Rhea Frankel

Thursday, February 21, 2013 9:18 PM

I went to this show! I wrote about it on my blog at [Link]

Kurt

Thursday, March 18, 2010

In response to Ken''s post about OOALH: I am a musician and a studio engineer and I can tell you that the only parts of the song that were from the studio recording were some of the parts that were samples on the original studio recording, in the first place. In other words, all of the parts that Yes played in the studio, were the same parts they played live. And the samples that they used in the studio, were still triggered when playing the song live, much as they were when they did the song in the studio. But, that''s how they usually do it for this song and it isnt the least bit unusual.

Brad T

When they last played this venue on August 08, 1998 (Open Your Eyes tour), the moon rose from behind the hill at the far end of the outdoor venue. Jon Anderson made a point of this, telling us all to turn around and look. At the show on February 28, 2010, the full moon rose over the stage just before the encore. I loved the 1998 show but this show was for me, more exiting due to the song selections and the fun the band was having.

Everyone in my vicinity loved the show as much as I did, and nobody complained about this not being the same Yes they say in 70's or the 80's or the 90's. I suppose you can always pop in a DVD if you want to see the exact same show again. Nobody minds an honest opinion, but the negative energy evident in mean-spirited and cynical reviews does not strike me as being very Yes-like, so to speak.

It's great to see that Yes means this much to a lot of other people. I will always come back to Yes music, I will always see them when they tour, and I will always love Yes.

Christine Rivera

This was my first YES concert because I got my fiance the tickets for his birthday this year and I went with him, I am so glad I went to the show it was great! I thought Steve Howe was outstanding and so was Chris Squire. I didn't know much about YES except for "Owner of a lonely heart" and "All good people" and "Round about" which I remember from high school when I was a teenager in the 80's but since I met my honey he has turned me onto much more of their music and awesome video's and now I want a YES tattoo! Thank you Mark for the beautiful music you have exposed me to and for loving me! Can't wait until 07/10/2010!

Mark Jennings

I have seen YES from 1973 thru 2 28 10. YES is without a doubt the best band ever.I have been to 26 YES concerts.I have a YES logo tattoo, a talisman (magnification) tattoo, and a YES fishplane tattoo. I met a guy who flew from Wisconsin to see YES at Boca Raton.I also met a couple that has seen YES 96 times! (Hi Chris and Renee)YES ROCKED Boca Raton last night and my lovely fiancee is going to get a YES tattoo which thrills me to the bone. For all you people who are writing negative stuff about MY rock group if you don't like YES jump off the boat but do it quietly please!! People were taking pictures of my tattoo's and showing me theirs which was very cool. To the YES family God Bless all of us. Nous sommes du soleil!

Alejandro

A yes fan forever... at the show in Boca Raton. Steve was amazing and Chris showing why is the best. Alan,Benoit,Oliver Ok. Aparently they have some technical dificulties,specially Steve and Oliver. Is true, is not the yes of the 70's or 80's; but remember that their music is extremely complex, this is not the average band. Yes is one of the best Rock bands ever. Yes is culture. We will see them again and again!!!

Maria Osusa

A yes fan forever... at the show in Boca Raton. Steve was amazing and Chris showing why is the best. Alan,Benoit,Oliver Ok. Aparently they have some technical dificulties,specially Steve and Oliver. Is true, is not the yes of the 70's or 80's; but remember that their music is extremely complex, this is not the average band. Yes is one of the best Rock bands ever. Yes is culture. We will see them again and again!!!

Marcelo Perea

After a beautiful sunset at "Sunset Cove Amphitheatre" we had a two hour show that was full of energy.Chris bass sound was right and he was in full control of what's going on up there.Alan has that beat that knows what each musician wants and last night they were all good.I am glad that David felt so in tune with the rest.Is hard enough to replace Jon,but after all these concerts he sounds like YES and that is all it matters.The maestro Steve as usual with new riffs for some songs and sounds as young as thirty years ago.Oliver is great doing all Yes arrangements and will see if he can also contribute to new material.The best song of the night for me, was Machine Messiah.Play to perfection by everyone Chris bass was as good as the original recording.Again was a great YES night.I hope they go back to the studio and try to come up with new material.This is the nature of YES,recreate ,reinvent,transform to energy.Good day

Kurt Schweizer

This was my fourth Yes show and my girlfriend's first. We had a great time and in my opinion, they sounded as great as ever. Of course, I miss Jon (Who doesn't?), but Benoit is quite worthy and capable to fill those shoes until Jon's (hopeful) return. And Oliver seems to be every bit as good as his old man (or pretty close anyway). Plus Steve, Chris and Alan still have chops to burn and are still going quite strong after four decades! This was, indeed, an impressive show from them, as usual.

