Yes' shows nowadays

cstack3 wrote: 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.  I saw Yes for the first time 22 September, 1972 - CTTE tour!  I'm sorry Bruf wasn't drumming, but the band was outstanding!   Back to matters at hand - I could have seen Yes with Ollie and Benoit, and I agree with D's observations and thoughts.  Ollie's presence in the band excited me, as I was hoping for an evolution of Yes to a new generation of musicians who would be able to carry the band's vision into the future.  However, the vision of Squire and Howe seems to be to milk the thing for all they can, so I stayed away from those shows, not wishing to sully my memories.  I find that YouTube is full of good representations of these latest generations.  Davison is very good, from the bits I've seen on YouTube, and I think this will be a very well-polished and enjoyable show, better than the Benoit David era.  He's not JA, but no one is.  I'm willing to bet that the new material with Davison will be quite good, and I'm hoping Billy Sherwood will replace Squire someday.   My friend took this at a "Relayer" show we saw in Chicago, I saw that tour twice.  There was no band as amazing as Yes when they were young and in their prime!

I have hardly enjoyed what Sherwood has done with Yes and Squire... and his other projects. His writing seems uninspired (though sometimes a bit enjoyable, but nothing worthy of the legendary satus of Yes), and his vocal melodies can get very tiresome, (for they all sound the same)... I mean, come on, he even managed to make Annie Haslam sound terribly bad and generic on his Prog Collective album. A few weeks ago I checked out a few Circa's songs, though, and I thought it sounded a bit better than what I've heard from him before, I might try to give it a try (though it's kind of difficult to get those albums, being they are only available through their own website, and once I tried to make an account with them and they asked to fill more information than I was willing to give). However, the thing is, I actually liked his bass playing a lot on those songs from Circa, and I guess he would sound very nice taking Squire's place, as long as he stays clear from songwriting... and specially from the vocal melodies parts (which I truly doubt he would be willing to do).

Edited by Dellinger - April 02 2014 at 22:31

I saw them in Brazil last year, can say that I liked it a lot. But, of course, given that I've never saw them live before, it may be product of a overreaction. Anyway, these old geezers played Yes Album, CTTE and GFTO in perfect shape, almost like if they were dubbing the records in stage. I don't know what kind of setlist they're playing right now but I must say that I saw my near perfect live Yes setlist (would only trade GFTO for Relayer). My criticism goes to Alan White drumming, it sounded very weak to me, not in terms of technique but in terms of excitement. The rest of the band was on fire, Steve Howe was visibly enjoying the whole thing, only White seemed a little tired. Anyway, it was one of the best concerts of my life, only second to The Wall in 2012. 

chopper wrote: Matheusms wrote: My criticism goes to Alan White drumming, it sounded very weak to me, not in terms of technique but in terms of excitement. The rest of the band was on fire, Steve Howe was visibly enjoying the whole thing, only White seemed a little tired. I thought White was very subdued on the last album. It'll be interesting to hear what he's like on the tour.

Padraic wrote: I cringe at the term "Yes franchise".

Matheusms wrote: I saw them in Brazil last year, can say that I liked it a lot. But, of course, given that I've never saw them live before, it may be product of a overreaction. Anyway, these old geezers played Yes Album, CTTE and GFTO in perfect shape, almost like if they were dubbing the records in stage. I don't know what kind of setlist they're playing right now but I must say that I saw my near perfect live Yes setlist (would only trade GFTO for Relayer). My criticism goes to Alan White drumming, it sounded very weak to me, not in terms of technique but in terms of excitement. The rest of the band was on fire, Steve Howe was visibly enjoying the whole thing, only White seemed a little tired. Anyway, it was one of the best concerts of my life, only second to The Wall in 2012.

For their next tour, it seems they will be playing the whole Fragile and Close to the Edge, plus some other highlights and some songs from the new album.

Yes haven't exactly stayed true to their own roots. I side with the arguement that says they should do one last grand tour with everyone involved, and call it a day.

As painful as it is, it was Bruford who said Yes is now their own trubute band.