Rock Chicago Magazine

Wednesday, August 7, 2013 10:00 PM

Reviewed by: Peter S. Sakas on 3/16/13

As a prog rocker, the iconic band Yes has been one of my favorite groups, following them for over forty years. I had the good fortune to see them on their 35th Anniversary Tour in 2005, featuring the classic line-up of Anderson, Howe, Squire, Wakeman and White. I have always been a huge fan of Rick Wakeman and Jon Anderson. As they were no longer with the band I was a bit concerned how the classic sound of Yes would be affected by their absence.

On this tour the band was performing three albums in their entirety, The Yes Album, Close to the Edge, and Going for the One. Wakeman was replaced on keyboards by Geoffrey Downes and the replacement for Jon Anderson (Benoit David as of late) on vocals was Jon Davison. Davison was in a band Sky Cries Mary and also had recorded a couple of albums for the prog rock band, Glass Hammer. To fill out the band there were long-time members Steve Howe on guitars, Alan White on drums, and Chris Squire on bass (the only band member who has played on every album).

The Venue at the Horse Shoe Casino was an apparent sell out. The lights dimmed, the strains of Stravinsky’s “Firebird Suite” began (the traditional opening music for Yes), and the band walked onto the stage to a rousing ovation. There was a large video screen suspended at the rear of the stage and at the opening, vintage images of the band were shown. During the show, each album and song were displayed on the screen when they began, and various graphics were projected or live video of the band. In addition, two large video screens also flanked the stage projecting live video of the band. It was very nicely done.

The band opened with the album “Close to the Edge” and played the entire album in sequence. (My favorite Yes album) The opening song was the nearly 20 minute classic, “Close to the Edge.” Any qualms I had about the vocalist Davison instantly dissipated when he began to sing. His vocals were outstanding and he sounded just like a young Jon Anderson. The vocals on Yes songs are very high and difficult to sing, but Davison hit the high notes effortlessly, held them unwaveringly, and really took my breath away. My wife, who attended the concert with me (also a huge Jon Anderson fan), was equally impressed with the quality of Davison’s vocal performance. He seemed to channel Jon Anderson with his movements around the stage and had a great stage presence. He accompanied on percussion, guitar, and keyboards as well.

My other concern was the keyboards. I had seen Geoffrey Downes this fall when he was touring with Asia and developed a deep respect for his abilities on keyboards. However, Rick Wakeman is a god of the keyboards to me and his keyboards were iconic on so many of the Yes songs that I was afraid that there might be a significant difference in the sound of these songs. Once again, my fears were assuaged as soon as I heard the keyboards. Downes captured the classic sounds Wakeman produced on the keyboards and sounded wonderful. Interestingly, you could catch bits and pieces of a modern flair Downes added to the keyboard music, which actually enhanced the experience. Outstanding job. Downes seems to be one of the hardest working keyboard players around (touring with Asia and now Yes) and has proven to be one of the premier players in the world.

The rest of the band was tight and solid. Steve Howe showed his absolute mastery of the guitar with superlative work on all sorts of guitars all night long. His playing was spot on and he played with great enthusiasm which is a testimonial to his professionalism realizing that he has been playing this music for over 40 years. Chris Squire played a thundering bass, showing why he is regarded as one of rock’s best bassists and he too showed great energy, roaming all over the stage, gesturing, posing, seeming to be enjoying himself on stage immensely. Alan White, as per usual, was steady on drums providing the dri

Alex Kluft, Examiner.com

Thursday, April 18, 2013 3:45 PM

"YES plays The YES Album, Close To Edge, and Going For The One at The Venue"

YES’s current tour consists of playing 3 albums in their entirety. Last night YES played Close To The Edge, Going For The One, and The YES album in that order at The Venue at the Horseshoe Casino in Hammond, IN. It was certainly worth the drive from Chicago. Of the current lineup Chris Squire (Bass) is the only member to have played on all 3. Although the members of the current lineup didn’t all play on each of those three albums there was no way of knowing by how they sounded. One common thing among Steve Howe, Alan White, Geoff Downes, and Chris Squire was a lot of instruments. Howe played at least 8 guitars including a an acoustic, Line 6, Fender Stratocaster, Gibson Es-175, a Gibson Es-335, and a fender double neck pedal steel. Downes had 9 keyboards all triple stacked. White had a drum set consisting of 7 toms and 5 electronic pads. Squire played several basses including his signature Rickenbacker, Fender Jazz Bass, and a Wal custom triple neck bass.

A YES show is not just a concert, but it is a musical journey. What’s great about seeing a band perform a whole album is getting to hear songs that may never have been played live before or rarely. For me it was getting to hear my favorite YES albums beginning to end. The show opened with an intro video showing pictures of the band over the last 40 years. YES took the stage and opened with the Close To The Edge the album and title song.

After 40 years they still got it. With the complexity of the songs it is not an easy task to play them especially since many have not been performed in years, but every member was spot on the whole show. When it comes to progressive rock few bands have impacted it the way YES has. As YES transitioned between songs, the video screen had the name of the album and the song.

After YES finished playing “Going For One” they took a 15 minute intermission and came back to play their self titled debut and an encore of “Roundabout” Each member individually is one of best on their instrument, and together they have sound that is easily recognizable. Steve Howe is certainly one of the most versatile guitarists. In one song he played 4 different guitars (pedal steel, acoustic, electric, and a mounted Line 6 electric. On another song Howe played solo acoustic. Chris Squire is considered one of the top 5 greatest bassists in Rock. Both Howe and Squire are great backing vocalists as well. For over 40 years Alan White has played drums many of YES’s greatest songs, and John Lennon’s Imagine album. Geoff Downes played on the most recent YES album Fly From Here, and had been the only constant member of Asia from the beginning and played on all their hits.