As for the setlist, overall, I was fairly pleased. However, I was expecting South Side of the Sky and was slightly disappointed at not hearing it, especially since it is one of my all-time fave Yes songs and I've yet to personally hear it live. Also, I would've loved hearing LDR, as well as, maybe, one other Rabin-era song, in addition to OOALH. (My vote on that would be Changes.) But, still, I was thrilled to hear Tempus Fugit, live for the first time. That, Roundabout and HOTS were my faves of the show...as well as Alan's solo! (Of course, I am a drummer.)

The only down side is that I missed the first two and a half songs, as it took about 45 minutes or so to park, as there is only one lane, from the main road, going into the venue's parking lot. (One of the other reviewer's also made mention of this.) The City of Boca Raton needs to either get another lane built and/or hire additional personnel to make the parking process run more smoothly and faster.

But, again...I was very happy to see Yes for the fourth time and I was more than happy to introduce my girlfriend to the Yes world.

Ken Greene

I live about a mile from Sunset Cove, and so to me it felt like the band had come all the way from England just to play in my backyard! I first saw Yes when I was 14 years old at the Tales show in 1974. Tonight I had my 14 year old son with me and re-lived the experience vicariously through his eyes.

It was an unseasonably cold night for South Florida – a clear sky with a full moon. The turnout was smaller than I expected, making this one of the more intimate settings in which I have seen the band.

Alan, Chris, and Steve were all spot-on. Oliver reminded me of his dad, both in appearance and keyboard set up. This was the first time I heard Benoit sing. While his vocal range is the same as Jon’s, his voice has its own unique character. As the other reviewer noted, he stood slightly left and back of front and center. But it also seemed to me that his vocal was also not front and center in the mix, especially during the first half of the show, when at times I found it hard to hear him over Chris’s backing vocal harmony. Oliver’s keyboards also seemed to be a little low in the mix, and I found myself wondering if the two new guys were intentionally being mixed down a bit. Chris’s bass also seemed to be a little too strong in the mix, at least where I was sitting (12th row center). May have been the acoustics at my seat, but in every other show I have seen, you can really feel the low bass (Moog pedals?) without it sounding noticeably louder than the rest of the mix.

The highlight of the show for me was Machine Messiah, Tempus Fugit, and Astral Traveler. Not only because I don’t think I have ever heard these in concert before, but also because they were very tight, very well rehearsed, and played with more freshness and enthusiasm than some of the more often played classics.

It was interesting how true to the original Steve was while playing Peter Banks’ riffs on Astral Traveler, compared with his treatment of Tevor Rabin’s licks on OOALH. Couldn’t help but wonder if this had more to do with attitude than ability? Come to think of it, I don’t think I have ever heard Steve try to mimic Trevor’s sound on that song… And did anyone notice the two bars of OOALH that appeared to be a playback of the studio recording?

I don’t mean to nitpick here… the show was very enjoyable and I’m very happy that the band continues to tour and share their music with a new generation of fans. I just wanted to share some of the things that I noticed and wonder if anyone else noticed them too.

The Ancient

The bottom line is that the shows is the 1970's were unforgettable. The show at the Hollywood Sportatorium 6/30/79, people have talked about that for 30+ years. This show will be talked about for 30 minutes. Sloppy, slow, low energy.

John Kuehne

Unbelievable show tonight. I've been going to YesShows since I was 14, 38 years of YesShows, saw 5 this tour, and this was one of the best ever.

The amphitheater is located at the edge of civilization in south Florida, on the edge of the everglades and the sugar farms. Upon arriving, from the top of the hill overlooking the venue, looking to the west was one of the most beautiful Florida sunsets, intense crimson reds and oranges that filled the horizon. amd became more intense at the heart of the sunset.

