I am 54 years old and this is the 6th time I've seen Yes perform live. Last time I saw them was the 1991 reunion concert.
IMHO, they are a shell of their former selves. Jon Davison, Geoff Downes, Chris Squire, Steve Howe & Alan White are the current lineup. They opened with the entire Close to the Edge album. It was marred by gear and sound problems at the onset. Davison was not mic'd well and Steve was having technical problems with his pedals. The second album they played was Going for the One. They played The Yes Album last and then Round About for an encore.
Overall, I enjoyed the show because I am a huge Yes fan. It was nostalgic and anytime I am with my son we have a good time. This was his 1st Yes concert and he enjoyed it. He is 23.
To be brutally honest, the performance was rough around the edges. At times they were disjointed and not together, time-wise. The keyboards were weak and Steve was covering for that at times by over playing. I can't blame him. He did an exceptional job of it, totally professional, it just lacked the depth I'm use to hearing from Yes when it comes to keyboards. Downes was reading the music off tablets and Going for the One, Parallels, and Awaken were missing the signature Wakeman runs that make that album special. There were too many parts where the keys were just chords when there should have been runs.
Alan and Chris did fine, it just seemed notably slower and less energetic, and sometimes, a little sloppy. Once mic'd, Jon Davison was outstanding! The highlight of the concert for me was Jon and Chris harmonizing on Starship Trooper. Excellent! Awaken is one of my all-time favorite songs and Davison performed it well.
Overall, they pleased the audience and Chris vowed they would return.
Sadly, that is probably the last time I will see them.
Edited by Ethos - March 06 2013 at 23:52