Simon Barrow

Saturday, January 2, 2016 5:59 PM

I’m very fond of the Apollo as a venue, and Yes seem to respond to it well, too. An energetic performance. I was a bit further back in the stalls than I would have liked, but the sound was excellent – with Chris Squire’s bass especially sonorous. No set list surprises from the Newcastle gig two nights ago. Benoit David lacks some stage magnetism, but fills in well on vocals. Oliver Wakeman seemed slightly higher up in the mix, which is welcome. Once again I was blown away by the ‘Drama’ material.

Dave Lythgoe

They didn't drop 'Starship Trooper'.

It was the encore.

It was awesome.

So was the rest of the gig.

mick haley

what a good do.
I was at the wembly concert on 28th October 1978.at the age of 15.
that was my first visit to London and my first rock concert....
31 years later the guys still do it for me,
i do feel guilty buying my ticket on EBAY for only 13 quid and ending up on the front row seat 25 right in the middle.
some of you die hard fans would have paid a fortune for this seat.
The sound was fantastic even with a few duff notes and a couple of mixing errors,lets hope Yes will be good health for years to come and revisit good old blighty in the future.

pete barrowclough

just incredible... i went to birmingham last week and me and my brother didnt really rate it,bad sound ,no urgency,....wow what a difference this was ,truly awesome,great sound ,and you cant beat the apollo for atmosphere,it was so good,yes were dynamic,powerful,and i think benoit has finally become accepted,pure magic,all the band played their socks off,cant wait for a album,cant wait to see em next time( dont mess around come back soon boys!) historic,just didnt do parallels..boo hoo!!

Philip Birtwistle

All a bit rushed due to our daughter taking to her bed suffering from the travel / excitement / general knackered-ness issues having just rushed back up from Magenta's acoustic gig at Box. Got to the Apollo in time to join the queue which was just in the next postcode!

Fortunately quite quick at getting people in, so were sat in front of the mixing desk about 20 minutes before Stravinsky kicked in. A bit of seat shuffling as we realised that Celia might be better sat in front of the (small-ish) lad behind us.

Gig notes :

White - Sounded great, short solo, kept things moving well.

Wakeman - Has a percentage of his dad's talent, but seemingly little of his charisma. Only came to life when pointed out, didn't seem to share the family flair for things. Whichever of his dad's long coats he'd borrowed also seemed to have shrunk in the wash.

Squire - Must have had a relative on the mixing desk!! Great sound, usual awesome playing.

Howe - Hulk Hogan haircut fully in effect these days, and surely needs a good roast dinner or two!! All the stops were well and truly pulled out, and I loved his little flick of the leg to get rid of the pedal steel guitar.

David - So Yes have swapped a singer given to embarrassing cosmic pronouncements for one who is prone to equally embarrassing "Dad-dancing"!! Was amazed to hear that not only did he have JA's range covered, but, speaking as a native of those parts, he also sang in pure Accrington at times. A major asset to the band!!

All in all a fantastic night, roll on some new material and another tour. A band revitalised!!

Anthony Green

In The Present Tour
Manchester Apollo 22/11/2009

Start 7.46pm
Firebird Suite
Siberian Khatru
I’ve Seen All Good People
Tempus Fugit
Onward
Astral Traveller
Yours Is No Disgrace
And You And I
Steve Howe Solo:
Mood For A Day
&
In The Course Of The Day:
Owner Of A Lonely Heart
South Side Of The Sky
Machine Messiah
Heart Of The Sunrise
Roundabout
Encore
Starship Trooper
Finish 10.07pm

Total Mass

Sat in the circle for this show so I got the full sound.

What a sound!

Listened to Yessongs in the car on the way to the show - this was as good!

What I like is the sound is 'in yer face' no pairing back to account for our ageing ears. This was loud progressive rock at it's best.

I loved the Drama stuff, but Onward is just magnificent - and less than 4 mins long! (haha).
Great Ovation from the crowd. YES ARE BACK!

movedfast

9th time at a Yes gig, loved it.
I feel very lucky that my favourite band of all time are still going. Does it matter that Jon and Rick aren't there ? No.
Benoit n'est pas Jon Anderson. But that doesn't matter, he can still sing beautifully. And Oliver is at least as good as his Dad. Huge thanks to the famous 5 for keeping Yesmusic alive.
Album next, please gentlemen.
I always hated Drama, but the 2 songs from it last night were among the highlights of the show. HOTS, SSOTS, Roundabout and Onward being others. Must go see Mr. Howe in Birkenhead next March as well.
Only complaint is Benoit's dodgy dancing. He may not be God, but he moves in mysterious ways...

Chris L

Bought 2 tickets on the spur of the moment as I'd never seen them live, even though I'd gotten into them some 29 years ago.

Yes it's a shame to not see them with Jon singing. But as a complete newcomer to their live act I just took it as it came. And it was great.... almost outstanding.

Amazed at the number of people taking teenagers along - and not under duress!!!.

My 17 year old daughter thought they were brilliant.... esp. as they are officially her favourite band.

All in all a brilliant night out and waaaaaaay better than anyone could have reasonably hoped.

