So I met the members of Yes!
Printed From: Progarchives.com
Category: Progressive Music Lounges
Forum Name: Live Performance Reviews
Forum Description: Performance Reviews by Members
URL: http://www.progarchives.com/forum/forum_posts.asp?TID=64848
Printed Date: December 04 2024 at 03:35
Software Version: Web Wiz Forums 11.01 - http://www.webwizforums.com
Topic: So I met the members of Yes!
Posted By: fr0zt
Subject: So I met the members of Yes!
Date Posted: February 04 2010 at 13:08
|
Went to the first show of Yes' new tour. It was a wild day in Poughkeepsie on 2-2-2010. I will never forget it. Was working at my place of business the day of the concert, which I had previously purchased tickets for. Who suddenly asks me for computer help? None other than Chris Squire. I helped him for about 20 minutes with various equipment. He was extremely courteous and pleasant guy. I pretended I didn't know him the entire time, but having him as your Bass-Owning-Godlike-Idol makes it very difficult to hold back emotions. I had waited for this moment for so long, and had imagined it so many times. I did well. As he was leaving I said "I'll see you at the show tonight, Chris". He turned around and enthusiastically said, "Oh you'll be at the show?" He ended up having me write down my name on a piece of paper and told me they would call my name during roll call to meet the band after the show. It is now one of the greatest memories I have. The show was amazing. The setlist was great. It was my first Yes concert, being 21. It was also a life changing one. They played a lot of their more known songs like And You and I, Siberian Khatru, Roundabout, and Starship Trooper. They also played fan favorites like Tempus Fugit, Machine Messiah, and Yours is No Disgrace. All of the members sounded so alive, and was an amazing experience for anyone whose heard the songs repeatedly. Musicianship was amazing. Sounded so much like the original albums, yet with even more energy behind it. I was about 18 rows back in center, so I had perfect sound. Every note of every instrument went through my entire being. The crowd was really into it and loved every song. During Roundabout the entire audience was jumping up and down and clapping at the energetic points. It was an amazing experience that felt like the audience was completely connected to the players. Something I've never felt so deeply at any concert. After the show the group to meet the band was waiting. At first they weren't going to let me in because I didn't have a pass, but I told them that Chris invited me. He went in the back,talked to Chris and he came back out to let me through. They sat us in a small room with a few tables. There was about 25 people. Everyone is talking about how great the show is, the other prog bands they like, etc. About 20 minutes later the band comes out. Chris comes directly over to me and says "Glad you made it out!" And sits next to me. It was the most exhilarating experience of my life. As I spoke with him I thought of all the time I studied his bass playing, and his career. It was just meant to happen. Many of the other fans were talking about the various basses they had, or how long they've listened to yes, to which he was kind of "Yeah Yeahing" them. Same old story. But I felt like he appreciated that I wasn't talking about just myself with him. He is a wonderful man who I am forever indebted to for his kindness. After talking with Chris for a few minutes, getting some pictures with him and having him sign my Close to the Edge inside picture, I said hi to Steve Howe and he signed my album too. I asked for a picture but he left and said "no more". Apparently, I was lucky to get the signature. I read somewhere he is overwhelmed around fans sometimes, which I don't blame him. Besides, he is so Godlike at communicating through his guitar, who needs words? We also literally weren't allowed to shake his hand, for that would destroy his godlike fingers. Still, I felt like he was pleasant for the short time he was with us, but he definitely was overwhelmed by the fans. I met Alan White next. Asked him a few questions and told him it was an excellent show and that I really enjoyed their energy. Benoit David was a really nice guy too, although it would have been amazing to see Jon. Jon's presence was missed, but it was a night to remember. Chris' generosity will be something I will never forget, and meeting the band still feels like a dream. |
Replies:
Posted By: lazland
Date Posted: February 04 2010 at 13:11
Great story, well done Welcome to the forum, and, mind, this will be moved from the Prog Music Lounge in next to no time  ------------- Enhance your life. Get down to www.lazland.org Now also broadcasting on www.progzilla.com Every Saturday, 4.00 p.m. UK time! |
Posted By: fuxi
Date Posted: February 04 2010 at 13:43
|
Well, Bill Bruford allowed me to shake HIS godlike hand!
