Alex Milligan

Tuesday, November 18, 2014 2:02 PM

I have been a Yes fan since 1972 when my older brother bought Fragile on vinyl closely followed by The Yes ALbum and Close to the Edge.
My first live show was on the GFTO tour at Stafford Bingley Hall - I had been waiting years and still kick myself for spurning the chance to see them at QPR on the Relayer tour.
Since that first show I saw them on Tormato in the round at Wembley, Drama. 90125 Open Your Eyes, The Ladder.
I am an Anderson & Wakeman fan but enjoyed the "Fly from Here" Album and have such affection for the band that despite the several questionable career moves and personnel changes and for nostalgia reasons, I wanted to see them again as return visits to Australia will be less likely??
My 14 year old daughter accompanied me, all she knows of Yes is my cregular humming, whistling and singing of songs so I was interested in her reaction.
The support band Widowbirds were impressive, tight performance, good frontman - terrific sound quality in the theatre I must say.
The anticipation on my part when the intro to Young Persons Guide to the Orchestra was HUGE, the video screen showing wonderful clips of past shows - and kudois to the band plenty of shots of Anderson, Wakeman, Rabin, Moraz etc, I was almost getting teary eyed.
Having read reviews of the most recent tours, I was more than aware of the less favourable comments regarding tempo of the music and chops of the keys and vocalist.
From my perspective, these guys are serious pro's and give their all in putting on a great show.
For me, the jury is out on Mr Downes and he will forever be considered to be in RW's shadow, which is shame as he is part of the Yes history and clearly fits in well with the other guys.
Jon Davidson - great performance live. I had only seen him on YouTube clips where the sound dynamics of the full band in a theatre are obviously impossible to appreciate. He does a great job interpreting the classic pieces and whilst I have yet to purchase Heaven & Earth, will now do so because the 2 tracks played from the Album were impressive and whilst they stand apart from the remainder of the classic set, they were polished performances.
A minor mistake by SH during Mood for A Day and the complete train wreck that was 5 percent for Nothing aside, this was a great show.
The Fish is a colossus and not just in physical stature. He is the glue that bonds and binds this band and his stage presence is mesmerising - I was always spellbound by Anderson during the glory days of the 70;s but Squire is a true pro.
Steve Howe is still one of THE great technical guitar players, always a joy and an honour to witness. I fear that Alan White has lost some of his energy and Mojo but he is still there keeping the beat.
I enjoyed the show and now wish I had made the journey to Sydney to see them again - please please return to Australia again guys and thanks for making the trip this time.