There was an energy in the air, emoting a sense that this would be a magical night.

Lights fade. Firebird Suite begins, the energy of the crowd rises... they begin to play the hottest version of Siberian Khatru that I have heard in a very long time. Chris and Alan are in the mood for a party, and Steve had his groove in full force tonight.
From that moment on they had the crowd ready for a very unique performance. It was very natural and organic, the old YES energy is still alive.

Chris mentioned that this was the end of a long tour for this line up, and that they were in the mood to celebrate the end of a great run.
They were in the moood to have fun, and they did.

Saw every moment from the second row just to the left of Steve, with the exception of the first few minutes of owner to take a short break.

We got the full show, only missing SSOTS.

At the end...Encore time.. An amazing Starship Trooper, with a large crowd gathering at the foot of the stage, just like the old days. Everyone was grooving to a phenominal jam, everyone having a blast.
Standing next to me at the stage was a 20 something kid, who couldnt
stop telling me how amazing they were, and that this was the 4th time he'd seen them.

As the band took the final bow Chris and Scotties daughter, Xilan was in her daddies arms joining the bow.
Don't think I have ever seen Chris with a bigger smile on his face.

It was an amazing night.
All under a crisp clear sky, bathed in the brightness of a raging full moon.

A night i will not forget.

john kuehne

Brad T

There are two kinds of Yes fans. The kind who feel Yes depends on certain key members being present to record or perform, and the kind who have our favorites but appreciate the ensemble no matter who is involved and enjoy what each player brings in the present. If you fall into the latter group, then this was a stellar show. The Setlist was:

Firebird Suite
Siberian Khatru
I've Seen All Good People ?
Tempus Fugit ?
Onward ?
Astral Traveler (including Alan White solo) ?
Yours Is No Disgrace ?
And You and I
?Steve Howe Solo (two compositions)
Owner of a Lonely Heart ?
Machine Messiah
?Heart of the Sunrise ?
Roundabout ?
Encore: Starship Trooper

Chris Squire is the leader of this incarnation of Yes, and he was center stage physically and musically. His playing and singing (mostly on harmony but some twin leads vox) was on a par with anything he has done. He played aggressively and magnificently, and was quite the showman. Tempus Fugit and Heart of the Sunrise were highlights for me. Steve Howe was as mesmerizing a player as ever, with beautiful fluid solos and perfect playing of the nuances of the classic Yes compositions as well as on Machine Messiah, which was undoubtedly one of the highlights of the night. This song deserves to be played, as it is simply an awesome composition and has room for different combinations of the players to play smaller suits together. Steve has lost none of his dexterity or subtlety, and his playing is fully of whimsical flourishes that remind you he is the person who wrote The Clap. He was do animated at the end of the show that he was quite literally jumping up and down! Alan White sounded great, and his solo was full of energy. He was just as "on" as everyone else. Benoit David has a great voice, and he is an excellent singer. Well of course he is not Jon Anderson. That would be impossible. But Benoit is in total command of the material, he clearly feels it, and most importantly, he is absolutely respectful of the music. He is not center stage, but rather, off to the side and stands between slightly behind Chris and Steve. My feeling is that the band is being very respectful of Jon's legacy, and Benoit is not being cast as "the new Jon." As for his stage presence, he is back there when the others are playing and he is not singing, and his stage movements and persona are barely present when he is not singing. Don't worry people, he fits in nicely. He is a real asset to Yes and is consistent with the very high level of performance you expect to see at a Yes concert. I found Oliver Wakeman to be a very good player technically, but not very interesting to watch. He is certainly avoiding aping his father's style and stage presence. He has no flair for the dramatic, but there is enough personality up on stage that Oliver doesn't have to worry. And he does look a lot like a very young Rick!

I am so glad to have seen this show, and very happy that Yes is still alive and full of vitality and energy. Astral Traveller rocked, I've Seen All Good People still inspires, Heart of the Sunrise was magnificent, and Starship Trooper was triumphant. They made a point of saying how many shows "this version of Yes" has played. All good people know that yes is something dynamic and changing. The music does not reside in any one member, nor does the spirit of what Yes means to me. I love Yes and they put on a GREAT show playing some of my favorite compositions in any genre.