James C

First time I have ever seen Yes live - fantastic. Even my long-term partner really enjoyed it and she isn't a fan of Yes. Highlights for me were And You and I, Machine Messiah, HOTS, Roundabout and Starship Trooper. Hope there is a return visit to Belfast soon!

Stephen Boyle

You'd think that after 40 years and with 2 new members a band might just be going through the motions, not a bit of it. There was real heart and spirit there, it was hard to keep the big grin off my face as they started in to each new piece of music.
I'd seen the band before during the Union and Magnification tours so this would have to be something to compete and they didn't let me down. Sitting right in front of Chris(and beside the most enthusiastic Yes fan in the country) made it a real treat.
OK, so the sound was a bit confused at times especially during the Steve and Oliver trade offs but the guys were on form especially Benoit, he seemed to really be at home filling Jon's role. Just hope they will be back again.

Malcolm McCleery

I've listened to Yes for over 25 years, I've wanted to see yes for 25 years and it was worth the wait! Fantastic set list and a fantastic sound; Steve a joy to watch and listen to, the pounding base gets the adrenaline going, drums brilliant as ever and Oliver and Benoit I thought were excellent.

Frank

Well after 33 years after stumbling on Fragile in a friend's house... I finally got to see Yes.. Excellent gig... their consummate musicianship is clear to see... despite what anyone says about their music. Benoit was an excellent replacement in the lineup, his voice just not as pure as Jon but nevertheless pretty damn good. Nice to Oliver too striking an uncanny likeness to his father both on the ivories and in his looks. But the real attraction(to me) were of course Chris, Steve and Alan on the kit. Alan as energetic as ever, perfect timing on Astral Traveller awesome.. Steve fantastic solos - Mood for a Day and "The Clap" again the fretwork every bit as good as it was in the 70s. My only regret of the night was that we did not get a big solo from Chris such as The Fish (i wont attempt to spell schindelirious primaturus oops I just did). I loved the feeling of his thundering bass as it rocked the front seats where I was sitting front row when he hit the bottom string of his Rickenbacker...

the song choices in the set were very good too mainly from the early era which in my humble opinion when they were at the heights of their musical power. All in all a fantastic evening to see some real heroes of the 70s. Ten true summers (times 4) they were there and laughing too (literally)

Mark

Fantastic concert, particularly enjoyed the material from the Yes Album, the Clap was great, as of course was Starship Trooper. I get the impression there was a big finale involving something falling from the ceiling as I saw Chris looking up and then looking at Oliver in confusion, and then laughter ensuing between the two!

I was sitting close to the stage over in front of Oliver and Chris (And those trousers...). I had initial concerns that the sound may not be ideal from that angle, but these turned out to be unfounded. Thought Benoit did well, not everyone could sing those songs so well and his dancing was inspirational. I was very impressed with Oliver, this is my first time seeing Yes though so I dont have anything to compare him with really!

Steve, Chris and Alan were great too, I got goosebumps several times (due to enjoyment, not temperature). I attended with my 22 year old girlfriend (I am 22 also), she said it was amazing, depsite not being the biggest yes fan (and despite Chris giving her the eye from the stage).

Hope they come back again soon!

PS bought a good T shirt and poster, almost bought a mug but I backed down at the last minute - a big regret.

Graeme Lightbody

Great show - I'm a huge fan of the Rabin era. But I was completely overwhelmed by the quality and delivery of the show. Yes are still very much top of the game. Great songs such as And you and I - Heart of the Sunrise - Starship trooper inc Machine Messiah - what can I say? they where all fantastic - Owner should have been omitted as it takes Rabin to play it to give it it's depth as it doesnt fit with Howes style or desire to play it. Nonetheless Howe was fantastic. Alan White is my hero and was the main reason I attended but after the first few bars I was hooked.

A great great night.

Paul

Setlist update:

Steve Howe solos : Mood For A Day and Clap
Starship Trooper as encore

I've gotten so used to travelling to see Yes it's weird when they finally play 'back home'. I guess the Waterfront (a recent addition to concert venues in Belfast) was about 70% full, a respectable crowd maybe of 1000-ish. Would have been lovely to have had a full house though.

They got a great reception and as I was seated in row 2, right in front of Chris and Oliver, I had great views. Sound for me was better than at Hammersmith last week although Benoit did seem low in the mix again.

Highlights were the Drama tracks, Astral Traveller, AYAI but it's always hard to pick and choose as these guys are just so good. I did warm to Oliver. I thought he handled the keys great and seems to be 'loosing up' in the role a bit more. Chris was superb, Steve seemed to be a bit out of sorts on HOTS but it would be churlish to complain too much. He did stick to the populist choice for his solos which given the fact they'd never played here before was probably a safe bet.

Benoit brings a different inflection to the lyrics - he's definitely not an Anderson copyist and I'm happy with that and with this line-up - let's be pleased they're still touring this beautiful music.

The crowd were quite reserved throughout though. I was up jumping about during Roundabout and Trooper but most were happy to sit quietly - a bit perplexing.

I managed to have a good look at Chris's new Rickenbacker with the custom paint job of his 'Fish Out Of Water' cover. A real nice piece of kit.