Art A

Monday, April 17, 2023 5:51 AM

I was at this show. I was in the Navy at the time. The stage was a cool idea and a big departure from the ‘75, 76’ and ‘77 stage shows. Here it is 45 years later and although I remember it being a great show, I don’t remember much else or even who I went with. I didn’t have a car so someone had to drive me there and bring me back to the ship. I’ll add more if I remember any more details!

jeff trombley

The review here, written by the daily press reporter ,is not accurrate for those of us lucky to be standing on the edge of the stage, the entire show ,Do to the very liberal security in the good old day's!Although the show was seated ,they let us stand about four deep around the stage the whole show. The band had a marvelous time ,shaking hands many times with us in the front row ,throughout the entire show!It was by far, the most personal interaction with the audience ,I have seen ,or even heard about in a venue this size .By an act this famous!This went to show us ,even genius level talent can be warm and loving ,without the big Ego of band's even for this less celeb., me ,me me ,time of music!THe 70's show's will never again be matched ,for originality ,and length, and quality of experience of the Spirit!!!!!

"Please ", e'mail me at, tenje@cox.net ,to exchange other Yes notes And info.!

John Huebner

Yes Concert Lackadaisical
Daily Press
By Mike Diana

When a group tours they are generally out to promote a new album or capitalize on a hit single (or album). Yes' appearance at the Hampton Roads Coliseum Wednesday night did neither.

Their tour is well under way and the album isn't due for another week or two. So their Tidewater appearance drew on the strength of their name and live and recorded triumphs of the past. The Coliseum was little more than half full.

Daily Press Review

Yes had just finished four sold out dates at Madison Square Garden and two at the Spectrum in Philadelphia before coming to Hampton. Maybe it was the let down of not devasting the box office in a hall half the size that was cause of their lacadaisical performance.
Gone was the complex, plexiglass monster (created by Roger Dean) that moved up and down over the stage firing beams of light. In its place was a slowly rotating circular platform positioned in the middle of the hall which was sectioned for Chris Squire's bass setup, Rick Wakeman's mass of keyboards, Alan White's custom drum kit and Steve Howe's guitar museum. Singer Jon Anderson performed on a pedestal at the center of the white, shag carpeted disk. The separation could be part of the reason for the groups lack of salidarity. It seemed like there were five stars playing the same songs.

For the most part the amplifiers were hidden from view and the sound system was suspended to radiate 360 degrees. The concept was to allow clear vision of the whole band to the entire auditorium. It's a great idea, though flawed. The six-foot high stage obscured the vision of a great number of people in the orchestra section. They were never able to see the whole band at one time (except, of course, during the bows).

As for the sound, those sitting on the ground level had single monitor cabinets spaced about 10 feet apart blaring in their faces. Those in the loge took every watt right in the face. And those in the balcony chased the echo.

Whoever mixed the sound was having trouble hearing. For the first half of the show Yes was a three piece band with a singer. Wakeman's keyboard wizardry was lost somewhere in a mass of sound. Howe's guitar overrode everything, which must have thrilled all the guitarists in the crowd.

Yes didn't attempt anything from their soon to be released Tormato album until they had played three or four of their established hits (all of which one would have to have been familiar with the guitar parts to recognize easily).

Each member of the band took brief solos, the best of which was Howe's "Clap," a song which was the flip side to the Yes smash of a few years ago, entitled "Your Move."

The lads in Yes are up on the Green Peace Movement and did a tune called "Don't Kill The Whale." It wasn't as well conceived as what Crosby Stills and Nash did, but it got the message though.

The songs that received the best response were "Starship Trooper," "Long Distance Runaround," "Roundabout" and "Circus Of Heaven."

My award for "Best Of Show" was the intriguing "Circus Of Heaven." Though I couldn't understand a word Anderson was saying, the instrumentation and multiple rhythms were real ear catchers.

The Yes that played Wednesday night lacked the freshness and vitality of the group I saw run Ten Years After off the stage five years ago.

With 11 albums worth of material to choose from it is puzzling why they limit themselves to basically the same songs on each tour. It seems they lack confidence in their newer material. They can't live forever on the merits of The Yes Album, Fragile and Close To The Edge.

If their concert was any indication, they aren't getting better. They are simply getting older...and giving earaches.

Edward Kyle

This was probably the most technically accomplished Yes show I ever saw. "Awaken" and "Siberian Khatru" stand out in my memory. The band played their finest material on this show with real passion. The "Tormato" material was reasonably well-recieved but the audience kept calling out for the "classics". Muscle-shirted bodyguards stood around the edge of the round stage. When the band played the tedious "Circus of Heaven", the bodyguards and some roadies were obliged to walk around the stage carrying plywood carousel animals on poles. Chris Squire had a little minibar affair on stage and he mixed up some sort of cocktail for himself as Steve Howe played his set- a foreshadowing of things to come? It was the best of shows, it was the worst of shows...