled, was quite new in the Yes live repertoire. But it was splendid! along with the other songs that evening. Well, NY and the Yes concert this evening will allways remind me of my daughter. Thanks a lot NY and YES!! (another thing I associate with this NY trip: It was incredible hot during my 2 NY weeks; above 100 F. every day)

steven nauheimer

i went outside radio city with no ticket. just at showtime low & behold, someone hands me a great floor seat. thanks to this wonderful person i see one of if not the best yes show of my career which spans 34 yes shows 7 SEVERAL OTHER SOLO SHOWS. TO HEAR DONT KILL THE WHALE WAS GREAT !!! I HAVENT SEEN THAT PERFORMED SINCE THE TORMATO TOUR IN 1978. ALSO THE FIRST TIME TO SEE WE HAVE HEAVEN/SOUTH SIDE OF THE SKY!!! every member of the band smoked. wakemans keyboard solo was fantasic!!! ALSO FOR MYSELF NOT TO HEAR ROUNDABOUT WAS AN UNUSUAL TRIP. THE SHOW ENDED WITH YOURS IS NO DISGRACE. THANKS FOR A TRULY GREAT ONE OF A KIND SHOW!!!
!

WURM

AWAKEN - CASE CLOSED!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

modusmongo

at the climax of awaken, rick was hunched over doing a 'quasi moto' while absolutely wailing on the keys...

Squire*Fan725

OH MY GOD!! I'm still floating my climb at this very moment! It was pure HISTORY!! Glad I brought the disposable camera!!

Some memoral parts of the show for me were:

At the beginning, when Squire was late getting on stage! It was all pantomimed, for sure, just to show us that he was the star of the show that night, and I loved it! The rest of the fellas are already on the stage, waiting for him to come out, all the while the crowd is building up with anticipation, untill...*holds breath*...Out he comes, with red Solo cup in hand, holding it up to a roaring crowd, and takes his place!!! It truly was a CLASSIC moment!

When they played America, during the line "...counting the cars on the New Jersey Turnpike..." I was pleased to find that I was'nt the only one who stood up and cheered their Joisey ass off! WHOOOOOOO-HOOOOOOOOO!!!

I loved Wakey's renditon of the piano intro for In The Presence Of, it sounded more classical! It was good when Alan did it last year, but Rick did it BETTER!!

We Have Heaven/South Side Of The Sky. For me it was the first time ever, but I anticipated it! This was PHENOMENAL!! As the bass ripped through my entire body, I was frozen with awe! They were right on with this one!! Got a few shots of them doing this song..

The Revealing Science Of God. Another first for me! I managed to get a couple pics of them doing this song, too.

Just after the 10 minute intermission, I get back to my seat just in time to see Jon taking the stage, so I holler out "Hey, Jonny boy!!" while a few others yell and shout, causing him to spin around excidedly with a look on his face as if to say "What???" So cool! And then, into the Tour Song, and his solo "Show Me" which was real nice.

Wakey on the Wurlitzer!! WOW!!! I saw him exit at stage left, and wondered where he was going, while Jon was introducing him, until I heard him play. I had to look around a bit before I FINALLY see him playing that thing!! I was absolutely FLOORED, I had to snap off a pic of that one, too! One legend, playing another!! TIMELESS!!

After Jon's singing Cord of Life, Chris takes the mic (which amazes me, cuz Chris NEVER talked at any of the shows I attended!), and says something along the lines of "...Mr. Rick Wakeman......And Jon Anderson, singing!!" or whatever, cuz the roaring of the crowd was at times making it hard for me to hear exactly what he said! And then Rick came over and gave Jon a hug! Awwwwwwwww! How cute!!

Magnification segueing into Don't Kill The Whale was a pleasant surprise, but afterward, Squire comes back up to the mic (AGAIN!! YES!!), thanks us and says, "..That was a song about mammals..." the crowd cheers loudly. Then, he resumes with, "..And now, here's a song about Fish!" and the crowd cheers even louder! I was litterally shaken to the very foundation with every powerful bass note! I felt them, as well as heard them! And the Silent Wings riff was ANOTHER great surprise! I was NOT expecting that! And I very much enjoyed the Tempus and Sound Chaser riffs, as well. Last time I got to hear The Fish was in '98, and was way too short!! This one was good and long, and PERFECT, too!!...I got a great shot of him, just before going into the "..Schindleria Praematurus.." part...I hope it comes out good!

