Protest at Yesshows!

Did you get a chance to see the new group live?

Again, for me, my first Yes show, it was really good. My friend that went with me has been seing Yes for a very long time (5 or more shows before this one, including the classic lineup) and said that while it wasn't the best he'd ever seen, it was a very strong show. We were in a good venue, great crowd, that always makes a difference. But that's part of why I'm defending them somewhat.

JLocke wrote: I'm sure when you are watching them live on stage, surrounded by hundreds of fellow Yes fans, everybody full of enthusiasm, etc. it's wonderful. But I just can't bring myself to support them at this point.  I know I'm the a****le, and I'm the one who will be affected by this decision. But I don't care. Every time Yes has had a member departure, it's been sudden, without warning, and without any direct explanation from the band to the fans. And yes, it DOES affect the end result, which is the music itself. Jon Anderson always referred to it as the 'illusive harmony'. When it isn't there, the music suffers. I'm glad that Yes are still going strong, and that there are plenty of people still willing to support them, but I cannot. Now, on the other hand, I would LOVE to go see Jon Anderson live sometime. Why? Because he's calling himself  'Jon Anderson,' and not 'Yes'. He's playing his own music and not trying to be something he isn't. I respect that a lot more.  If Jon had 'passed the torch' to Benoit, and publicly announced that these were his wishes, you would be hearing a completely different song from me. But as it stands right now, this is just classic, narcissistic Yes behavior, and I don't think it's right.  Again, this is just me being a killjoy about it all, I guess, but it's what I feel.

tszirmay wrote: Maybe these "fundementalists" are led by the ex-Buggles (Horn and Downes) hahahahahaha   I have said a long tome ago that perhaps a Anderson-Wakeman less band should be called "NO", pretty close to the edge of Yes, I daresay!

[/QUOTE]
I have had similar feelings about all the members having been thrown out of Yes, particularly because of reading about Peter Banks, he even says to date he doesn't know why he was asked to leave. However, in the end, the ressults have been often very good, and otherwise we would have missed many excellent pieces of music... and I wouldn' have been able to have seen Yes last year.[/QUOTE]

I insist, I have had a difficult time digesting Yes's stories about kicking out Banks and Kaye so they could get "better" musicians (Howe and Wakmean; well, indeed I do think they were better musicians, but that's me), which is rather similar to what has happened to Anderson now. In fact, I think it was, in a way, worst back then, because there was no apparent reason (I think Squire once stated the reason Tony Kaye returned to Yes in the 80's was because there had been no real reason to kick him out in the first place), while now Yes is touring without Jon because he was not up to it and the others had been waiting for him to be able to tour and just couldn't go on. If one would think principle reasons should prevent us from at least giving a try this new Yes lineup, well, then we should not hear them at all, at least not any album after Time and a Word (Relayer included, JLocke, which I understood was your favourite).
     However, I even believe Squire, Howe, and White faced somewhat of a dilemma (or at least it would have been a difficult dilemma for me, perhaps not to them): They first started touring with Benoit (and Oliver) because Jon (and Rick) couldn't tour anymore; they didn't even tour at first under the name Yes (though everyone refered to them as Yes anyway). Yes want to make a new CD, a task for which Jon is perfectly fit for (and even Rick), but how could the rest of Yes just thell Benoit and Oliver they are not into the album, even though they have toured with them. And even worst, now Jon claims he would like to participate in some of the later concerts of Yes and the others just don't heed him. I think perhaps the best solution would be to accept Jon as a "special guest" for some few concerts he could handle, and make the album with both singers (perhaps even with both Oliver and Rick too). But then again, perhaps Squire and Howe feel "relieved" not to have Jon wanting to control too much of the band as he usually does... I don't really know. As I said, it's some sort of dilemma.

Yes, ofcourse I know Wakeman left the band willingly afther ToTO (and perhaps the rest of Yes let him go somewhat unwillingly), what I meant was that Relayer was released after they kicked out Kaye and Banks, and Howe was still part of the band. In the end they did get kicked out of the band unwillingly (as was Moraz, as far as I've read recently in the forum). However, in the end, all this resulted in exceedingly great albums and songs which we wouldn't have know as they are otherwise.
     As for Squire, Howe and White touring without Jon, I'm still not totally against it (in the end, Jon has even been advised not to do any long world-wide tours again, so waiting for Jon would mean the rest of Yes not touring world-wide again, which certainly they still want to do), however, there are some points that made it quiet sh**ty. I believe Jon deserved a visit from, Squire (or Steve or Alan) to at least inform him (if they didn't wish to ask his permission) about their plans, and ofcourse see how he was doing and wish him a rapid recovery (though that last part certainly doesn't concern any one of us at all); or at the very least he deserved a personal phone call. And I don't see why they wouldn't allow him to perform with them whenever he is available and feeling well, and why they are letting him out of their new album plans. Sure we, their fans, would appreciate their perfomances and work better if he were still around, at least from time to time, and we knew they hadn't taken that sh**ty attitude as you've said.

Well, perhaps Billy Sherwood could make some alternate "Yes" reunion. I belive he was interested in having Peter Banks on guitars there, or perhaps Rabin, however in the end that obviously didn't happen. However, what if he could do something like that again: Himself on bass, Banks on guitar, Kaye on keyboards, and take Anderson on vocals too; just wondering who could come to drums, since White seems to be well into the other "Yes", and Bruford doesn't seems to have retired already... well, however, this won't happen anyway.

GOD DAMN CRAZY FOOOOOLS ;-)

I just bought Drama today (finally) so this will be my first experience of a Anderson-less Yes. If I can handle Buggles Yes, I can probably handle Benoit David Yes.