Roxi Cook

The fireworks in Reno are courtesy of the Reno Hilton, I think. They also had fireworks at the conclusion of the Talk tour performance on the same stage.

The backdrop that Yes is using on this tour are supposed to resemble sails, like from a sailing ship. It won't work if it's too windy, which is why they weren't used in Reno.

Cherokee Blackhorse Wilson

'South Side Of The Sky' was on the actual set list for Reno and as someone else mentioned. Jon was having problems with it vocally although I'm sure part of the reason it was dropped in Reno was because Alan was having a very bad day and the band cut things short and easy because they were more than a little pissed and pissed off.

Gary & Deb Lauer

After a brief respite of a few months from a grueling tour of their latest album, The Ladder, YES was back in the summer touring saddle at the Reno (NV) Hilton Amphitheater with their very first Masterworks concert. This concert lived up to it's billing as being dedicated to the diehard YES fan who was in need of some epic YES music. And, YES delivered with such epic classics as Close To The Edge, Gates of Delirium, Ritual.

We particularly think the Relayer album is their best work and had been listening to it at home prior to the concert. We felt that the boys probably wouldn't perform "Gates" because of the complexity and energy that this piece demanded. Although Igor might keep up, the others were, after all -- getting on in years. Man, were we wrong. The old farts (and Igor) came out and blew the dust so far off these epic songs that fireworks were created at the close of the concert -- literally.

Chris held the energy in tact keeping everyone together. He is the leader of this group, no doubt about it. He had a blast spraying our souls with that bass of his. Steve appeared to really enjoy himself, too, occasionally bouncing back to deliver the hard licks. Jon appeared tired but sounded superb. Perfect voice. Alan performed exceptionally well. Everyone works hard in YES, but Alan works the hardest. Has to. Igor was a superb showman, making Mr. Wakeman simply a very distant memory. Sorry that Billy was no longer apart of the group. But, the music of this part of YES's past may not have required his input -- that much.

This being their first concert, naturally there was room for tweaking and improving, especially in consideration of the complexity of their epic music. However, give these guys a week or two to hit their stride and I hope the YES organization is smart enough to film/video that particular concert performance for commercial purposes. YES, we'd purchase a copy in a heartbeat.

The venue was fantastic on this warm, clear evening with airplanes taking off and landing in the distant blue-black ski. At the close of the concert when YES came back for their encore, everyone rushed up to the front of the stage as Roundabout was playing - a fitting epic ending. Looking around and about, we found ourselves in a sea of very satisfied and very dedicated YES fans -- all of us singing along and with YES on stage smiling down on us -- Dah dodo dah dahhhh dahh dup! A very magical ending to a very satisfying YES concert. Folks, this is "not" rock n' roll or progressive rock or some version thereof. This simply is YESMUSIC -- created by some wonderfully talented, powerful and extremely sophisticated musicians for some people who just can't seem to get enough of it. (YESMUSIC, a seperate music genre unto itself.)

Just what YES will do after their current Masterworks tour is a mystery. But, we've got a very strong suggestion. YES needs to score a major movie with their music. Surely, they have the connections to do this. In the meantime, take special care of yourselves - Jon, Chris, Steve, Alan, and Igor. We want you guys to be creating and performing for a long, long time to come.

Richard Cranium

It was around 4:20 when I reached my secret spot off the Donner Pass Rd. on the old Sierra hwy 40. I knew I was seeing Yes that night, and I knew that Kansas would be starting 30 or so minutes after the summer solstice. The secret spot where the mountains touch the sky and the sun seemed to never set. My friend Ryan and I stopped in that same spot before the Yes show in 1998. But this epic trip i was alone again. I sat in my medicine wheel that I constructed, faced my direction of power, and meditated for what seemed like days. Filling my water pipe with the rushing water from the creek overlooking Donner Lake and the Great Basin to the east, I thought about my place in life, and life and eternity itself, and filled my body with God's green love. The wind began to calm as the solstice approached, birds seemed to gather, and the sun did not move in the sky. As 6:48 PDT passed by like lightning, I felt a peaceful solace and calm come about me. My religious experiences had already begun. I had a 30 minute drive over to Reno to get through, and nothing cools a 95 degree thirst like chilled Sierra Nevada Ale from Chico (Ca.)

I had no idea I would be sitting front row-Squire. I smiled to the security lady, and she let me thru to the front while "Childrens' Guide.."began to play and I sat in the unused seat for the whole show. CTTE began and I began prayer. Great Spirit had descended on those with the awareness, including Jon. It was everywhere. Light,power and themusic of Yes. They plyed their most spiritual songs of which I knew word for word, note for note, singing to myself, so full of joy and so very, very happy. GOD and Ritual lifted me beyond anything before, and as a Yes fan since 1977, I must have waited all my life for this concert. Mr. Squire smiled at my prayer-like positions and "Topographic Oceans" shirt quite often, even tho the red flashing stage light he shortly faced during "Ritual" made him look devilishly humorous.

