Mark Alan

Thursday, February 21, 2013 8:01 PM

I don't know what show the person below was at but from where I was sitting, it was polar opposite from what he was describing.

As much as I thought of Benoit as a great fill-in of Maestro Anderson; he could no long carry the energy needed to put into a YESSHOW. Jon Davison stepped up the game by ten folds and really gave YES a kick up its collective arse! The set list was brilliant keeping it a nice seasoned mix of old standbys, recently neglected gems and the Fly From Here suite. A nearly sold out show with standing ovations through out a good chunk of the show. The boys certainly brought it at this gig.

Despite a few technical rough spots, the guys were on fire. Jon Davison has certainly shown that he is worth the title of being the Yes vocalist (mind you JA will always be the voice of Yes).

Set list
Intro: Young Person's Guide to the Orchestra
1. YIND
2. Tempus Fugit
3. I've Seen All Good People
4. America
5. Steve's Solo (Country Medley??)
6. Whiter Shade of Pale/Leaves of Green (The Ancient)
7. Fly From Here Suite
8. Wonderous Stories
9. HOTS
10. Awaken
11. Roundabout

Highlights: America, Whiter Shade/Leaves, FFH, Wonderous, Awaken.

Procol Harum did a majestic set. They have been, by far, of all the tours I've been to since 1999, the best support act I've seen with YES. Like any other Yessshow, we (my party and I) requested sign language interpreters (due to my hearing loss) and they did an incredible of signing both PH and YES. In fact, at the end of the Procol set, their guitarist brought the two interpreters on stage to take a bow. It was well deserving of them for such a thing.

I'm going to get the bads out of the way. The show did start off a bit rocky for Steve during YIND. I think he got distracted by the lighting coming out of the 1st verse and into his guitar break and flubbed it a bit. Tempus Fugit seemed to have dragged a bit and really, that should be a song they should position later on in the show when they're warmed up and well oiled.

Again, tempo issues still abounds for HOTS. It was tight but the overall tempo could've been a hair faster. Geoff Downes seems to somewhat get his fingers twisted during his leads. And it's not that he's hitting wrong notes, he's good on that. But the flow just seems uneven when it gets to that point.

The Goods:
It was so great to hear America and Awaken back in the set. Kudos to Geoff for tackling both of those songs. Playing Awaken is a high climb and he certainly owned it! Jon Davison is what a Yes singer should be if one was to replace Jon A. He posses the spiritual quality, persona, heart and passion for YES music. Also, he's far more hands on, personable and less awkward than Benoit. He belongs on stage with the guys.

Fly From Here, to me, was certainly brought to life and certainly comes across better on stage than on disc. The great thing of it too is that the guys were really into playing the piece.

This is a rejuvenated YES. They have spent the last 3 1/2 years trying to piece it all back together. I think with the release and touring of Fly From Here and instating of Jon Davison, they are rising from the ashes and will soon turn into the beautiful phoenix it once was. They're smiling, laughing and enjoying themselves on stage. You can seen the chemistry between Jon D., Steve and Chris solidifying. This is what makes me happy to be a Yesfans. Should they, indeed, consider making another studio album; it needs to be soon while the momentum is going.

The only other complaint I have has more to do with the audience than the band. If one pays $85 to hear a band play one song, then I deem that person ignorant. And even after the fact that they didn't play a particular song (Owner), said ignorant person left the show and flipped the band off. I find that to be the most disrespectful thing to do an artist. It was very unfounded. Lesson learned, though, don

Christopher Thurow Sr

Thursday, February 21, 2013 1:05 PM

Ok here comes the heresy. I have 5 reviews on this site spanning 40 years. This show was painful. Lack of energy.....no enthusiasm...sound was lame. I kinda sensed that the guys needed something new as far as a format goes. John and Geoff are darn good though. The Three Album Tours should fix things as Steve and Chris will turn it up for those pieces. Last comment....why can't these guys simply keep the new John and haves the old Jon tour together. Somebody has to carry the torch and wouldn't it be great to hear the two vocalists do all of those wonderful Yes harmonies together?