AAAAAAAAAH!!! AWAKEMAN!!! It was the first time I got to SEE this one live, too! Jon on the harp was what I was waiting to see for a long time!! Absolutely CELESTIAL!! Chris and Rick seemed to have had this special kind of comraderie, old friends, type of thing going (Chris resting his elbow upon one of Rick's keyboards, and looking at him, as if to say, "Hey, what's up? How ya been? made for a good example!), which was really noticable by the time the song ended, when Rick actually came out from behind his keyboards, and took Squire's heavy triple-neck bass/guitar (which is awsome in itself), and handed it to a roadie, just to give Chris a hug. How sweet the

Bob Don

This was my first ever NY Yes show (and a great one at that) after attending 16 Yes shows in Connecticut since 1977. Radio City Music Hall is a great venue for live entertainment in terms of sound quality and seating comfort. I enjoyed being part of a NY crowd which showed its warm appreciation for the band with extended applause after most of the songs.

My wife and I had a great time before the show dining with various Yes fans at the Heartland Brewery on 6th Ave. There was some extra excitement there as a guy who apparently was unhappy with the service threw a temper tantrum in the process slamming various restaurant items to the ground.

Some observations not mentioned in previous reviews of this show:
- The energetic dueling solos between Wakeman and Howe at the end of "South Side Of The Sky".
- Alan White's inspired drumming and the sight of many fans playing air-drums along with him.
- Did anyone else hear the pre-recording vocals during the playing of "We Have Heaven"?
- Wakeman's keyboard solo during the end of "The Revealing Science Of God" was much more aggressive than the "Keys To Ascension" version and truer to the original studio version.

My highlights for the show:
- Hearing "We Have Heaven/South Side Of The Sky" for the first time ever in concert.
- Wakeman playing the house organ for his solo spot near my side of the stage.
- Howe's rapid lead guitar playing during "Awaken".
- A rousing version of "Yours Is No Disgrace" to close the show.

Question:
- Can someone confirm whether Anderson played the "Tour Song" portion of his solo segment as when I returned from the intermission he was playing his new song "Show Me"?

How times have changed for seeing this version of Yes on tour:
2002 Ticket Price: $89.50 before Ticketmaster charges, which brought the cost over $100.00
1979 Ticket Price: $8.50

Michael McConnel

THANK YOU NEW YORK CITY!

The big town showed this country boy that fans of great music are alive and well in this britney-infested age.

hearing the entire crowd roaring YOURS IS NO DISGRACE along with the band! seeing the band i grew up with play south side of the sky, awaken, revealing science and a BOOMING heart of the sunrise! seeing my personal guitar god rocking, reeling and truly loving every minute of it as he went mano a mano with his old mate rick wakeman! seeing the wizard himself masterfully adore the HOUSE pipe organ at radio city music hall!

the venue was perfect, the sound excellent, the crowd was AWESOME and the band...

oh my my - the boys are BACK!

thank you new york city, thank you yes, and thank you brother peter for tuning my ear in the right direction when i was still young and impressionable!

truly the greatest rock show ive ever seen, and itll take ALOT to top it.

we had heaven at radio city!

Ray Carroll

Well, this must be a first!!! NO Roundabout!! While I've agreed that I could do without hearing it again, I actually found myself missing the song when the house lights came up and the show was over. The show almost felt incomplete.

Other than that, this show ROCKED!! The band was tight, and Steve was on fire. And when he's giving his all, the rest of the band elevates with him. The acoustics were perfect. "We Have Heaven/SSOTS" alone was worth the price of admission. The first set was just fantastic.

When they came out for the second half, they kicked it up yet another notch. After Jon's solo, Rick ran way behind the stage, behind Alan's drum kit and over to the far side where he slipped behind a curtain. Jon said something along the lines of "Only Rick is crazy enough to pull a stunt like this". As it dawned on me what might be up, the curtain parted revealing Rick at the organ, which is a permanent fixture at Radio City, and he played a piece from "Six Wives". It was awesome!! They were all so "on" by the time they played "Awaken" it was almost like a religious experience. A phenominal show overall.

By the way, Steve did NOT play "Mood For A Day" as listed in the playlist for this show. He just played the excerpt from "The Ancient" and "Galliard".

John DiBella

Saw the Radio City gig last night, and I have to say that Howe plays WAY better when Wakey is in the line-up for some reason. There really isn't much more to add to the reviews before mine, except that I'm at least ONE of the filmers. ;o) I'd be interested in hooking up with anyone else who might have filmed this for a multi-angle remix.

That Wakeman solo with the Wurlitzer was AWESOME!

Highwing

A Yes concert without "Roundabout?" Believe it! And did I miss that song? Not for a moment ...