I arrived back to the valley in preparation for the Concord technical disaster show around 7:00 am after sleeping a bit in the High Sierras. These gentlemen will live forever. Yes is the best band. It was a fabulous show. Please remain healthy. Thanks to the boys in the parking lot after Kansas for the joint of love.

Rob Eastick

Some people at the show in Reno said that when the fireworks went off the band kind of looked like they were going to play another tune, but then shrugged their shoulders. As if the fireworks went off too soon.

I didn't see this, but immediately after I heard the door slam and footsteps that are on Fragile just before SSOTS. Got my hopes up, but the roadies soon started the tear-down. :(

Doug Naumann

The reason they are not playing SSOTS is that Jon can't hit the notes. That is directly from Alan and Chris. It was my first question to the both of them after the Reno show.

As far as Roundabout....I was VERY surprised to hear them play it. YES, it is an epic piece of music but it certainly is not something that hasn't been played in recent years.

The highlight of the show for me was Gates and Ritual. I don't agree that Gates was rough. In fact, CTTE and HOTS was where I heard some goofs.

Anyway, my 2 cents worth. It was an excellent show and I hope Jon can get his voice back so that someday I might hear SSOTS.

David

Hello YesFriends, Connie and I just returned from our Reno trip. Had a great time and need to catch up on some sleep. The Reno Amphitheater is located right at the hotel. After dinner, Connie and I walked outside and caught Yes rehearsing the middle drum section to Ritual. Wow, It was great! Chris was directing and working with Igor. Yes, Igor actually comes off his riser to play two snare type drums in that section. They practiced it about seven times. You're going to love this song live. Alan then played a cool drum intro, which launched the band into South side of the Sky. The Instruments sounded right on. Jon had the lyrics in his hands and seemed to be holding back a bit on the vocals. I thought, either he is saving his voice for tomorrows performance or he is having problems hitting it. Again, musically it sounded tight. I told Connie "Good thing we're seeing them tonight, because I don't think SsotS will be in the setlist for long." It wasn't (I hate it when I'm right:)) Tuesday morning Connie and I drove around Lake Tahoe and had a great time. We went and sat out by the pool and some nice guy gave me a great cigar. Around 5pm we headed for dinner and noticed Alan White having a LaBatts (sp?) Blue. (Forgive me, I'm not from Canada) What a great guy Alan is. We got to the amphitheater around 7:20 and Kansas was already playing. They sounded good. If Yes is going to have an opening band, then I'd prefer Kansas over Alan Parsons. Anyhow, Kansas played an hour set. Yes came on at 8:55

Close to the Edge >> sounded great. Looking at it on paper it doesn't seem like a good opener. But it was.

Starship Trooper >> Good tight performance.

The Gates of Delirium >> Jon introduced it as a song we wrote in 1977. Chris quickly corrected the little guy. I've waited along time for this one and it was great. A little out of sync in a few spots at the beginning. I'm sure it will get nothing but stronger during the tour. Jon nailed the vocals. They didn't change the key but Jon seemed to sing some of the more straining vocal parts a little different. It sounded GREAT!

The Ancient >> Actually the Steve and Jon part of the song. Steve played the acoustic fantastic as always and he and Jon shook hands after the song.

Heart of the Sunrise >> Very nice. Squire played all the parts minus the posing. I liked it! Squire looks like he shed quite a few pounds and is playing in top form. Still the showman, but a bit more serious.

Ritual >> Unbelievable! Fantastic! Highlight of the night. 10:35 Encore

Roundabout >> The full Roundabout, not the chopped up version we got last tour. As they hit the last chords of the song fireworks went off behind the stage over a small lake. A great show in a great setting. Mountains behind the stage with the clear sky and bright moon. Thank you YES!

Matt Newman

Since Yes usually comes to Utah only about once every ten years (or something like that), one sometimes must make sacrifices in order to see them. We were able to see them in Salt Lake City for the OYE Tour, the Talk Tour, and the 90125 Tour in 1984. To find them in Utah before that you have to go back into the mid-70’s before I’d heard of them. In 1991 my wife, baby, baby sitter, friends, and I made the 10-hour drive to Denver, CO in order to see the Union Tour. It was well worth it. What a magical night. I certainly envy you fans in the UK that can just follow them around for several shows.

