whamo beaumont

Seeing Yes up close is one of the best concerts I have ever seen.From the first song I knew Steve Howe was going to give me a guitar lesson, Plus some improvisation that was eye opening.Not the biggest crowd I've seen there at the House of Blues,But we were all there to have a good time and see a great band.The staff was overbearing.They should know when to let the people stand up and get into the music. The crowd in Houston did get a little testy!I would go through a hurricane to see Yes.great music has come to Houston.Steve Howe was the best guitar player in the whole state of Texas that night!

John

Great show, as always. What a treat to see this band still playing after so many years! This was my 10th time seeing Yes and I still look forward to the next time. I was there with my 16 year old son (we had been to the Bass Hall concert last year in Ft. Worth). I agree that Bass Hall was a much better place than HOB. Would have been nice to have a venue with seating for all (standing for 3 hours is not too comfy!). Wonderful music, though. It was great to see Howe improvise and add tasty embellishments to the songs. He really doctored-up Owner and a few other songs. He's a pleasure to watch/hear. Oliver was great when I could hear him....his mix was a little low for some of the songs (couldn't hear the keys that well sometimes). What's the deal with the staff there? When leaving I walked out by the stage and I paused for one and one-half seconds to look at the stage and the staff person BARKED at me to leave right away. Totally not necessary. I noticed Chris Squire was angry at one of the staff and I could read his lips from all the way in the general admission area. Anyway, Yes music is beautiful and I'll always go and see them.

Kevin Allen

I am glad they came back to Houston after they were unable to last year due to a medical emergency. They played vey very good here and for the most part the sound mix was good. keyboards and lead vocals faded a couple of times, but not really to noticable for long. The crowd was well behaved and was quiet during the right times.

Benoit was very relaxed and is definetly finding his own now. I saw them in Fort worth last year at the Bass Music Hall and Benoit was dancing around a little strange. It is very pleasing to see this guy mature with time. Benoit has a solid voice and it is nice to hear someone who remembers the lyrics while performing.

Oliver is very accomplished and a smooth player. Oliver is a real gentleman and and very gracious. His parents should be very proud of him not only for his musical ability but for his mannerism, Oliver was raised well.

Chris, Steve and Alan are true master musicians. They play with such ease for such difficult changes in notes. They were spot on all nite and then some. All three veterans were smiling and seeming to really be enjoying the evening. I was hoping to hear Astral Traveler and South Side of The Sky but they were not played.

This lineup could play any of the pieces (unplayed songs in a very long time) written by YES and hopefully will in the future. There is good energy with this band. I wish the very best to Jon and Rick whom I will always admire and respect not only as genuine people but as charter members of YES.

HOB is not a place that YES should be playing. While it is nice to see them up close for all, it is basicly a bar with bar bouncers. This group of musicians, which includes past and present are far to talented and creative to play in venues like the House of Blues. I must say that most of the security staff at the Houston HOB could use some edicate training. They must be used to rowdy drunk people there so I feel that they assume that every act that plays there will draw the same crowd. The YES crowd was well behaved and tentative and yet it seemed that the security staff was always nit picking on someone about something which was very distracting to the show. I saw Chris motion to one of the security guys to back away from the audience during Starship Trooper when the band themselves were encouraging everyone to get up and groove.

I hope that there will be some new music being made by YES in the near future. I am sure they still have the creativity that they have shown with the music written in the past. Hopefully if Jon And Rick are not up to touring anymore, they can give creative input to future members and writing.

skitexasdoc

Saw the show at HOB last night with my family and Yes tore the place up. They had the crowd on its feet off and on, but especially on the last two songs (except for the butthead security which Chris finally told to f**k off! My boys 15 & 13 thought the show was GREAT! Not to mention all of us old geezers who were rocking with the band (there were plenty at HOB and not just on stage). I feel sorry for all of the unhappy whiners and losers in other cities who had a "bad time", I'm glad I didn't see what yall did. Maybe you should come to Houston to see Yes. The "Meet and Greet" was well worth the $ spent, unlike what others wrote. Yes has gotten older and they've done whatever needed to go on performing (time & life goes forward not backward), but they're also BETTER! YES ROCKS!

Hung

I saw the show in HOB Dallas the night before and came to this show. The band was still great, in spite of having dropped Astral Traveler for some reason. Most everything I want to say about the show can be read in my Dallas review. Just wanted to say some thoughts on HOB Houston.

