Luís Cochofel

I've been there too.

I loved it.

I swear I thought I would be there, if not alone, with a dozen real fans, and I found myself anonymous in between 3000 ...

I'm only coming to this site today, for the first time, because I was searching for news on the individual rewards/prizes that YES members have received from 'Melody Maker' or 'Billboard', naming them as, for instance, '...and the prize for The BEST guitar player of the Year, goes to, the GREAT, the UNIQUE, the ( whatsoever )... STEVE HOWE...', for a small presentation I'm about to give on TeamWork, TeamBuilding, the importance of each member and his special ability to perform, the importance of leadership and its role on the work produced, the importance of respecting the other...well a presentation on how to live happy while working, for which I will use the listening of 'HEART OF THE SUNRISE' ( YESSONGS' version ).

Miguel

Venue: Coliseu do Porto, Porto - PORTUGAL

21h30m
surprise: FULL HOUSE! dunno if sold out but several sections sold out. Audience: a mixture of "good old" dads and moms, portuguese musicians, ans lots of young ppl. Very loud crowd applauding litteraly all the songs. Also surprised to see that many knew the old songs. On the Ladder side, Homeworld was especially appreciated and recognized with cheers just from Billy's 12 string intro!

Setlist - same as RAH with Mood For a Day instead of the Clap.

Sound quality - Superb, miles away from muddy RAH acoustics. Backing vocals were there and even Billy's guitar (not just the leads).\

Me: I was at first row in front of two "Conspirers" ;) Where else?!?!?!

YiND - Great song for starters with applauses even in the middle at the end of Steve's jam! I was beginning to realise that Portugal was much more aware of Yes then just thinking OoaLH was by Sting!!!

TaaW - Still (IMO) pointless, too quiet for an already audience on fire.

Homeworld - Magnificent (see above). Stands as a classic when played live

Jon says "obrigado" (Thank you) and the crowd goes mad at the sight of a genuine portuguese reference... that's the way we are....Then it's again "The House of YES"

PC - Thunderous!!!! Got the special applauses and all when Jon started singing! A la Yessongs.

LS - Clapping along with Steve's acoustic intro! Chris' little solo shook the house!! the "ooooooooo yeah" was quite welcome and carried on after the song was over.

The Messenger - Jon had to struggle to be heard on his "Child-source" explanation because the fire of LS was still burning! The reference to Bob Marley got the crowd interested though.

NSdS - Also pointless but with the agravant of making the audience expecting the real song, the whole thing.

aYaI - Masterpiece! Chris' pedals moved the earth crust! Too bad he had a bad cable or bass input jack at the end. Still for me the most magical moment of the night cause I had the feeling he was looking at yours truly ;))) Yes, the Squire#1 T-shirt done it again!! As Chris had no bass at the end he waved Steve to do his slide thing ay the end without Chris leading the first bass slide. Chris went to fix his bass.

IWBaGD - Perfectly played. The good day that we all were having was tonight.

FtF - Everybody stood up clapping and dancing along. Alan broke something on the drumkit but somehow he managed to keep playing. This song gains a lot when performed live in this "stand-up" rock arena fashion.

Hearts - Big applause for Billy's solo, deserved it cause it felt like a glove. Steve was great on the steel guitar when it was his turn to be in the spotlight.

Awaken - The best song of the set ... all of the audience was amazed with the intensity of this performance. Billy's fills were heard (unlike RAH). I just miss the counterpoint vocals... I had to sing those myself!! Igor mastered all there was to master - flawless intro followed by recognition from the audience. No paper-snow. Chris was looking up so I wonder if it surprised the band (?!?)

Jon: "Steve is tuning up!!!!" (Applauses) "The Portuguese guitar" Steve jokes and points to his guitar and to the audience as to say that his instrument had portuguese origin. one of Steve's nicer moments with the public. Steve was reserved but seemed very happy about audience response to the music.

ISAGP - The party song - Yes (and me) had long realised that Portugal loves them and it was worth waiting for this blessed YesYear 2000. Chris' ric goes faulty again and when it's his turn to do his little spot at the end he choses to shout the tempo at the mic .."three.... four!"...

-huge ovation and the band centers the stage-

the roar from the crowd demands for more, Steve appears and..

Mood for a Day - Kind of Flamenco intro. Performed with energy and with the staditional Howe gl