CHW Thomas

Friday, October 18, 2024 12:03 PM

Jerome spelt wrong in the venue name

[Edit from admin: Thanks for the catch -- fixed]

Anon.

Sunday, October 28, 2018 6:34 AM

The unknown intro to 'Intersection Blues' is in fact 'Luck of the Draw' (from 'The Grand Scheme of Things' - Steve Howe's 1993 solo album).

RockitJeff

What a clueless putz. Worthless review, but sadly typical.

Steve Howe? Souless blues riffing???
Er, dude- ain't an ounce of blues in THAT playing...
Just the soul of a master.

CLMoon

Tour servings not as tasty reheated
Wednesday, October 30, 2002
Curtis Schieber
FOR THE COLUMBUS DISPATCH

The reunion tour by 1970s British art-rock band Yes, which visited Value City Arena on Monday night, prompts three thoughts:

The guys need the money.

The venture is part of the steady, reliable process of rock revisionism that has made fashionable again the work of prog-rock groups ostracized by the punk upheaval.

The band's still-faithful audience, admittedly meager (about 2,000 attended), represents an underserved population that is finally getting attention. Judging by the weak, blurred images projected onto the glorified bedsheets that served as the stage set, the organization doesn't appear as financially hardy as it once was. And the group's light show was more impressive in the early days.

Though the catalogs of "kraut-rock'' groups such as Can have recently received new life, Yes was never an outsider band and, as such, is a poor candidate for revisionism. In fact, its sometimes pompous artfulness was surely an inspiration for the film Spinal Tap.

Monday's show included several Spinal Tap moments. Lines such as "Battleships confide in me / And tell me where you are'' and the vocal mantra "I get up / I get down'' are as loopy as ever without hinting at the mystical truths they once did.

Singer Jon Anderson, who was decked out in loose-fitting, green and yellow pastels, looked like an aging guru.

Bassist Chris Squire stood before a fan, presumably so it could dramatically blow his graying locks.

Solo features included guitarist Steve Howe's technically dazzling but soulless blues riffing and keyboardist Rick Wakeman's easy, ersatz Bach and Andrew Lloyd Webber-isms.

Yes, however, frequently served an audience that ranged from fevered to casual fans, newly converted youngsters to older listeners who had moved on musically.

Of the many musicians who have been Yes members through the years, this tour includes the five who created the recordings that many fans believe best defined the group's sound: Squire, Anderson, Howe, Wakeman and drummer Alan White.

Plus, the band concentrated on the trio of albums from its prime -- The Yes Album, Fragile and Close to the Edge.

Some of it didn't ring as it did in the early 1970s. Starship Trouper lumbered in comparison, many of the intricate harmonies lost; the dreamy midsection of Close to the Edge felt less like surfing Roger Dean's album cover images and more like merely passing time.

But the lovely melody of Close survived, as did the muscular beat of several songs and the enchantment of tunes such as Heart of the Sunrise and Siberian Khatru. And the lyrics of Yours Is No Disgrace, goofy as they are, sounded comfortable and unbelievably familiar. At those times, the underserved listeners were served anew.

London's Porcupine Tree opened the concert with a short set that at its best reminded one of Pink Floyd's middle period and the music's doped, hypnotic quality

Ryan

So, the band decided to keep the solos even with Porcupine Tree opening. They didn't play magnification or don't kill the whale. Even so, they played 2.5 hours which blew my mind even with the opening act. I was amazed to hear LDR/The fish. I didn't expect steve howe to play the guitar melody like he did in Yessongs.. quite a suprize! The band played near flawlessly. Southside of the Sky was ALOT better this time around compared to earlier this summer. The band added an extra few bars for another round at the chorus in the middle of the song. Plus, the band went on a nice jam near the end. Rick played the piano melody to the song right before the thunder effects are heard. I thought that was neat. They played the full version of Roundabout. I don't think they have done that in a while.. have they? The overall sound was kinda echoy and washed.. they played in an arena so what can you expect? The guitar was really loud in the mix like it has been this summer. Originally, I bought one of the cheaper seats up and to the right in the nosebleed section. However, we noticed that the show was obviously not sold out, so we snuck down a level to right in front of the stage and it was fantastic!! I couldn't believe my luck! Jon asked for song requests of the audience before they played starship trooper and heart of the sunrise (like they were going to play anyhting different! ). Overall, it was probably the best yes concert I have attended since my first Yes show in the fall of 99. Just awesome.