Yes' shows nowadays

Ask me again on 1st May and I'll let you know.

Thanks for your answers and suggestions.Chopper I hope you will enjoy the 1st of may.

I saw them last year... or perhaps the year before. I thought it was an enjoyable show, and if you haven't seen them in their glory days (such as I ) then this is better than nothing, I guess. Many people have praised Jon Davison for doing an excellent job, still I felt like he was just a bit short of achieving Anderson's greatness... but then again, I'm not sure Anderson himself would be able to achieve it this days. As for Geoff Downes, I feel he also fell short of Wakeman's virtuosity. I also got to see Yes with Benoit and Oliver Wakeman. As far as Benoit, I guess Davison is actually a better vocalist for the band, though I felt Benoit was a bit closer to achiving the high notes Anderson could sing, while I feel Davison has a more beautiful and special voice, plus I guess he knew his limits better and didn't try to go higher than he would sound well (plus, Davison's stage presence is much better than Benoit's). Between Oliver and Geoff, Downes is definitley the more experienced player, and more of a showman, but as far as I remember, I kind of liked better the way Oliver played, I wish they hadn't kicked him out in favor of Downes.

Now, about "Fly from Here", I actually liked the album well enough. Not among their best 70's works, nor as proggy as I would have liked it, but it is very enjoyable and has some really beautiful moments. I feel Benoit's voice shined much better on this album than trying to imitate Anderson, there were some vocal parts I really found beautiful. About the songs, the ones I liked the most, by far, were the ones from the "Fly from Here" suite, though I would hardly dare call it a single epic song, for there are 3 very notably different songs without much in common, plus an intro (or overture), an outro (or grand finale), and a bridge before the outro that didn't really do much for me... however, those 3 songs were really beautiful (specially Sad Night at the Airfield). Also the last song was really great, even if it might at times feel like they are mocking their 70's glory days and Anderson's influence. The rest of the songs are actually kind of forgetable, but those 4 songs are enough to make the album worth having.

fusionfreak wrote: Thanks for your answers and suggestions.Chopper I hope you will enjoy the 1st of may.

bhikkhu wrote: Here is a review of the show I saw. http://riekels.wordpress.com/2013/04/16/yes-detroit-4122013/

Thanks for this review,it gives me a precise idea about what to expect.From the start I knew it wouldn't be classic Yes and Jon Anderson is one of my favourite singers but if the shows are good I think it will be a great experience.

I have seen Yes in the 70s, 80s, and then in 2012 with Jon Davison.  You will never beat the 70s classic Yes lineup, I saw them perform the entire Close to the Edge album in the first set, then they did the entire Tales from Topographic Oceans in the second set (along with some of their hits they had at the time).  Blown away!

Roj wrote: I saw them on the 90125 tour and it was awful. Crappy and tinny 80s sound, a shocking setlist and metal Rabin guitar solos. One of my biggest concert disappointments ever. Fortunately I will be seeing them again in May too and am looking fwd to it very much. I expect Davision will be able to do a better job than Anderson now. A shame no Wakeman, but there you go. With 3 great albums to be played in their entirety (Yes Album, CTTE and my fave GFTO) this should be awesome.

Thanks again for various appreciations and feelings.I know what to expect  and I think I will have a very good time.

Couldn't find an actual Yes general thread so I'm using a recent one. 

Interesting response from Patrick Moraz in an interview....wth to the bolded? 

- Were you forced to leave or parting company was friendly?

Unfortunately, I was forced to leave. And even though, at the time, the split “was not made to appear acrimonious”, I suffered extremely and extensively. To be “asked to leave” so suddenly put me in a lot of turmoil and disturbance. The fact is, I was never compensated for anything. I never ever got paid for any of my tour participation in the extremely successful and extensive YES Tour of 1976, which comprised about 65 concerts, many of them in front of sold-out audiences of more than 100,000 people. After all, as a member of the band, I was entitled to a 20% cut from what the band was getting.
I don’t like to dwell into negatives, however, I can tell you that I had absolutely no desire to want to leave YES, at the time, in November of 1976. We had just finished the biggest tour YES had ever done, the “Bicentennial Tour”, a huge, extremely successful tour for YES. Somehow, it had been decided that we would go and record, in my own country, Switzerland, what became the album “Going for the One”, which we had extensively composed, developed and rehearsed during the course of 1976 (and even before that). There was no reason in the world for me to want to leave the band! Also, I understood, much later, that Rick was already in town, with his own crew, when I was still in the group, and I was still part of YES.
In addition, it was an extremely complicated and difficult situation for me to be stranded, on the street, with my baby daughter who was only one-month old and her mother, without any transport or money, in the cold winter of Switzerland. Then the fight for survival to stay alive, it all became surreal.

fusionfreak wrote: Dellinger wrote: I saw them last year... or perhaps the year before. I thought it was an enjoyable show, and if you haven't seen them in their glory days (such as I ) then this is better than nothing, I guess. Many people have praised Jon Davison for doing an excellent job, still I felt like he was just a bit short of achieving Anderson's greatness... but then again, I'm not sure Anderson himself would be able to achieve it this days. As for Geoff Downes, I feel he also fell short of Wakeman's virtuosity. I also got to see Yes with Benoit and Oliver Wakeman. As far as Benoit, I guess Davison is actually a better vocalist for the band, though I felt Benoit was a bit closer to achiving the high notes Anderson could sing, while I feel Davison has a more beautiful and special voice, plus I guess he knew his limits better and didn't try to go higher than he would sound well (plus, Davison's stage presence is much better than Benoit's). Between Oliver and Geoff, Downes is definitley the more experienced player, and more of a showman, but as far as I remember, I kind of liked better the way Oliver played, I wish they hadn't kicked him out in favor of Downes. Now, about "Fly from Here", I actually liked the album well enough. Not among their best 70's works, nor as proggy as I would have liked it, but it is very enjoyable and has some really beautiful moments. I feel Benoit's voice shined much better on this album than trying to imitate Anderson, there were some vocal parts I really found beautiful. About the songs, the ones I liked the most, by far, were the ones from the "Fly from Here" suite, though I would hardly dare call it a single epic song, for there are 3 very notably different songs without much in common, plus an intro (or overture), an outro (or grand finale), and a bridge before the outro that didn't really do much for me... however, those 3 songs were really beautiful (specially Sad Night at the Airfield). Also the last song was really great, even if it might at times feel like they are mocking their 70's glory days and Anderson's influence. The rest of the songs are actually kind of forgetable, but those 4 songs are enough to make the album worth having. Thanks Dellinger for your comments,it will be helpful.I'm also sad to be too young to see them at their peak but I think it will be a good show.

Edited by cstack3 - March 28 2014 at 22:43