Which reminds me of a story involving James Joyce. When one of his admirers asked: "May I shake the hand that wrote ULYSSES?", he replied: "Well, it did a lot of other things too!" |
Posted By: Vompatti
Date Posted: February 04 2010 at 14:09
| ^ And that reminds me of the story about the time when James Joyce met Marcel Proust. |
Posted By: Rune2000
Date Posted: February 04 2010 at 14:13
|
Bravo! We definitely need more fan-experience retrospectives like these. |
Posted By: JLocke
Date Posted: February 04 2010 at 14:19
Steve Howe chooses to act that way around fans because he's a bit egotistical, not because he's 'overwhelmed', or anything of that sort. Still, I'm so glad you go to meet Chris. He sounds like such a genuine and friendly guy. How cool that whole night must have been!  So, did you happen to ask them why they kicked Jon out? Or would that have seemed an inappropriate question at the time? lol. I only ask because there was never really an 'official' announcement regarding Jon's departure, and I feel it's gotten back to the days when the Yes lineup would rotate constantly and the fans would be kept in the dark about it. But oh well, if you didn't ha;;en to talk about that, no big deal. Are you able to share the pictures with us here?
|
Posted By: fr0zt
Date Posted: February 04 2010 at 14:29
|
It did cross my mind to ask about Jon, but I felt like Chris was being extremely friendly and I didn't want to undermine him in any way. Things were going good and I didn't want to press any buttons. I wish I had an answer for you! I do have a few pictures that I can upload. I'll do it in a little while but for now here is a full video of Roundabout from the show. It was uploaded by a fellow fan. Enjoy! http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DkuDGEaq-RA |
Posted By: Negoba
Date Posted: February 04 2010 at 14:36
|
If a fan came and asked me about that kind of thing after I'd done him a favor, he'd be escorted out. I was under the impression that Jon wasn't able to tour, wanting to do only albums, and the band decided to tour anyway. I'm not sure "kicked out" is the right phrase.
Anyway, thanks for the report. My experience with the current lineup was amazing as well. Look forward to the pix. ------------- You are quite a fine person, and I am very fond of you. But you are only quite a little fellow, in a wide world, after all. |
Posted By: JLocke
Date Posted: February 04 2010 at 14:40
All I'm asking for is confirmation of that, Jay. Please don't act as if I'm being unreasonable. If you can direct me to a site that you got your infiormation from, I'll gladly read about it there, and shut up about it. Otherwise, I'm going to continue to search for answers regarding this whole thing. Last I heard, Jon got an asthma attack, and rather than wait for him to recover, the band when on without him. I'm pretty sure Jon is doing live shows on his own now, so I doubt it's his inability to tour that has led to this point. But let's not hijack this threa. If you have any information regarding why Jon left, feel free to PM me.
|
Negoba wrote:Posted By: chopper
Date Posted: February 04 2010 at 14:58
| Wow, great story. Nice to hear that prog superstars can be so friendly. |
Posted By: EdgeOfTheWorld
Date Posted: February 04 2010 at 15:14
That sounds brilliant! Shame about Steve... Ah well. Im hoping to meet Rick Wakeman at his show Edinburgh soon! Hopefully he will be as nice as Chris 
------------- A Torn Mind | Scottish Progressive Rock www.atornmind.com www.myspace.com/atornmindband |
Posted By: Moogtron III
Date Posted: February 04 2010 at 17:31
|
Fr0zt, don't blame Steve: I get the impression that he doesn't feel to comfortable with too much contact. He can't help that, and he means it all well I'm sure. He's more happy to communicate on stage. But I read your post more closely now and I realize you already figured that out for yourself. Yes, you should be happy to have his autograph. Nice that you could have such a good contact with Chris, and probably Alan as well. Indeed, too bad Jon isn't part of the band anymore at this moment in time. |
Posted By: moshkito
Date Posted: February 04 2010 at 18:46
|
Hi,
I've had a few experiences ... and having spent some real time with Gong and photographing them ... was nice ... and fun ... and it was cool to go through the mall with Gilly ... and hearing her make comments about the Halloween stuff at Fred Meyer! ... I still say the same thing ... and did before her as well ... but you get the drift ... it's always nice to have your feeling validated and understood ... and you are not the only one to think so ...
Daevid is always great to talk to, but you have to be careful ... if you bore him, he will have a party discussing nothing with you ... and while it could be fun, some people tend not to like it. Had great fun with Mike ... "is it too bass'y?" ... and I replied "what would rock'n'roll be without the "bass'y" ... "good point" ... and we had a lot of fun yakks like that ... I did tell him that we didn't exactly need a Chris Squire ... and that I thought he would be just fine ... I would actually prefer it a bit louder and thicker ... and some wahwah ... and he looked at me ... "any special music you want us to play ... hawkwind? ... " ... so you know the guy knows his stuff ... and that is a lot of fun and the pictures show it.