Although Downes did not play on the three albums YES is performing this tour, he has every single part down note for note. Jon Davison is YES’s newest member and vocalist. Although there is only one Jon Anderson, Davison is the closest you can get and knows all parts and sings with the same passion as Anderson. Davison also ads keyboards and extra percussion.

After seeing YES 4 times I would definitely see them next time they come to town. They always put on a great show.

Mark Kadzielawa

Thursday, April 18, 2013 3:10 PM

69 Faces of Rock

Yes is undertaking its most ambitious tour since the infamous Masterworks tour back in 2000. Back then they focused on more demanding pieces from their catalog, this time it's three full individual albums! The albums in question are "Close To The Edge," "Going For The One," and "The Yes Album." A real treat for the fans indeed.

The band hit the stage with "Close To The Edge," and after the first few seconds it was obvious it was a night to remember! The group unleashed this fine intensity, and they pretty much kept that up until the very last notes of "Roundabout." Instrumentally, Yes, was powerful, well oiled, and paid a lot of attention to the smallest detail. There is a level of instrumental wizardry these men simply do not fall under.

Of course many eyes were turned on Jon Davison, the new vocalist. Davison made a great impression last August when Yes introduced him to the Chicago audiences. As impressive as he was back then, he got even better! Davison appears to be very relaxed, and does not show any fatigue when singing any of the songs. His strength certainly shined during tracks like "Going For The One," which includes a variety of vocal twists and turns, but especially the semi-acoustic "Turn Of The Century," where was pretty much left to his own devices. Davison's fine delivery definitely energized the band.

Guitarist Steve Howe was very precise, often changing guitars to get the best sound out of each song, some seen for the very first time. He certainly brought a lot of equipment along, and gave his best. Keyboardist, Geoff Downes, added his own twist to many of the songs, and in some cases he stayed faithful to the original notes and sounds. Drummer, Alan White, provided a solid tempo, and surprising punch here and there. Bassist, Chris Squire, unleashed one gallop after another, and even played harmonica at one point. His bass was pounding, and making sure everyone blood pressure stayed at the desired level, although some were difficult to control. And when the three-neck bass made its appearance during "Awaken," people just cheered! That instrument is slowly getting a personality of its own. But all in good measure.

Yes made the place jump, and left the place overjoyed. The three classic albums were a winning combination, and who could argue with the choice of the material? Although, some tracks were performed for the first time, a fact that only added to the overall presentation. This was one of a kind concert, and it may never happen again, so catch this tour if you can. Plenty of standing ovations, and well deserved enthusiasm.

Mike Doxsee

Monday, March 18, 2013 12:36 PM

Holy Crap when did this site come back up?!?! Anyways Im the recorder for this concert. This was a all around classic concert. first time seeing them With Jon Davidson on vocals, honestly I like the guy his stage persona was there and did a very standup job!
Great energy through out the night. Couple of hiccups

Chris during the begining of And You and I missed his bass cue... dont think any audience member but me caught it.. saw him right after stairing at his bass tech laughing then turned to Alan White shrugging his shoulders.

During I've seen all good people someone started to soon and Steve counted the rest of the group in 2 seconds later.

ddloml

Monday, March 18, 2013 7:30 AM

They started at about 8:10. The concert let out just before 11:00, and there was a 20ish minute intermission. The order of the albums was: 'Firebird' Intro with a nice video montage on the screens, CTTE, GFTO, Intermission, TYA, and 'Roundabout' encore.

It looked like The Venue could seat around 1,500-2,000 people. Observation: My ticket was never scanned at the door. They just tore it in half. The people seated next to me had Ticketmaster printouts, and their barcodes were just torn from their pages as they entered. As far as we could tell, there was nothing stopping anyone with a counterfeit ticket from gaining entry to the event. The 'luxury boxes' at the back looked like they had some empty seats in them, but the rest of the seating area was filled - once everyone showed up. All through 'CTTE' there were latecomers walking around, trying to find their seats. The row in front of us had an usher checking all ticket stubs throughout the entire 'I Get Up, I Get Down' section of the song. An idiot in the row behind spent the entire 'CTTE' song explaining Yes to his girlfriend/wife. Finally, several of us had to ask him to be quiet during 'AYAI'. Fortunately he stayed quiet the rest of the night. Even though there was an intermission countdown being displayed, the hall was still only 1/2 filled when 'YIND' began. So, again, there were lost people looking for their seats in the dark during the performance.

Yes' performance seemed technically precise, but it seemed uninspired to me. There was a glitch at the beginning of 'ISAGP', so they just rewound and started it again. Others talked about Steve being the showman on this tour, but he didn't do much theatrics at this show. Geoff's keys were way low in the mix again, especially during 'CTTE'. But they fine tuned it and you could hear his parts later on.

The track order seemed to work for this crowd. 'GFTO' would have been a too mellow second set to end this show for this somewhat rowdy crowd. The greatest hits in the second set, 'ST', 'ISAGP', and 'Roundabout', kept the audience engaged.

There was a display board above the band on the stage, and two large screens to either side too. Since I was about 2/3 of the way back on the SH side of the stage, those projection screens were nice. My only quibble was that during 'Awaken', the screen constantly showed JD playing on his keyboard while Geoff was jumping from keyboard to keyboard getting all of his sounds out.

It was nice to hear the three albums, and I'm glad I went. However they really do seem like an oldies act, playing their 40 year old hits to the faithful.