Yes - August 19 on Yahoo Live

As much as I love concerts, I hate crowds. 

Watching a concert in my home gives me a stellar view, private bathrooms, beer that doesn’t cost a fortune, and the ability to walk fifteen feet and go to sleep without worries from a police officer (the wife may be a different story).

So I stayed up late during a week night to see Yes play San Jose, California for Yahoo! Live Nation. 

"Siberian Khatru" - Can Yes perform this song any slower?  I kept nodding my head, not in time, but in an attempt to get them to get on with the next note.  Geoff Downes' timing didn't match the rest of the band, and his tones clashed with the song.  His keyboards were situated such that his back is to the audience for most of the show (great view of those teal pants).  Everyone looked so grumpy (the new singer aside but more on that later); even the usually jovial Alan White, who can make the ugly drummer faces but we still know is a nice fellow, looked uncharacteristically grumpy and tired.  Not a promising start, and I was concerned that I was going to trade good sleep for something that could send me to sleep.

However, they nailed "Close to the Edge."  Chris put in a beautiful bass solo during the quietest moment of the song that was really something, receiving applause in the middle of the song (and a beatific smile from the bassist on the final note).  During the counterpoint, you could CLEARLY hear Steve and Chris on vocals even with the delay added, which I felt was something special.  Downes' organ solo?  Bitchingly good.  Alan White still looks like he's about to shank somebody with a broken-off drumstick.

By the way, there was a thing for shoes in this.  The camera kept nabbing foot shots (Steve wears loafers, Alan Nikes, in case you were wondering).

Squire used an eight-string bass on "Believe Again," a song from the new album.  I can see why a lot of people don’t like it.  Structurally, it’s about as basic as it gets for Yes standards, but Yes had done many simple songs and hardly anyone complained.  So I was glad to hear the two best songs on the new album done live.  "The Game" sounded great- nothing much to add.

To introduce Fragile, Steve Howe gave a surprisingly enthusiastic short speech.

You may have heard it a thousand times, but "Roundabout" rocked.  Chris' bass rang out loud and clear as the primary lead instrument (as it should), and this was not the castrated version of "Roundabout" the band had played on many DVDs- this was the whole deal, heavy middle section included.

I was curious to see how Geoff would handle "Cans and Brahms."  I was hoping to see an original spin on it, but I don't blame him for using backing tracks (it's my least favorite piece from Fragile) and handling the more intricate bits himself.

"We Have Heaven" sounded brilliant.

It was funny watching Geoff running his hand across the keyboard for the windy sound of "South Side of the Sky" while a fan blew into Chris' face.  "South Side of the Sky" is one that Yes tends to play rather consistently, and this performance was no different: Tight, crisp, and smooth all at once.  Added syllables in the vocalized section gave it a fresh magic, and it was fun watching Davison making the "wind" to bring the band back in.  Downes' synthesizer solos were laden with arpeggios, but the tone and overall aesthetic suited the song, while Howe provided the piece with his traditional treatment as they traded performances.

"Five Per Cent for Nothing" sounded every bit the mess it does on the original.  Alan White was wearing Beats by Dre during the performance.

After a very normal “Long Distance Runaround,” the spotlight was on Squire- time for Fish.  He thundered through a bass solo that stuck close to the source material.  And the Beats were back on Alan, who still looks none too pleased.  Geoff was on cowbell duty.

Howe came in with his guitar to stroll through “Mood for a Day,” accompanied by people shouting things in the audience.

"Heart of the Sunrise" featured some 8-bit Nintendo sounds, but was otherwise rocking.

The encore was “Your Move / I’ve Seen All Good People” and “Owner of a Lonely Heart.”  There wasn’t much to add about either, although I would have preferred “Starship Trooper” to the final song, but there wasn’t anything disappointing about either song.

A word about Jon Davison.

Praxis aside, the best singer for Yes will always be Jon Anderson, and whatever the reason for it, I still think it’s sad that he’s still no longer with them. 

That said, last night I felt that Jon Davison was more technically skilled than Anderson ever was.  This isn’t Pop Idol, so I won’t judge one performance against nearly half a century of them, but that was the impression I got.  Davison’s vocal control was never off the mark and his performance was always clear and melodic.  However, Anderson’s voice has a rasp to it that I always loved.

No, you don’t need Jon Anderson to have a wonderful Yes experience, just like you don’t need a knife to have a Ribeye steak, but the knife makes the experience more genuine.

While his bandmates generally appeared to have been forced to hold spoiled milk in their mouths for much of the show, Davison never wavered from his Cheshire Cat eyes and grin, and he swirled about much in the same way.  While Jon Anderson has an elf-like tendency and does incredibly goofy things during a song or while talking to the audience, it never struck me as anything but genuine.  That’s just how Jon Anderson is, end of story. 

But with Davison, it was so theatrical it felt like a high school drama production (it didn’t help that Davison looks exactly like a 45-year-old version of a student of mine last year who was heavily involved in the thespian group).  Prancing around up there with a bunch of stoical, “aging old farts” (Wakeman’s words, not mine) just felt awkward to watch.  Never mind the bearded crew member lurking behind Davison with a weird expression on his face.

I can only wonder if real life is even somewhat as histrionic as his stage presence.  Perhaps the next time I’m at the grocery store, I’ll purchase my bread and milk with the same gestures and movements.

Could be interesting.