I was in the balcony, which someone had mentioned the line of sights weren't great. I was on the edge of the center section in the back, which wasn't bad, but I definitely understand the sentiment. The venue is very poorly laid out if you have balcony seats. There's only one stairway to the balcony and it's at the other side of the entrance to the main floor. The security staff were like Nazis from what I've heard. They would tell people to sit down when people wanted to stand up and kicked everyone off the floor pretty quickly after the show ended. The sound was cranked up pretty high. It was mostly fine but my hearing became fatigued after a while.

In spite of all my griping, it was still an excellent show, but these conditions made it fall short of my experience at HOB Dallas. Others I have talked to felt the same way.

Regardless of the venue, go see these guys. That really just goes without saying.

Kat Fur

Mr. Miller: I read your commments and tried really hard not to reply, but in the end, I must. While I enjoyed your review of the band, I have to differ with you on a couple of points. Before I do that though, I spoke to a friend about your comments regarding the balcony seating, and he said you were very accurate about the line-of-sight, so the tickets you had were definitely not worth what you paid for them and I feel for you there. However--going into a venue that you know serves alcohol, at night, with two four-year-olds is pretty stupid. Complaining about a venue that really isn't made for children is useless. People should be able to get up and go to the bar without others whining about it. If you want a kid-friendly venue, take them to outdoor festivals or something. I had a friend who attended last night with his 12-year-old son, but that's different. The child was old enough to be out later at night and he'll at least remember what he saw.

Kat Fur

We had seats right next to the sound/light board (It looked like just the light board), 7th row. The tickets were a gift from a good friend. I had never seen Yes before but had listened to their albums since I was a teenager in the early 70s. My husband has been a die-hard Yes fan forever and has been to many of their concerts (met the band during the Talk concert in the 90s); and was very excited. The stage had fantastic lighting and the bat-clouds of white material hanging over the band were a visual treat! I quickly took out a little sketchbook and sketched it so I could remember what it looked like.
The performance in depth: Our seats provided us with a great sound balance. I could hear every note that Chris and Steve played. As much as I love their material, I was totally unprepared for the joyous night of music that was performed last night. Yes’s progressive rock is very complicated, and the melodies that weaved together, and the speed with which they were played, took my breath away. Steve Howe seemed to bring out every guitar in his arsenal, and his solo performance was beauty you could touch. He’s a very accomplished guitarist, and the years have done nothing but make him better. I liked the fact that he is properly trained and his fret hand wasn’t all over the place- he played with professional economy. What surprised me about Steve was his great stage presence—he goofed off with hilarious facial expressions—I got a real kick out of that! On to Chris Squire: I have my fave bassists (Sting, John Entwistle, Jaco Pastorius, Tony Levin), but when I saw Chris, I was totally floored by his playing. He had a white Rickenbacker that was unbelievable, and another white bass that looked like plank—if anyone can tell me what that was, I’d appreciate it. He also played a black Rickenbacker. What struck me was his total musicality—he played bass like a guitar!
I agree with Schizoid Ted that Oliver could have been louder; his sound got lost a couple of times (once for a few seconds during Tempus Fugit). But Oliver looked great (he looks just like his Dad!) and I loved his keyboard setup; it looked very futuristic, and he played like an angel.
Benoit’s voice was not as loud as it could have been during several moments in the show, but for anyone who’s wondering if he can cover Jon’s vocals, I have to reply with a resounding YES. Benoit’s voice soared. As a vocalist myself, I really appreciate his wonderful ability, and his voice is almost exactly like Jon’s—range, timbre, style. He didn’t let me down the whole night.
I wish I could have seen Alan White better, but his drumming was fantastic as usual. He had a pretty basic setup, but really, what else did he need?
My favorite song of the night was “Onward”. I had never heard that song before, and Benoit did great justice to it, along with Steve’s guitar. I turned to my husband and told him I had just heard the greatest song of the night. But my claim of favorite song wasn’t quite fair, because when Yes played a rousing version of Roundabout, the House of Blues went wild. Everyone in the place was singing the lyrics (of course). Chris Squire never looked happier. And when the encore came, Chris motioned to the security guy not to bug the fans up front (J.Jones, you were right on with that observation—I saw it too). Starship Trooper was an incredible end to an incredible show.
The venue: The House of Blues was a great venue, a very laid-back place, and the fans were all in such a good mood, it was a complete pleasure. Everyone I met was happy to be there, even if they were standing. The music was so good, how could you not be? The wait staff was fantastic, very attentive, so I give House of Blues a big five stars.