After reading about the Masterworks Tour on YesWorld.com I was so excited. This would be the concert of my dreams! And perhaps since Yes had skipped Utah on the Ladder Tour they might actually come here for the Masterworks Tour. No such luck. Three shows in Ohio but none close to me. I don’t get it. I resigned myself to not being able to see this one, as wonderful as it would be. After several weeks I couldn’t live with the decision. I started to pester my wife about different shows we might be able to attend, but a very busy June made it nearly impossible. It turned out that the tour opened in Reno on my wife’s birthday. She acquiesced and on the morning of the 20th we dropped our kids off at Grammy’s house and made the 10-hour drive from Utah Valley to Reno. Ten hours of sun and desert and salt flats. The things a Yes fan will endure to a concert, we’re a strange lot indeed. I am indeed blessed to have a Yes fan for a wife. We met others who had driven from Seattle and Boise to see them too. This tour is skipping a lot of the west.

Seeing Yes outdoors is great. They had a nice desert mountain backdrop. Before the show I wandered over to the sound booth to see the gear and saw the set list. It read as follows: Close to the Edge, Starship Trooper, Gates of Delirium, Leaves of Green, Heart of the Sunrise, Ritual. Then for the encore: Roundabout and South Side of the Sky. I was ecstatic. I really was going to get to see Gates and Ritual live. And South Side of the Sky! What a treat.

I shall discuss the negative aspects of the show first and then move into the positives. I was a bit wary of being there on the opening night of the tour since it usually takes a few shows to get all of the bugs worked out of a sound system, etc. Also, with songs as difficult to play as these I knew the playing might be a little rough. I could forgive the guys for less than a perfect performance - I already love them. The sound turned out to be a real problem. It sounded great to the audience, but as near as I could tell, Alan couldn’t hear the rest of the band. He kept missing cues. Chris kept trying to cue him visually and at one point during Gates Jon was waving his arms at him trying to show him where the beat was. I felt really bad for him. The problem must’ve been fixed during Leaves because he played Heart of the Sunrise and Ritual perfectly.

And now for the worst part of the show... Granted, I’ve only seen Yes in three locations previously: Salt Lake City, Park City, and Denver. In each of these locations the crowd was great. But quite frankly, the concertgoers of Reno should be ashamed of themselves. I have never seen a more disrespectful or rude audience at a Yes concert. Man, I drove ten hours and paid a lot of money to see this show. The band put a lot of work and money into it. And these guys all over the back half of the amphitheater just can’t shut up or sit still for one minute. They’re all talking to each other about drink recipes, yelling happy birthday to friends several rows away, asking if they’re still playing the same song that started 20 minutes ago, going for more beer, going to the bathroom, going for yet more beer, yelling at different friends even further away… all during the music! What’s wrong with you people? Does no one teach their children anything about concert etiquette in Nevada? Forget that, if

Djp

3:15pm Just checked in to the Hilton with a room overlooking the amphitheter. I hear 'em practicing "Ritual" -- AWESOME!

Anne Corbin got me 2nd row between Jon & Steve -- AWESOME!!

4:30pm Wandered around a bit outside the Hilton, not much on the outside; ended up walking behind the stage, seeing dozens of roadies scurrying about their business, and then there's a guy standing right next to me (but on an elevated platform) talking on a cell phone -- it's Chris! Waited for him to finish his call, asked for autograph, got autograph on the inside of the _Relayer_ HDCD mini-album, with a friendly handshake. Cool! Thanks Chris!!

After wandering outside, wandered inside, bumped into Jamison the Sax Man and Angela "_AM_ Gatecrasher", and then Jon & Jane in the hallway of the Hilton mall - Jon wasn't up for an autograph.

Great party at The Garage: Roxi & Michael, Jamison, Cherokee, JJ, Angela,...a cast of dozens.

Setlist (IIRC corrections welcome) Young Person's Guide, CTTE, Starship Trooper, Gates! Leaves Of Green, Heart of the Sunrise, Ritual, encore: Roundabout

No KTA material *sigh*

The tempo was generally slow. CTTE was executed well, better than all of the Ladder Tour examples, Trooper was good, Gates was definately rough, but fascinating and utterly fantastic in many parts (the "battle" bit was exceptional.) Ritual was the highlight, excellent execution of a great great song.

Zero stage decorations, lighting effects were generally minimal, but... there was a great little treat at the end of Roundabout - actual pyrotechnics, launched near a little lake a couple hundred yards/meters behind the stage.

Two thumbs up from...

Mike Coffey

Just returned home to Juneau, Alaska after 5 very enjoyable days in Reno topped off by the YES show last night. My mini vacation started off on an interesting note as Steve Howe was siting next to me each morning at the Hilton pool for the 4 days leading up to the show. I noticed that Steve is a very serious guy even off the.