Mike Holt

well what can i say

now how many YES shows have i seen since 1980 , quite a few
this ranks with the best of them

i won't post the set list because if you view forgotton yesterdays you will see it there and the encoure was starship tropper

to start with i came to see YES tonight and YES were fantastic - every band member was fantastic

steve howe was on fire - all night

chris squire was amazing and i was particulary impressed with his vocals - brilliant

alan white was his usual solid best , i was sat to the right of the stage , in the stalls quiter up close and all i can say is i felt every drum beat

oliver wakeman - fantastic , brilliant awesome - he has also brought back the solid hammond sound to YES

and i have saved benoit david to last ..

benoit david - what a fantastic addition to YES - we cannot now have Jon Anderson - but we can have a great singer , with boundless energy and i was most impressed with him


highlights -

there were many


1. the integration of the two new guys - fantastic

2. steve howe on astral traveller - awesome interpretation of a YES classic

3. South side of the sky - brilliant - brought tears of joy duting the three part harmonies by Howe , Squire & David

4. drama tracks - Machine Messiah - fantastic and david was great with his acoustic guitar and antics with the crowd . tempus fugit - awasome


negatives

1. a incident with a lady ran up to the front during OOALH and was escorted back to her seat by a grumpy steward

2. no usb flash download available at the end of the show

wil have to order on line


SUMMARY


YES WE FANTASTIC


10/10


ps ; for those on YESFANS , i am also known as

90125yes

Harold Pinkney

I have seen Yes on every tour they have made in England from promoting The Yes Album in 1971. However, when the current tour was advertised I decided not to bother having witnessed Trevor Horn on the Drama tour in 1980!! I preferred to hang onto to my wonderful past memories.
On reading many critical fan reviews from America and the recent European gigs they confirmed my decision to stay away. However, the positive British concert reviews persuaded me to change my mind as I might regret breaking my record.
So I travelled to Manchester expecting to buy a ticket on the night from the box office which I managed to do. An excellant seat in the back row of the front section of the stalls facing stage left i.e. the Steve Howe side. What could be better?
Early on into the set I was so glad to be there and as each song was performed they got better and better. The sound was excellant and Steve's soloing on Yours Is No Disgrace awsome.
My only slight criticism was Alan's drum solo in Astral Traveller as it spoilt the flow of the music.
Benoit sang very well and I enjoyed his spinning. Adam performed stronger towards the end of the set as he seemed to grow in confidence.
Chris prowled the stage when playing his bass as a lead instrument but it was Steve who was the star of the show.
We all miss Jon's pressence; the atmosphere was more rock and roll and less spiritual without him.
Until the next time I will have to have to go back to seeing the excellant Fragile for my fix of live Yes music.

Neil Yates

A magnificent performance from beginning to end. I know this may upset the die-hards but if I closed my eyes and listened it was no different to Anderson and Wakeman senior.

Groups move on, line-ups change. But brilliant music played by accomplished musicians will always win the day. Last night that was just what happened. And most of all, I think they really enjoyed it as much as the crowd.

I loved it. But more tellingly so did my 17 year old son.

Tim Barker

what more can you say,what a great night,3rd time i have seen them but a first for my partner she was blown away by the gig,great set great performances hope there is an album in the offering as this line up has given the band a new lease of life and that is saying somthing as i have been a fan since i bought going for the one when it came out when i was a mere 11 years old,keep going guys some of the best music ever.

Dave Wheatley

I took my 18 year old daughter along and that is how she described Oliver Wakeman. "the dude is so cool!" she added. I agree it is about the music, not individuals and as for myself I was just as blown away as the first time I saw them when Steve had just joined in 70. We even came away with a T shirt for a fiver with the line up from that year on it! The version of Astral Traveller was far more stunning though. However, if you really like Yes music then just enjoy it now!

Rob Walker

What a great gig! I will be honest I was slightlt apprehensive, but the I've seen a variety of line ups and ways of presenting the music (eg Union & Symphonic )since I fist saw Yes at the Apollo on the Drama tour and the performances have always been of the highest quaility. Tonight was no exception. Steve, Chris and Alan were on top form - the intro to Yours is No Disgrace said it all. The only slight blip was Benoit's entry part way into Heart of the Sunrise. Perhaps this demonstrates the size of the task he took on. Having seen Jon in Liverpool earlier this year, his vioce to me was still as easy, floating and as natural as is had ever been. Yes, Benoit had to work at it, but to is credit he let no one down. Hearing Tempus Fugit and Machine Messiah again were the highlights for me. Why they have not touched Drama for so long is a mystery. Line ups shouldn't come into it - think of Steve to night with Astral Traveller and Owner Of a Lonely Heart.
I would love to see Jon and Rick back with Steve Chris & Alan - but also with new material. It is important that Yes move on, and tonight showed that the momentum is still there.

Andrew Stapleton

Great show. Benoit David is so enthusiastic and a great singer. He and Oliver Wakeman must have lit a fire under Steve,Alan and Chris because there was so much vitality and freshness to the playing. It was also great to hear songs such as Machine Messiah, South Side of the Sky. All in all an excellant set. I hope this line up do an album together, we deserve it. For the die hards, Yes is about the music not the individuals.

Graham

You forgot the little matter of Starship Trooper at the end...

Jeff Gascoyne

Left to take my 7 and 9 year olds to bed at start of Roundabout.
Excellent night and the kids loved it! Steve was magnificent, Chris was as ebullient as ever, Alan looks, as always, to be enjoying playing. Oliver had the right mixture of the original parts, and his own interpretation, of classic yes songs. The singing has got to be the best you can have without Jon.

All in all a good night, looking to the future with interest now hope Jon is on board as well.