By the way, while I was there I bought a copy of Chris Squire's Fish Out Of Water CD, and when I opened it, I found that he had SIGNED it! Wow! Double bonus!

Thanks to all of you who took the time to read this long review. Thank you,

Clint Miller

Nice show in Houston last night. My sons (ages 7, 4, and 4) and I drove in from Austin for the concert. My sons were all really happy about seeing their favorite band. The concert was very similar to the one my 7 year-old and I saw in Fort Worth last summer. The only differences were they added Onward and Yours Is No Disgrace and dropped Astral Traveler, which was a shame because AT was one of the highlights last summer. But YIND rocked! Also, they didn't use the fog machine on Machine Messiah this time around.

Like last summer, the band started out kind of slow and took a few songs to get up to speed.

I was a bit disappointed that the band dropped Astral Traveler and South Side of the Sky. I'm pretty sure those were played at other concerts on this tour. Given that they cancelled the Houston show at the last minute last year, I would have thought Houston would at least get a full set this time around.

I also wasn't crazy about the venue. I bought expensive balcony seats, and the lines of site weren't great. Also, since alcohol was served at the venue, people around us were constantly getting up to go to the bar. And, there were a lot of obnoxious drunks all around us. The Bass Concert Hall in Fort Worth last summer was an infinitely better venue.

All in all, though, it was an enjoyable concert. Pretty much exactly what you expect from this version of the band. Not a life changing, jaw-dropping musical experience, but some nice nostalgia nicely delivered. Plus, my kids loved it!

Markey Sanchez

Drove 7 hours to see my favorite band with my younger sister. I didnt purchase tickets in advance, hoping to buy some there but the venue was sold out and my heart sunk. Well, I managed to wait a little while longer and got a hold of two. My sister and I got general admission ticks, but we managed to get up and close to Chris's side. Overall the show was amazing. Full of high energy and good vibes from the fans. It was one of the best YES shows I have ever been too. After the show, the meet and greet people stayed and we were escorted out. I was hoping to get my Tales CD signed by Chris and the band, but I was just lucky to get in tonight. All of a sudden 2 guys left the venue before the meet and greet session began and gave my sister and I their back stage passes!!!! What a miricle!! Anyhoo, got to meet the band and the crew....plus, I finally got my CD signed. What a night to remember. Just want to thank YES for giving us everything they got all these years...Thank you guys. Also a very special thank you to the two guys for the VIP passes...I am forever grateful. Markey.

Schizoid Ted

I was the guy in the King Crimson tshirt (the screaming face from In the Court of the Crimson King) if anyone remembers.

I had a great time at the show, lots of friendly people to chat music with and talk about shows we've been to. I was lucky enough to have a general admission space that wasn't obstructed.

The band was fine, a little slow starting up, but then kicked in by Tempus Fugit. Steve's solo acoustic set was great, and it was nice hearing songs other than "Clap" and "Mood For A Day".

Oliver appeared to be having fun up there, and I laughed with Benoit's pointing the acoustic guitar like a gun during "Machine Messiah". They both did a fine job. There were moments when Oliver could've been louder, but I heard him during great solo spots such as "Heart of the Sunrise".

The Drama material impressed me the most. I feel that I have seen a broad spectrum of Yes now, since my last Yes concert was the Union tour back in 1991. I was reluctant to go to this show, but am glad I did. To top it off, I made it just in time after the show to catch the psychedelic legend Roky Erickson! Fantastic night!

J. Jones

Always great to see them live. I would pay just to see Howe, Squire, and White jam for two hours.

The show lasted exactly 2 hours.

Set list

Firebird Suite
Siberian Khatru
I've Seen All Good People
Tempest Fugit (Astral Traveller not played)
Onward
Yours is no Disgrace
And You and I
Steve solo-one of which was In the course of the Day
Owner
Machine Messiah
Heart of the Sunrise
Roundabout
Starship Trooper (encore)

Steve told us we were a great audience and "good listeners" prior to the encore.
It seems Chris was upset with security during Starship Trooper for not wanting people to stand. Chris won.

Hope this lineup gives us some new music.