Various concert comments:

ST was great. High energy and absolutely incredible guitar solo at the end. Igor's solo was also good but low in the mix which I thought was a common problem thoughout the show (except solo part of CttE).

I thought GoD was definitely out of sorts. Their timing wasn't quite there. I would assume it will get better with each show. ENJOY.

Ritual was the highlight of the night. This was the tightest song. Even better than Roundabout which I thought was a bit off.

Alan White is an animal. He is really at the top of his form. Amazing at age 50 or thereabouts. He is definitely one of the best drummers around.

Fireworks at end was a great touch.

For the first time in the 4 shows I've seen with Igor, I was slightly disappointed with him. I think he needs to pick (develop) some better and more varied keyboard sounds. I would love to see him go analog. I think that the coldness of the digital keyboards takes away from some of the songs. I think at a minimum he should consider a minimoog which can't be beat for solo's and warmth. Some of his digital reproductions left me flat last night.

It is great to see such an established band pushing themselves musically. Eventhough they were off a little last night I don't think I've ever respected them more. What they are doing for us the fans and for themslves deserves abig THANK YOU.

All in all a great show with absolute moments of magic.

Steven Sullivan

Random notes, actually.

1) Jon seemed to have no problems singing the set.

2) The backing vocals were suprisingly good, Squire's especially. He did decline to sing some of the harmony vocals for the first part of Gates.

3) Squire nailed almost every bit of Gates and Ritual (obviously he used the Yesshows version of Ritual as a gide for his solo part). Good job, Chris.

4) Howe was having an iffy night. He flubbed part of 'The Ancient'; missed a cue or two elsewhere. He sometimes fluffed a few of the faster bits too, though you could never tell which ones he'd nail and which he'd punt. By the time a Ritual, he was playing almsot flawlessly,though. The good news is that *he was perfectly audible in the mix at all times*.

5) Igor too was more audible than in the past. He brought the house down with the middle section of CttE, and the 'B3' solo. He nailed Ritual too. The only part that could stand improvement was the first half of Gates -- one of his keybaords wasn't cutting through, though you could see him playing,.

6) Igor, Squire, and Anderson looked like they were having a ball playing drums during Ritual. Not sure where Howe went.

7) The arrangement of the beginning of Gates was new -- sort of ethereal, without a strong pulse -- the song just seemed to form out of tuning up. It was interesting. Squire was playing loud harmonics, white's diddling on the cymbals, and then the whole band slams in tripleforte with that two-note E-D. Me like.

8) A couple of missed cues scrambled things now and then -- Howe screwed up in HotS, of all songs, and White missed the 11/8 cue in the battle section of Gates. These are quibbles.

9) All of my favorite Yes fans were there!!!

a: Shirtless Tripping Lad -- dancing his lysergic hippie way in and around the crowd. Estimated age: early 20s.

b: Drunk Loquacious Guy -- Clearly well-lubricated even before Kansas'set. I'm amazed this guy didn't get decked. He kept going up to people (mainly women) and engaging them in stupid drunken conversation in the middle of songs. Estimated age: late 40s.

c: Band Name Reminder Guy -- stood behind me and yelled YEEEEESSSSSS!!!!! five or six times, in the middle of songs. When people started giving him dirty looks he stopped. I tried to engage him in conversation (we compared binoculars) but he was too drunk/stupid to be either interesting or to get any of the jokes I was telling him. Estimated age: early 40s.

It was also a festival of mullets.

Celebrity sightings:
Steve Howe checking his messages at the business center.
Alan White holding court at the bar, pre show.
Vince Gallo casing the crowd.

For the first half hour or so they were actually selling the Ladder tourbook. I was about to buy one (thinking it might be different) but just the a Yes representative came up and told the vendor to remove the tourbooks, and wait for replacements (which soon arrived, and are *very nice*).

People here bitch about Roundabout..but the crowd went wild anyway. By that time part of the crowd had trickled out already -- either those who didn't want to hear the old warhorse, or those who couldn't make it through Ritual.

WorldMoo

Gates was sloppy, Ritual was done well, and they had fireworks at the end of Roundabout.

The show started about 8:58 PM PST and ended about 10:59 PM PST, so about 121 minutes. Still, a very enjoyable show.

[Howe]'s attitude was markedly improved from that of the past 4 years -- much more eye contact with the crowd, much more animated, etc, etc. It was very obvious.
Gates was sloppy, Ritual was done well, and they had fireworks at the end of Roundabout.

The show started about 8:58 PM PST and ended about 10:59 PM PST, so about 121 minutes. Still, a very enjoyable show.

[Howe]'s attitude was markedly improved from that of the past 4 years -- much more eye contact with the crowd, much more animated, etc, etc. It was very obvious.