Tangerine Dream was nice at the Greek Theater -- the same show the pictures are from on the album with the trees burning -- but sadly, there were way too many high powered richyrichs in the room talking about cool and this and that ... and it was impossible to say anything except shake a hand ...
I did have one ... and I'm not going to say who ... that I met and we talked backstage ... and he said ... you're the son of the famous writer, aren't you? ... yeah ... that's neat ... and I'm honored to be associated with artists ... as you probably are as well! ... and I can tell you I was ... and then some ... and he knew that I was a writer as well!
And I will leave the discussion at that! ------------- Music is not just for listening ... it is for LIVING ... you got to feel it to know what's it about! Not being told! www.pedrosena.com |
Posted By: Dellinger
Date Posted: February 04 2010 at 22:12
What I've read is basically the same you already stated: Jon had a SEVERE asthma attack (in fact, I've read he was actually dead for... I don't know, some seconds I guess). He certainly couldn't tour for a long time and indeed Squire and the rest wouldn't wait for him. As a matter of fact, as far as I understand, Jon won't be able to do large scale world tours like the one Yes is doing right now anymore (as Rick can't do them either). Now, Jon indeed doesn't seem to be very happy about being out of Yes, and he has stated that he wanted to do another album and some shows with Yes, but for the time-being that doesn't seem very likely. http://www.bondegezou.co.uk/wnalum.htm#sherwood , this is an excellent site for any news related to Yes that you might want to know about. |
Posted By: Blacksword
Date Posted: February 05 2010 at 07:31
|
Chris Squire is someone I would really like to meet. I was fortunate enough to meet Bill Bruford the other week. Very nice chap too. ------------- Ultimately bored by endless ecstasy! |
Posted By: TheGazzardian
Date Posted: February 05 2010 at 09:45
|
Man, that's cool that you got to meet Yes, and Chris squire that way. You sure are lucky that he decided to go get computer advice! I'm a little jealous - last year I had tickets for the Meet and Greet in Vancouver, but that show ended up getting cancelled because of Chris' injury. I'm still waiting for them to come back. XD
Dellinger is pretty spot on from what I've heard. Jon is able to perform live now, but he wasn't when they started the tour, and he's still not well enough to tour with the intensity that Yes is. None of this "concert at night on the road next day" stuff. Just a show here and there. From what I hear, Yes wanted to tour for a long time before they almost did the 40th anniversary, but Jon was saying no. *shrugs* Dunno if that's true or not, just some hear-say.
|
Posted By: bucka001
Date Posted: February 05 2010 at 10:25
|
That's just an awesome story, I'm glad you got to meet your idol and that he was everything (and more!) you could have hoped. Chris sounds like a great guy. What a wonderful experience, I'm sure you'll never forget it! ------------- jc |
Posted By: halabalushindigus
Date Posted: February 05 2010 at 18:59
|
Saw a "Yes" show recently and how about that solo on "Starship Troopers" by Oliver Wakeman. Incredible and one-handed, too. It was cool to hear Steve Howe tell the audience to "BE QUIET" as he was playing the intro to "And You And I"
I watch Chris Squire's hands and fingers just WORK that bass guitar. Non-stop
 The new singer is worthy. He stays in the background. Smart ------------- assume the power 1586/14.3 |
Posted By: Evolver
Date Posted: February 06 2010 at 06:48
------------- Trust me. I know what I'm doing. |
Posted By: Kashmir75
Date Posted: February 06 2010 at 20:01
That was a great story. It's awesome you got to meet your idols! So jealous! ------------- Hello, mirror. So glad to see you, my friend. It's been a while... |
Posted By: fr0zt
Date Posted: February 10 2010 at 14:10
|
Couple pictures for you guys. Enjoy! My signed album by Chris, Alan, Steve (left to right) http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=t8k8pj&s=6 - http://tinypic.com/view.php?pic=t8k8pj&s=6 This is a pic of Chris and I. He came from off the left side of the picture, and walked around behind me and thats where he sat. Amazing moment for me. Just loving it in this picture! http://tinypic.com/r/dljjvb/6 - http://tinypic.com/r/dljjvb/6 |
Posted By: Okocha
Date Posted: April 22 2010 at 11:42
| Lucky guy! |