From the time the band hit the stage a little past eight with "Siberian Khatru" to the end of the thundering version of the encore,"Yours Is No Disgrace," this band was in fine form from top to bottom. And while it's hard to beat the set list from the past two tours (I mean, "Gates of Delirium" AND "Ritual" AND "Close to the Edge" on the same bill?!), I'd have to say they gave it a run for the money. I'd missed them on the '97 "Open Your Eyes" tour, so this was my first time seeing either "America" or "Revealing Science" live. And "South Side of the Sky" ... need I say more? Well, yes I do, actually - as great as the Masterworks tour was, and as fine a job as Igor did on the keys, there is only one Wakeman. (And only one MiniMoog, I might add - after years of hearing nothing but digital keyboards at Yes shows, the warmth and squiggly coziness of an old analog synth was refreshing and nostalgic, especially in Rick's capable digits.) I first saw this band in '78 on the "Tormato" tour, and to see them with the same five guys in 2002, playing with the energy and spirit they displayed tonight, was simply inspiring. I know our boys are getting a little gray around the fringes, but from the second mezzanine of RCMH they looked like a bunch of 20-somethings romping around the stage and having a lot of fun with the music and with each other. Chris and Rick seemed to share an especial comraderie, brought out in full at the end of "Awaken" when Rick actually came out from behind his keyboards (well, it was the last song of the night) and took Squire's heavy triple-neck bass/guitar to hand to a roadie. A grateful Chris pantomimed a tremendous burden being lifted from his back, then warmly embraced and kidded with Rick. And after the encore, the five came to the edge of the stage and gave a side-by-side, triple Beatles-style bow. Even from the second balcony, I could see the smiles lighting up their faces. I've heard rumors about some frostiness between members on this tour, but there was nothing like that visible among the five muscians I saw tonight.

And, I cannot let this review end without mentioning that I now have another all-time favorite concert memory, to rank up with the 1982 Elton John concert at Madison Square Garden when Yoko Ono came out onstage after Elton played "Empty Garden": yes, Rick actually DID do his solo on the famous RCMH pipe organ. B.B. King has his Lucille, but how many other times in rock 'n roll can you say you've seen one legend playing another?

This will probably be the only concert I go to see this year ... and that's fine by me. Thanks for the memories, guys!

upper westsider

Another night, another Yesshow. I felt honored to be at this one. The night when everything fell into its place. I did not hear a bad note all night. The sound was perfect after the first 30 seconds of Siberian Khatru. The sound was perfect for the next 3 hours. The crowd was as loud and appreciative of any I can remember over 25+ years of seeing Yes. The ovation after Siberian Khatru overwelmed Jon & Co. so much that they had to go into America just to shut us up! He gave his touring by bus speech afterwards! Saturday at Jones Beach had me tear up during Awaken; tonight it was South Side Of The Sky that did the job. Perfect. I was in heaven. But there was more to come this Radio City night. As Jon played his solo, Show Me, Rick was playing his regular keyboards. After the tune Jon introduced Rick saying something to the effect of only one man can do this justice...and there was Rick on the Radio City Pipe Organ...WOW...again- WOW... He was off the side of the stage on this incredible instrument of historic proportions blasting away at parts from Journey and Henry VIII ...no Wondrous Stories, a beautiful rendition of Cord of Life with Jons singing ended the pipe organ solo. Again- WOW!!! You had to be there...if any shows are to be released/released from this tour tonight is the one to sell.

The rest of the set was the same as the other shows except- NO ROUNDABOUT.

By the time the band finished an unreal Awaken; complete with Rick going nuts during the harp section, they only had time for a long, long version of Yours Is No Disgrace. I think Jon had to compose himself after the ovation for awaken. The entire crowd (packed house) had been on its feet the last 6-7 minutes of the song and Jon looked as moved as I have ever seen him. I swear tears were flowing from his eyes at the warmth we were giving.

To Jon- You're Welcome!! And Thank You too!!

To all my fellow Yesfans at this magical event...we were treated to the one with the cherry on top. We were treated to an 11.

Ron S.

EXTRA!! EXTRA!! THE PHANTOM OF THE OPERA STRIKES AGAIN!!! WAKEMAN adorned with flowing robes might as well have been, as he played the MIGHTY WURLITZER at RCMH!! F*&%$#ING intense and a true rarity. As he is about to begin his solo after J.A.'s vocal solo, he wanders to the left side of the stage, and it looked like he would miss his cue. He then disappeared behind curtains, and then VIOLA!! He flows out again at the reigns of the beast. A beautiful and incredibly rare treat of Six Wives, Journey, and we went WILD. The show featured about the best version of AWAKEMEN (pun intended) that I have ever seen along with superb renditions of SSOTS RSOG and YIND. MAGNIFicentICATION into DKTW was superbly executed as well, and the mix was amazing with Rick and Chris COOKING!!! BESIDES the superb show I must say that if the people behind me in HH 503-505 are reading this, next time stay home and talk loudly amongst YOURSELVES.We came to listen to music so shut the f up OK? BUT believe me you could not have even come close to detracting from this stupendous event!! DON'T EVER STOP PLAYING GUYS!!! IN ALL ENCIRCLING MODE!!!

Ron Z

Wakeman played the Wurlitzer!

No Roundabout....they ran out of time.

As per Wakeman after the show, it would have cost $5,000 per minute! for each minute after 11:00 deducted from the settlement.

NYC UNIONS!