Pete Finnigan

Tuesday, May 3, 2016 1:22 PM

As an long standing unbiased fan of any incarnation of Yes, here goes:-
An enjoyable show. Great to hear all the Drama material again at long last. IMHO this material was vastly over critised at the time because it wasnt Jon Anderson and it's only now after 35 years or so people are calming down and appreciating it for what it is. I was glad the support band dropped out thus allowing for a possibly longer than planned setlist. Also don't think Yes reaaly need a support band. Billy filled those enormous shoes very well and looked really comfortable and at home.I was in the circle and i spotted some empty seats (unsold or no shows?) and the stalls looked full so i would say at least 98-99% attendance.
The sound was slightly muddy - definately not as clear as the last time I saw them in Manchester a couple of years back on the 3 albums tour. This was evidenced by the between song talking. In Manchester i could make out every word said whereas here i struggled to hear what they were saying at times. Don' know if this was due to the PA or the venue.I've not been to a gig at this venue before so I don't know how it's generally viewed acoustically by the afficinardos.The nit-picky negatives:- At times Jon seemed to sing unnecessarily high partic. with a couple of awful key changes for no apparent reason during Does It Really Happen and Into the Lens and although Steve was very animated and seemed to be enjoying himself, this is the first time I've seen him where i've thought his fingering wasn't as quick and precise as normal. I particularly thought this during Mood For A Day where at times he did seem to struggle to hit the notes correctly. Maybe unfortunately age is starting to have an effect on those wonderous fingers. That said, before I get my head bitten by the rose tinted spectacles brigade this band are still head and shoulders above others and I would still go and see them any day of the week. Long may they continue.