Yakbone

For starters...WOW! What a show. I have only seen the boys one other time on their Union tour...you remember the one, with like 23 members on stage. Anyway, great sound, great lighting, excellent show. The Palace is the perfect venue for a band like YES, just the right size and a killer vibe. It was disheartening to see the place so empty. Actually, more like disgusting. Guess folks just aren't interested in true musicianship anymore. Three chord boredom blues, anyone? Impressive set list with some surprises..."Astral Traveller"...are you kidding me?!? This is the song that inspired me to become a bassist so many years ago. Two tracks from Drama was a pleasant surprise also. Wished they would have thrown in Gates or Sunrise, but I guess they didn't have all night, right?

I agree with the other poster concerning Oliver Wakeman. He certainly ain't no Rick Wakeman, is he? He acted like he couldn't wait for the show to end so he could get back to conditioning his hair!

Chris, Steve, and Alan showed why they are in a class all their own. Squire was having a ball and still has bass(of course)and vocal chops to spare. Howe's fretboard abilities are absolutely sickening! I could just sit there with a stupid grin on my face and watch him play scales all night long. Alan White always looks like he's on the verge of a heart attack behind the kit, but he holds it all together with his air tight playing.

Benoit David is no Jon Anderson, but he's close. He pulled it off beautifully. It's still hard to imagine YES without Jon and his New Age mystical vibe. Maybe next tour. Bottom line, do yourself a favor and see these guys, I mean honestly, how many tours do they have left in them?

Pete

.....Got in for $20....no reason to buy tix in advance....there were many empty upfront chairs...the sound system is mighty!.....loved how they burst into AYAI! The ending of that song has a special way of giving my brain a tingle& raising my hair with goosebumps, just like I got off of my TV with the TSONGAS DVD. YES does feel real GOOD!!! The bass was shaking the whole place...Palace!....Steve did the Vivaldi piece from his self-titled album plus To Be Over!!....there was one song that ended as a slow gentle fadeout (Which song was it?)....the show was polished, top noch and high tech...BD's vocal solo on ISAGP was ON....sounded like I had just just put the needle on the LP "The Yes Album"....Squire has a cool way of spinning around to hit the note. Oliver's Moog looks modern and built into the rig. The PA stacks look ultra modern with two modules on top ...GOOD robot.....with the Drama tunes it was an '80's flashback.....yet the whole production so up-to-date.....the screens are 3-D,lights fantastic......with all the weak music these days....it's great to see these guys delivering all things positive....my favorite: Astral Traveller: with Steves angluar sound, Alan's thunderous tom rolls, and Chris'continous upward weaving riff.....rudder steering the boat. Still can't believe they dropped HOTS!.....look for the environmental message in Alien's. Glad I got to see this show twice. The second time around, I knew when to expect things, and caught much more detail...GO SEE YES B4 they RETIRE!

Dan

Great show last night. Living in Louisville, I've seen many shows at the Palace, and this one ranks right up there. Was it perfect? No. Most of the negatives from previous shows seemed to hold true. Oliver is just not that good. In some other band,sure. In Yes, no. He was in the background, barely moving. His sounds were thin and sometimes inaudible especially during AYAI. It just seemed like he wasn't into it that much, waiting for the show to be over. Ironically, his best work was on the Drama material and Chris's song. I didn't expect his dad of course, but I expected more than just half assed attempts at his dad's parts. When Chris and Steve sang harmony, they overpowered Benoit especially during AYAI and the I Get Up/Get Down section of CTTE. Other than that, I have no complaints. Benoit was great, especially as the show went on. He clearly loved the music, and unlike Oliver, was into it. It was truly uncanny how much he sounded like Jon at times. Nice acoustic work on Machine Messiah also. Of course Steve, Chris, and Alan were great and seemed to be into it, especially Chris. His vocals were great and his harmony with Benoit was powerful and clear all night. His new song was really pretty good to. Highlights for me were CTTE and Machine Messiah which rocked the house. The crowd was into it all night and was quiet during Steve's acoustic section which featured To Be Over which I'm sure made him happy. The only encore was Roundabout.

Drambler

I have been to see many many concerts over the last two years Genesis Rush The Police Peter Frampton Eagles Journey Rod Stewart Boston Tom Petty Eric Clapton The Rolling Stones Kiss Steve Miller The Doobie Bros Kenny Loggins and while all these shows were good, and some better than others, Yes was in the top 3 of all these groups. I agree with the hope of a return to Louisville for their next tour. My thanks to the singer to join these guys and not be overwhelmed by the experience thank thank you for your professionalism. I wish Jon well and hope he can enjoy a full recovery and many many more smiles. Be well all.

Jon Bull

First saw Yes on April 13, 1979. 15 years old and thought I was the biggest Yes fan in the world (at least in Clarksville!) (Side note: I had played drums for a couple of years as a tween/teen but switched to playing bass as a 17 yo because of Squire.) Saw the Drama tour the following year in October. Suffered through the Trevor Rabin tours of the mid-80's. As far as I was concerned by then, Yes was fractured and was never going to be the band like they were with the JA/SH/CS/AW/RW line-up. When they came to Louisville the last time to the Palace, I cannot remember be overwhelmed. I admit that I'm very fired-up for this show mainly for the setlists that have been published. Will miss JA/RW but I'm sure there will be moments when I have my eyes closed and will think its 1979.

yesheadjoe

Finally back to Louisville after 11 years!!! Awesome!!! Please come back next year too when Jon is ready guys.