Linda Lešikarová - DENÍK.cz

Monday, May 27, 2024 8:40 AM

[GOOGLE TRANSLATE from original Czech to English]:

The legendary Yes played in Olomouc

Linda Lešikarová
October 29, 2009

Olomouc - A crowd of 2,000 welcomed the British art rock group Yes on Thursday evening. The famous music legend started his European tour in the sports hall in Lazce.

"Good morning, Olomouc. It's nice to be here with you," Benoit David welcomed the enthusiastic audience. People from all over Moravia and Bohemia came to the UP sports hall. Before eight o'clock in the evening, there was nowhere to park in the surrounding area.

"It's great here. My husband and I came all the way from Cologne to the concert. We had to find a hotel here, but it was still worth it. We listened to Yes even when we were dating, and it's a lifetime experience for us," said one of the band's fans, Mirka Šimánková, enthusiastically.

The band in Olomouc played its almost three-hour long concert in the composition of Steve Howe, Chris Squire, Alan White, Oliver Wakeman and Benoit David, who replaced the band's legendary singer Jon Anderson. Brits from Olomouc head to Paris, London, Copenhagen or Munich, for example.

Radek Wikturna

This was my 7th Yes show. I have been waiting for this, just like other Yes fans, for 4 years. The waiting seemed endless but it was worth it. These old rock veterans (Chris, Steve, Alan) still rock! They have aged - but in the possitive sense: just like good wine. And the 'juniors band members' (Chris's words) are a fresh change in the lineup. I had been worried whether Benoit can really fill in for Jon, but my worries soon disappeared after a few songs. With closed eyes, Benoit sounded 'almost' like Jon, I would say Jon at the age of 30:-). I also liked the way he moved (or sort of danced) to the music and he seemed to enjoy singing with the band a lot! If anyone else can fill in for Jon, then it must be Benoit (with that said, I would still love to see Jon playing with the band). But the real showman was Chris, as always! His roaring bass dominated the sound througout the whole show and his multi-layerd voice nicely blended with the much higher pitched voice of Benoit. The set list was well ballanced, consisting of 'classic' songs from the seventies (Siberian Khatru, I've Seen All Good People, And You And I, South Side of the Sky, Heart of the Sunrise, Onward, The Clapp, Mood For the Day, Yours Is No Disgrace, Roundabout, Starship Trooper) and 2 songs from the Drama album (Tempus Fugit, Machine Massiah), which they haven't played for 30 years!, even Astral Traveller from the late sixties (during which Alan had a solo on the drums) and of course the modern-sounding hit Owner Of a Lonely Heart. My personal favourites were the two Drama songs and as always, Starship Trooper because of its incredible solo part at the end. The sound and the mix was nearly perfect, I would have only liked Benoit's mic to be a bit louder. In conclusion, it was an awesome show, that only Yes can do and if you missed this one, you made a big mistake!